Powerade is furthering its efforts to immerse itself with Gen-Z and Gen Alpha with the launch of the “It Takes More To Get This Far” campaign ahead of the NCAA basketball tournaments. UConn F Alex Karaban, NC State G Saniya Rivers and Arizona G Caleb Love -- who were added to Powerade’s growing collegiate roster in December -- are featured in the campaign. The creative was made by WPP OpenX and led by Ogilvy. Previous themed editions ran during March Madness last year, the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the college football season.
Powerade has been an NCAA sponsor since 2010, with the exception of 2019 where BodyArmor took the forefront. Approaching nearly four decades in the market, Coca-Cola-owned Powerade is continuing to seek ways to increase its presence with younger consumers. “As the brand has aged, our average consumer has aged as well. We’re always looking for opportunities to start aging down and bringing in that next generation. Collegiate athletes are a great start to do that,” said Thomas Gargiulo, CMO of Coca-Cola’s BodyArmor Sports Nutrition division, which oversees Powerade.
Coming off back-to-back national championships with the Huskies, Karaban described that the Powerade partnership is the latest example of him trying to capitalize on the increased exposure. “I’m only in college for four years and with NIL just growing and growing, you want to maximize as many brands as possible,” he said. “You kind of learn about business from an early age.” Karaban, alongside Love, is represented by Priority Sports.
The national campaign includes a 30-second TV spot. Supporting content and activations will be featured on streaming CTV as well as online platforms, digital, social media, programmatic, out-of-home, and retail extensions throughout the tournaments. Powerade is also partnering with more than 35 NIL athletes for supporting digital and social media content.
Gargiulo explained that the increase of competitors in the sports drink space guided the brand into shifting its marketing approach. “In the past it was traditionally through your mass media vehicles. Now looking at how we’re trying to tap into that younger consumer base, we’re looking at influencers [and] that’s why we’re looking into more social media driven communication.”
While Gargiulo described the collegiate space as Powerade’s “bread and butter” and is optimistic on growth, he also expressed excitement for the brand’s entrance in soccer. Powerade recently became the official sports drink for MLS and U.S. Soccer, positions previously held by BodyArmor, in efforts to engage with the younger generations. “We just see a tremendous amount of momentum and because of the affinity with younger fans, it just seemed like a perfect fit,” he said.
