EVERYTHING TO PROVE

Credits & Description:

Type of entry: Branded Entertainment
Category: Best non-fiction program, series or film where a client has successfully created a reality, documentary or light entertainment show around a product(s) or brand(s)
Advertiser: GATORADE
Product/Service: SPORTS DRINKS
Agency: VML Kansas City, USA
Advertiser GATORADE
Product SPORTS DRINKS
Entrant VML Kansas City, USA
Type of Entry: Branded Entertainment
Category: Best non-fiction program, series or film where a client has successfully created a reality, documentary or light entertainment show around a product(s) or brand(s)
Title: EVERYTHING TO PROVE
Advertiser/Client: GATORADE
Product/Service: SPORTS DRINKS
Entrant Company: VML Kansas City, USA
DM/Advertising Agency: VML Kansas City, USA
2nd DM/Advertising Agency: FLEISHMAN-HILLARD Chicago, USA
3rd DM/Advertising Agency: NFL FILMS Mount Laurel, USA
Media Agency: OPTIMUM SPORTS New York, USA
Account Director: Bryan McAleer (Optimum Sports)
Strategy Supervisor: Joshua Farber (Optimum Sports)
Director: Tom McGovern (Optimum Sports)
Associate Director/Branded Content: Aaron Evanson (VML)
Art Director: Alison Radke (VML)
Senior Copywriter: Allison Pierce (VML)
Senior Art Director: Chad Green (VML)
Chief Creative Officer: Debbi Vandeven (VML)
Senior Copywriter: Joel Henning (VML)
Managing Director/Branded Content: John Godsey (VML)
Junior Art Director: Katelyn Carson (VML)
Associate Creative Director: Nick Allegri (VML)
Group Creative Director: Tony Snethen (VML)
Producer: Tyler Smith (VML)
Describe the campaign/entry
‘Everything To Prove’ was a video series from Gatorade that ran online in the USA. There were no special restrictions or regulations imposed by broadcasting companies, government or other regulating body.

Results

Gatorade is known around the world as a sports hydration company. Then, with the introduction of its G Series product, designed to fuel an athlete before, during and after a workout or game, they went beyond hydration and into the world of sports nutrition.
However, there was a problem: Teen athletes didn’t think sports nutrition was very important. They thought training was the only way to improve their performance.
So how do you convince teen athletes that sports nutrition is the key to reaching that next level?
Convincing a teen of anything is difficult enough. Trying to do it with an ad is nearly impossible. So we had to find a way prove it.
Teen athletes look to other athletes for advice. Particularly college athletes looking to go pro. So we recruited 15 of the top NFL rookie prospects to implement proven fuelling habits into their training regimes to overcome one of the toughest challenges in sports today: the journey from NFL prospect to NFL pro.
The ‘Everything to Prove’ video series went behind the scenes and followed these rookies for 7 months from Senior Bowl to their first NFL game. The Gatorade Sports Science Institute led the way by mapping out a fuelling plan for each athlete.
The first episode debuted online to immediate buzz. And as the rookies began to see real results in their performance, they became sports nutrition advocates themselves and tweeted and ‘Facebooked’ directly with fans. They also spread the word on targeted TV programs such as MTV News.
Other key athletic sites and media outlets took notice. They reposted the episodes and directed traffic back to Gatorade.com.
In the end, not only did every rookie make an NFL team (some against all odds) each credited proper sports nutrition with helping them get there.


Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Our target, teen athletes, is difficult to reach through traditional media. So we went where they already were: online, to create a web series that capitalized on their viewing habits.
Weekly episodes ran on NFL.com, Gatorade.com and Gatorade’s Facebook page.
Bonus content also went out to blogs, media outlets and social media channels.
The series also attracted both online and on-air media attention. And the stars of the series used their extensive social media reach to add to the conversation.
After the series ended, all 30 episodes ran on Stack.com where teen athletes go for advice and training tips.


Describe the results in as much detail as possible.

Even with limited support from a minimal media buy, ‘Everything To Prove’ exceeded all goals and expectations. In fact, it beat the results of its previous branded entertainment programs like ‘Replay’ by nearly 200%.
Episode views totalled 9.1m.
The series generated 8m Facebook and 31m Twitter impressions.
Generated an additional 229.6m earned media impressions.
93.5% of teens found the content to be appealing.
80.5% of teens found it to be relevant to their training and nutrition habits.
‘Everything to Prove’ has returned for a second season to strong episode views and buzz.
Talks are currently under way to turn the web series into a national television program.
‘Everything To Prove’ was the highest-viewed video content during NFL.com’s off-season, training camp and preseason.
It became the most watched and most talked about branded entertainment content in the history of the Gatorade brand.