While walking the mean streets of New York, good or bad, I became hyper aware of the rebirth of the Gatorade brand. A text book exercise in rebranding was unfolding right before my eyes: New bottles, new print ads, new Gatorade coolers at the Red Bulls game, and new billboards. In short, a total eradication of the old Gatorade brand overnight (trust me, I looked for old ads and bottles at stores).

Like the recent Pepsi identity overhaul and Tropicana unbranding, the Gatorade work was completed by Sterling Brands. I’ll be the first one to admit the Gatorade work is nice. It’s clean, modern and classy (just like the attempts with Tropicana and Pepsi brand overhauls). But I have to ask, is it really necessary? Consumers love the 20 year old look of a similarly aligned and dominate beverage brand, Tropicana. When the Tropicana look changed, consumers took to the internet in huge numbers to voice their displeasure with the new look. I recently read that with the new package design, sales of Tropicana dropped 20%. A huge kick in the privates of Pepsi Co., especially after spending countless dollars to relaunch this product only to have to change it back to the old package design.

So, in thinking about the value of a brand, once a product reaches the awareness of Gatorade (or Pepsi, Coke, McDonalds, Tropicana and so on), I’m not sure if it’s possible to significantly alter the the visual identity of said product without experiencing backlash or, even worse, losing customers. I feel that a brand the calibre of Gatorade can only evolve. A total change, like the new identity (except for the tiny lightning bolt), leaves too much potential to confuse and alienate existing customers, even if the new brand design is fresh, contemporary and clean.

Consumers thought the new Tropicana box was a store no name brand, which, recession or no recession, is probably the main reason sales slipped 20% for Tropicana after the new packaging was launched. And with a very similar design, I feel like the market revolt that Tropicana experienced is a possibility with Gatorade.

If anything, the new Gatorade work feels like a step back to me from the old identity in terms of visual impact and memorability. The old design, which was probably around for 20 odd years still had legs and incorporated well with real life, print ads, and on TV. When you think of a sports drink, Gatorade is the drink of choice most people think of to replenish themselves after after an intense sporting activity. How much more does Gatorade really need to reinforce this point? As long as the product is available at retail outlets and Gatorade aligns themselves with the right athletes and teams, the drink will continue to sell itself as it’s done for the past 40 odd years. Messing with Coke was an epic disaster. Messing with Tropicana bombed. Messing with Gatorade has the potential to nose dive as well, especially when the existing identity portfolio was strong and adaptable with changing public tastes.

Oh, and those slogans/ideas/catch phrases… Even with a clean, modern font their readability is next to nothing. I find myself re-reading each slogan multiple times just to make sure I got the message right. But, then again, maybe that was the intent?

BE
TOU
GH

BR
ING
IT

FO
CUS

NO
EXC
USES

SH
INE
ON
(I keep wanting to read sunshine for this slogan)

I’m a big fan of strong, bold text. I get what the designers were trying to do accomplish the lightning bolt, the line on the right and slogan together incorporating many classic elements and principles of design. However, I feel like the new concepts don’t add a thing to the Gatorade brand, in fact they come very close to creating a non brand (I keep thinking of grocery store brands every time I see a new Gatorade ad or bottle). The lightning bolt fades into the background as I spend the majority of my brain power trying to decipher the slogans to the left of the logo.

Why not keep the lightning bolt big and add these slogans in smaller text underneath? Being subtle is great, but I just kept getting confused as I tried to decipher the lines of text. I’m not going to go and drink Gatorade to “Be Strong.” I’ll drink it because it tastes good and I guess it helps me to manage my electrolytes after a run or sports session. I usually turn to water, but sometimes a Gatorade will hit the spot and give me a boost. Side note: Every time I hear the word electrolyte now, I keep thinking of the movie, Idiocracy.

After quietly absorbing the recent Pepsi and Tropicana identity flips, I had to break my silence on the Gatorade brand overhaul. At practically every street corner and convenience store I visited in NYC there was a poster or billboard enticing me to fulfill my re-energising fantasies with a bottle of Gatorade.

I’m sure Pepsi has spent millions designing and repackaging the identity of its core products. For a company the size of Pepsi Co. does an entire brand overhaul really help fuel sales of products like Gatorade? Or, is the money being spent just for the sake of spending money? Time, and the sales numbers, will tell.

I’d love to hear some of the insights from Sterling Brands. I’m sure the final product is one of tens of paths that the new identity for Gatorade could have taken. Maybe the new look isn’t even the strongest idea that was presented to Pepsi. At the end of the day, the executives who gave the thumbs up to the current rebranding blitz at Pepsi Co. are the ones who have their necks on the line. If the sales tank and another Tropicana Unbranding is pulled, I’m sure there will be a fair number of executives looking for new jobs.

Gatorade currently holds an 82% share of the sports drink market this is apparently down from their 93% market share in the 90s. Considering how diluted the sports and energy drink market has become, an 82% share is quite incredible.

