In Latin America where football seems to be the only sport to drive passion, we've identified a way of life that affects individuals despite age, gender, or social status and it's a burning passion that's only getting stronger - running. However, enthusiasts at all levels were lacking a credible running partner they could trust to deliver everyday value. Gatorade, already the brand of choice, was out to build a more profound relationship by educating primary and secondary runners through our expertise in hydration. Surrounding this community with useful information wherever they consumed media thus amplifying this strategy; to drive scale, Gatorade teamed up with ESPN football programming and their multiplatform running property - ESPN Run. Together we generated an always-on running resource that builds better runners through accessible information.

Gatorade leveraged the depth of ESPN’s portfolio (TV, online, mobile, traditional and digital magazine, social, email marketing, and consumer experience) to provide runner’s accessibility to unique and fresh content at all times. This integrated campaign introduced local GSSI (Gatorade Sports Science Institute) experts via personalized interviews featured within the on-air program. These specialists went on to serve as advisors for content development while actively participating within the social space for those seeking more real-time access to information. Finally, we nurtured relationships by rewarding the most well informed runner who also advocated the sharing of useful information amongst their network. Ultimately the winner became a project ambassador, running for the first time the ING Miami Marathon thus supporting that hydration awareness builds better runners.

We developed through ESPN the first authentic runner's network in Latin America for Gatorade; an information pipeline reaching nearly 4 million sports fans and providing utility to improve performance. When combined the digital campaigns – ESPNRun site, contest, newletter and Social Media connected with more than 11 million users and more than 46,000 potential runners. Gatorade’s expertise contributed to building a running community on Facebook and Twitter with over 27,156 fans. This running club is larger than the amount of participants in the Buenos Aires, Bogota and Mexico City marathons! Each Gatorade insight within the social space generated 3 times earned media in the form of likes, comments, and retweets than any other topic of conversation. Runner feedback such as "running is not a sport, but a way of life" and "finally, a dedicated program to the passion of running" made this a rewarding experience true to our mission - we love running.