Stop if you’ve heard this before: A brand uses the Super Bowl to gain exposure! How novel! Truthfully, the tactic is old as the game itself. The Super Bowl annually erupts with product placement and celebrity pitches that bore fans, disgust media, and leave brands scouring for a way to garner attention without selling their souls.We did. And with a story that’s almost taboo in this carnival atmosphere: science.No, really.Consumers see Gatorade on the Super Bowl sidelines, but they often don’t comprehend the science behind those products. In 2011, Gatorade challenged the agency to leverage the big game to show Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) scientists spur athletic achievement through sports nutrition. The agency worked with Gatorade to devise a PR event which placed GSSI front and centre at Super Bowl XLV in Dallas, Texas. We targeted incoming NFL rookies who have everything to prove to show how Gatorade elevates performance. We invited relevant media not just to see Gatorade science- but to experience it. We merged traditional PR with emerging content to extend our story beyond Super Bowl. And we engaged consumers via social media to enable Gatorade to stand out among the brands at Super Bowl.

- Partnered with rookies for eight-week GSSI fuelling program- including testing at Super Bowl and custom iPad fuelling app letting GSSI analyze rookie fuelling habits - Worked with brand to transform drab Media Centre ballroom into an innovative GSSI lab- Paired rookies with NFL veterans who had worked with GSSI and could share testimonials- Brought relevant media to the lab to see (and experience) how Gatorade science and products fuel performance- Invited select media to conduct same GSSI rookie fuelling/testing program (before and during Super Bowl week) to generate in-depth, experiential coverage about the rookies’ journey - Engaged consumers via Gatorade social media channels and allowed them to converse with athletes and sports nutrition experts about how fuelling elevates performance- Helped spin rookies platform into Web series from Gatorade and NFL Films ("Everything to Prove") chronicling rookies’ journey to the NFL, with fuelling process included.

Showcase the Science Behind Gatorade:-270 MM earned media impressions - 13% increase over Gatorade’s 2010 Super Bowl activation, which also had been supplemented with advertising and new product push-$5.7 MM in ad value (10+ times PR budget)-In-depth coverage: 93% of stories mentioned Gatorade; 84% contained key scientific messages. Stories raved "Gatorade helps athletes take performance gains to the next level" (STACK) Engage Consumers Through Social Media:-2.5 MM Facebook impressions, and Gatorade named to “Top 10 Facebook Pages for Super Bowl Fans” (AllFacebook.com)-Generated 28,000 live consumer conversations direct from GSSI Lab via USTREAM-Rookie and brand tweets during testing generated 23 MM Twitter follower impressionsExtend the Reach Beyond Super Bowl:-Rookie platform inserted Gatorade into a key NFL offseason storyline, with follow-up testing slated for NFL Draft-Spin-off "Everything to Prove" series debuted in March on NFL.com