Gatorade ready to pump up marketing efforts

NEW YORK -- Gatorade President Todd Magazine can't wait for the new year.

• G2, a new, lighter version of Gatorade aimed at athletes off the field and the yoga crowd.

• A version of Gatorade's Propel water with caffeine.

• A five-year endorsement deal with golfer Tiger Woods that includes a Gatorade Tiger line.

• Pumped up ad spending leading off with a Super Bowl ad.

"With all the things we're doing, we are raring to go for '08," Magazine says.

Given Gatorade's 1.3% sales slide for the first nine months of 2007, neither can PepsiCo. As bubbly soft drink sales remain flat, products such as Gatorade's sports drinks and waters are key to growth plans.

A recent PepsiCo reorganization landed Gatorade in a new Americas Beverages unit led by Massimo d'Amore. At a recent Morgan Stanley analysts meeting, d'Amore stressed the importance of non-carbonated drinks and also said Gatorade's fourth-quarter sales growth has picked up at a double-digit pace.

But there's a longer-range concern that flagship Gatorade — the original sports drink concocted in 1965 for University of Florida football players — is showing its age.

Gatorade, made with electrolytes to ease muscle fatigue, has about 80% of sports drink sales, but those sales are up just 4% year-to-date, according to Information Resources. By contrast, sales are up 29% for enhanced water (with nutrition or energy additives) and up 11% for plain bottled water.

Sweating athletes still reach for sports drinks, but they're not always the pick for folks doing less intense health and fitness activities. Magazine will woo them with lighter products. "On the field, Gatorade has tremendous equity and loyalty, but our new products address changes in the marketplace."