Social listening assignment

 Social listening

    I chose Gatorade for my company brand. The value proposition of Gatorade is to be the most hydrating sports drink on the market, along with the best tasting one. They aim to fuel athletes to the next levels of competition and to keep them hydrated while they do their athletic activities. What interested me about this product is they have come out with multiple new products over the years whether it be the chewable Gatorade gummies or a new drink. Also Gatorade seems to always have the most brand recognition among the major sports drinks they are always shown throughout sporting events being advertised on the sidelines in the giant orange containers for the players.

   Some things people were saying about Gatorade were mostly from football teams twitter accounts talking about how after a win they would give the coach a Gatorade bath. This assignment was pretty difficult as I don't really use any social media at all. The first tweet about Gatorade I saw was from the official Gatorade twitter account wishing Bryce Harper a baseball player a happy birthday. People were replying saying they also wished him a happy birthday and that Gatorade was good. Another tweet from Gatorade was their attempt at a popular twitter trend right now showing red flags in things people do or say, their example was it being a red flag for someone to ask for a sip of your Gatorade then drink the entire bottle. This had a reply from an angry customer talking about how bad their Gatorade quality was which then got a reply from Gatorade linking them to a way to give their feedback so that Gatorade could make the issue right.

    Gatorade is clearly trying to sell the image on social media that they have great athletes that they have drinking their product as many commercials and posts feature these great Gatorade athletes. The whole vibe the company has given from the very start is that the best of the best drink their product to be great at the sports they play. They have used story telling in their commercials to show that the Gatorade has fueled professional athletes to make the most amazing of plays. I would say a big challenge facing the brand right now is the up and coming sports drinks, they have got lots more competition from Powerade or Body Armor and it no longer is a one person race consumers have many options. Not only that but water is a much cheaper and healthier option that many people go for rather than their expensive sports drink. I think their marketing strategy is a good one showing the best athletes endorsing their product but maybe they should focus more on the flavor and try to make it seem like a healthy drink as well. If I was the brand manager I would try to stay away from social media trends and not look like you are following the crowd because lots of the time they open themselves up to becoming a joke and may look like an older person trying to be hip and on the trends of younger people. I would also just respond the company's complaints in a timely and professional manner.

    This assignment showed me the helpfulness that can be gained from social media in the form of free advertising but it can also be very bad if you get the wrong message out there, it also leads you open to being criticized by anyone whos sees your post and wants to comment on it.