Gatorade getting involved with the NBA Development League gained attention for one reason: rebranding to the Gatorade League or G-League. The sports drink giant, however, had much more than naming rights in mind when it signed the deal.
As part of the partnership, the G-League will be assisted by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. It’s here that Gatorade is working to push an innovation agenda that seems to have no end.
“The premise for [the deal] actually was to allow us to push on our innovation agenda and doing that with basically — this will sound a little off — but, using professional athletes as a part of like our lab,” described Gatorade’s Head of Consumer Engagement, Kenny Mitchell, during Advertising Week – New York. “Almost like lab rats, right?”
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What Mitchell is describing is using these G-League players to test Gatorade product formulations, ingredients, services and solutions. Essentially using the partnership as a springboard to discovering greater, more streamlined, hydration and fueling techniques.
“So if we want to showcase a protein-enriched shake, we may test it with the Gatorade developmental league and then we might be launching it with NBA players.”
During the panel, Mitchell described work that Gatorade did in helping a young NBA player whom he did not name. The player, a former first round pick, was having trouble getting off the bench, mainly because of cramping issues. A Gatorade “team sports manager,” as Mitchell called the person, got with the player’s athletic trainer and took him to the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.
They discovered the player was a heavy sweater at which point they devised an efficient hydration and fueling plan. Since then, the athlete has become a full-time NBA starter.
Said Mitchell, “In a situation like that you create the advocacy with the athlete themselves as well as the belief in our product and our services and our solutions with the folks that are the closest to the athlete.”
It’s all part of a grander scheme as Gatorade innovates on a higher level than other sports drinks. Take for example its new Gx sports fuel customization platform. Used by multiple NBA teams, Gx includes a smart cap that provides visual feedback on hydration levels using LED lights.
Expect Gatorade to roll out more cutting-edge products, especially with the help of its newly-minted partnership.