In South Africa, Powerade has launched its “Train Like an Olympian” campaign to activate the energy drink’s sponsorship rights for London 2012.
The initiative offers six South Africans athletes the opportunity to join other global winners at the Powerade Sports Academy during The Olympics in London.
As the official sports drink of the Olympic Games, this campaign has been developed by below-the-line agency 34Sport with the direct ‘old school’ brief to drive product sales. Specifically sales of the 750ml concentrate product.
The aim of the work is to use Powerade’s global games sponsorship through creative that plays on active South Africans’ lifestyles and link this to purchase.
The approach, with just a few months to go before the opening ceremony of the London Games, sees Powerade use both a traditional on-pack promotion as well as utilise two existing sports sponsorship – the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour and the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon – as a platform to drive the Olympic campaign.
Both events are nationally (if not globally) renowned and attract thousands of athletes from across South Africa. Indeed, the expos record a combined footfall of more than 130 000 people.
The brand’s own Powerade Performance Centre is a feature at both pre-race expos. It includes a demonstration of the latest in sports recovery technology – as well as educating consumers on the benefits of Powerade itself.
Cyclists and runners could trial the Lower Body Negative Pressure Compression Chamber to optimise the circulation of oxygenated blood to their legs. A first for non-professional athletes on the continent, the device is used by some of the world’s top-performing athletes across all sports codes to speed up recovery after strenuous training.
Visitors to the stand used the opportunity to purchase 750ml Powerade concentrate, where they not only stood the chance of winning instant prizes, but also a place at the Powerade Sports Academy in London. The trip includes a ticket to the London 2012 Olympic Games and the once in a lifetime opportunity to train with Olympic coaches and athletes.
The Powerade Sports Academy includes a world-class performance programme and provides six South African sportsmen/women the chance to train like an Olympian and experience the Olympics in a unique well.
“Being official partners of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour and Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, Powerade is perfectly positioned to be the chosen sports drink for South African athletes, and to offer them a ticket to the world’s ultimate sporting event,” says Craig van Niekerk, Marketing Assets Manager at Coca-Cola South Africa.
The on-pack element enables those purchasing Powerade concentrate at selected Pick n Pay, Checkers and Spar outlets to enter the promotion in-store (with the ‘Train Like An Olympian’ promotion appearing on pack.
Comment:
The Olympics is such a gargantuan global event that linking London 2012 rights to local partnership properties and national event activation provides a powerful additional boost to regular, home market sponsorships.
Furthermore, an active and event-relevant product like Powerade is certainly appropriate for participatory promotion rather than just passive purchasing programmes.
Links:
www.cocacola.co.za/upload/…/20120229_powerade_rules.pdf
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.