IT TAKES MORE x POWERADE
The 6th Annual Awards
- Best College Sports Partnership
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
To kick off the 2023-24 college football season, POWERADE announced the launch of its new national marketing campaign titled, “IT TAKES MORE.” Taking its commitment and dedication to supporting collegiate athletes one step further by doing what no other brand has done before, POWERADE recruited five of the most talented college football players from top programs across the country to take the spotlight and star in its national campaign.
The largest college football campaign to-date in POWERADE history, the brand activated ”IT TAKES MORE” across national television, digital creative, out-of-home, radio, and social media extensions lasting throughout the entire season—and also teamed up with more than 60 additional NIL athletes from colleges and universities across the country to create supporting digital and social media content further amplifying the launch.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
As the NIL landscape becomes more defined going forward, brands will look to leverage and harness the power of college sports and athletes - and how the traditions within them relate to their specific colleges and universities—to further appeal to fans and consumers alike.
POWERADE’s new ”IT TAKES MORE” campaign showcased that brands can use their NIL and college sports partnerships to their benefit to generate new fans and consumers by tapping into their passion behind the game and their love for their schools and athletes who put the work in behind-the-scenes to be great.
Objective
As the official hydration partner for many big-time programs, POWERADE’s goal is to be synonymous with college football—and there was no better way than to team up with several of the best athletes in the country for the brand’s newest campaign ahead of the upcoming college football season.
In addition, these top players that the brand partnered with—including highly rated 2024 Draft prospects, Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles defensive end, Jared Verse, Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers QB, Jayden Daniels, and University of Georgia (UGA) Bulldogs QB, Malaki Starks, University of Southern California (USC) Trojans WR, Mario Williams, and University of Iowa Hawkeyes RB, Kalen Johnson—embody who POWERADE is as a brand, putting in the work in hopes of getting to the next level.
Given the huge reach of college football, the brand was excited to tap into that network of fans and consumers to showcase that POWERADE offers more than the competition.
Strategy & Execution
To kick off the college football season, when fans and consumers are most excited for the upcoming year, POWERADE announced the launch of its latest national marketing campaign.
Teaming up with five of the most talented college football players from top programs across the country to take the spotlight to star in its national campaign, POWERADE showcased the hard work and off-the-field, after-hours dedication that college athletes everywhere put in, in order to take part in the time-honored traditions respected by the athletes, students and fan-base alike.
Tapping deep into the fan culture within college football—POWERADE highlighted traditions from each of the five schools within the campaign including FSU’s ‘Break the Rock,’ LSU’s ‘Win Bar,’ UGA’s ‘Between the Hedges,’ USC’s ‘V for Victory’ salute, and Iowa’s ‘Kinnick Statue’—and the effort it takes behind-the-scenes to honor these customs and rituals.
To reach fans both nationally and locally, POWERADE activated across national and local television, digital creative, out-of-home, radio, and social media lasting throughout the entire season.
The first brand spot also debuted on national TV on Sunday, September 3rd ahead of a marquee matchup between two athletes in the spot—Jared Verse’s Seminoles and Jayden Daniels’ Tigers.
Organizations
- Powerade
- OpenX
Links
Featured
- Jared Verse
- Jayden Daniels
- Kalen Johnson
- Malaki Starks
- Mario Williams
Credits
Josh Colfin
Manager, PR & Communications
BODYARMOR Sports Nutrition
Ross McLoad
Agency Lead
OpenX
Taylor King
Integration Director
OpenX
Leah Macko
Senior Director, POWERADE Brand
BODYARMOR Sports Nutrition
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
