Objective: To create meaning in the everyday lives of sports-playing Indians, we wanted to solve a problem in their contextual sporting reality.

Gatorade exists to fuel your sweat and play more, and India wasn’t playing enough. A nation of 1.4 billion people where only 2% play sports. Reason? Lack of space. 76% Indians complain ‘lack of space’ as reason to not play any sport.

A problem especially strong in fast-urbanising cities like Mumbai - a city with 1 playground for every 1 million people. This created a blaring gap– a rapidly growing appetite to play more against rapidly decreasing open spaces to play. With urbanisation on a rise, we wanted to realistically address lack of space by creating space within the limited space of cities.

Brief: Configure a smart solve for lack of space to play, within the chaotic space of fast-urbanizing cities, starting from Mumbai (India’s most crowded city).

Introducing Gatorade Turf Finder. A path-breaking tech-innovation, in partnership with Google Maps, that analysed 20 years’ worth historic traffic data and real-time insights to predict when roads go empty – becoming open spaces to drop the turf and play!

Why roads? Because Indian roads are temporal. Their usability is measured not just by space, but by space and time– meaning these roads are multipurpose! Roads normally used for everyday traffic could also be used for playing, by dropping the turf at the right place, at the right time. An ingenious configuration of crowded urban space that took cities by storm– starting with Mumbai.

Our on-ground turfs were modular, configured to be assembled and dismantled within 20 mins to ensure maximum play time and give the roads back in time for traffic. These turfs became urban community playgrounds, reimagining open spaces for play unlike anything before in the world.

This data isn't anything new. It's always been on our smartphones since Maps has existed. It is how we were able to use this for areas that had their playgrounds uprooted that gave this campaign a larger purpose.

We dropped our turfs where they were needed the most. We identified crowded city clusters (space/1000 people). Then, basis the least people-per-open space ratio we selected locations to analyze road traffic.

A simple traffic data was able to change not just a cultural, but a geographical problem.

We targeted the most traffic dense city in the world. The most impossible locations had an opportunity for us to drop a turf through data.

Traffic data visualised in finding opportunities for sports is path changing.

Using Google’s historic traffic data (20 years) and live business tracking (real-time traffic movements), we configured the apt time slots to drop the turf in selected regions.

To launch Turf Finder, we created a digital film that was selectively targeted, per city, to cohorts that formed the biggest chunk of Indian sporting enthusiasts:

· Beginners (want to start playing/ working out)

· Active lifestyles (try to incorporate fitness in their busy lifestyles)

· Fitness enthusiasts (actively prioritise and pursue fitness)

To inform people of the upcoming turf locations, we dropped geo-targeted ads and playable OOH ads (first of its kind) 48 hours prior the turf drop. Also, our microsite let people track these turf drops.

Our turfs were modular state-of-the-art set-ups (60 X 40 ft). They could be assembled and dismantled in 20 mins to ensure maximum play time and give the roads back in time for traffic.

1. The State Government partnered with us- offering 20+ new locations for future turfs in Mumbai, as part of ‘Fit India Movement’ - launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to encourage Indians to become more active.

2. Gatorade was sampled and consumed by over 100+ people at every drop.

3. Future turfs to be deployed in other urbanising markets of Gatorade around the world, with 150+ future turf drops expected across India.

4.Turfs reached people at scale with 111 Mn reach, 51.39 Mn impressions and 40.3k website visits.

5. Behaviour change:

•Total spontaneous awareness: +4 pp

•Consumption: +5 pp

•Consideration to buy: +3 pp

6.Brand perception:

•Enhances physical performance: +4pp

•Rehydrates better than water: +2pp

•Replenishes what’s lost in sweat: +4pp