On a recent expedition to the wonderful town known as New York City, the lady and I were fortunate enough to time our visit to coincide with a New York Red Bulls home match against the universally hated (but good and scrappy) Real Salt Lake. So, on Saturday, April 18th we made the long journey from downtown Manhattan to Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands (Swamp) Sports Complex. The journey took us about 50 minutes from our hotel room to our seats in Giants Stadium. Not a bad trip all in all considering you’re walking (or riding the subway) to Penn Station, catching a New Jersey Transit train to Seacacus Station and then taking a chartered bus to Giants Stadium. The trip really does feel like you’re going to the middle of nowhere.

Sorry fellow TFC fans, but the Red Bulls are my second favourite team in the MLS. They’re a strong and steady team that slowly but surely grinds away opponents. They’ve had a quiet start this year. Slowly but surely the team is finding its footing and I’m sure will climb the Eastern Division standings as the season winds along. I had a great time at the game and it was exciting to watch. The game ended in a 2-0 win for the Red Bulls with Juan Pablo Angel scoring his first goal of the year. Being a fan of Angel (except when he plays TFC) I was happy to see him score.

Here’s some of my thoughts on the evening:

• Getting to Meadowlands Sports Complex from downtown New York isn’t the easiest job in the world, but it’s not the hardest either. A quick train ride from Penn Station to Secacus Station on New Jersey Transit lets you board a shuttle that drops you off at Giants Stadium. Just make sure you read the tips on the Red Bulls site if you’re heading to a game from downtown. They could save you from missing your train if you’re pressed for time before the game.
• Dane Richards. I love watching this guy play. I think he has a chance to play in Europe with one of the top clubs. His ball handling abilities and pitch smarts are second to none in the MLS. He’d make a great mid fielder or right winger to add to Toronto (Mo, are you listening?). If only New York would trade him.
• Juan Pablo Angel. This guy is pure. An amazing talent to witness in the flesh.
• I’ve got to admit that Giants Stadium isn’t the best venue to watch a soccer game. It’s big and the site lines aren’t the best. It’s obviously a stadium built to watch American Football games. Anything that happens on the sidelines on the side you’re watching from might as well not even happen because you can’t see anything below the players’ torsos.
• I was happy to see a small but supportive crowd at Giants Stadium. There were many fans wearing Red Bull jerseys and they were reactive to referee calls and the events on the field. It’s good to see that there’s a level of dedication from the fans that came out for the game. It’s a sign that the team is building a good core of supporters. With a new stadium, I can easily see attendance doubling for games.
• The New York Red Bulls supporters section was quite organised and loud throughout the course of the game. The section was about 400 – 500 members strong. There were no flags but a good amount of banners and some original chants. They made a stadium that was 1/10th full seem quite initimate.
• New York Red Bulls jerseys. They are sick. I bought an away jersey.
• The Red Bulls new arena appropriately named Red Bull Arena. Looks like it’s going to put BMO to shame… Real grass, covered seating and 25,000 seats (of which I hope most are filled next season).
• Concessions. Lines were quick but the choices sucked. Pop was $4.50 and beers were $8.25 American.

I had a great time watching a football game at somewhere other than BMO Field. The official attendance, at 8,508, was low but in a stadium that holds 80,000 and change for Giants games I was surprised at the amount of noise that was generated on plays, bad ref calls and the two goals that New York scored; which bring me to my final point. The state of the MLS.

In order for the league to grow and mature I really believe that all the teams in the league need strong fan support. Teams like Toronto and Seattle can’t keep the league afloat and alive if there’s many teams averaging under 10,000 patrons per game. I’m hopeful that New York’s move to their own stadium will spark additional interest in the team. New York is the melting pot of America so there’s lots of potential fans in the city and the surrounding area. I have a feeling that New Yorkers (and New Jerseyites?) will be more apt to support a team that plays in their own stadium. With the Red Bulls playing in an American Football stadium I feel that many potential fans feel as if the Red Bulls are a fly by the seat of your pants team that doesn’t have a strong future.

Making the move to their own stadium next year will change these sentiments tremendously and hopefully push the remaining MLS teams playing in rented stadiums to make the move to their own stadiums. Having a stadium that is easily accessible from downtown New York will also change things immensely for the better as far as attendance goes (From the Red Bull Arena site, here are the directions to the stadium: From World Trade Center. Take the PATH Train towards Newark (Red Line) and exit at the Harrison station [second to last stop]. Estimated travel time is 20 minutes. Exit the station onto Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard. Red Bull Arena in three blocks to the east.)

If the push to get other teams to move to their own stadiums (New England, D.C United, Kansas City and Houston) can’t happen then the MLS should relocate these teams to other cities because there’s plenty of cities and provincal/state governments willing to shell out big bucks to build soccer specific stadiums (Ottawa, Montreal, St. Louis, Maryland, Miami and even Las Vegas just to name a few). I believe that for the MLS to compete with the NBA’s MLB’s and NHL’s of the world, the league will have to take some drastic measures with some of the smaller teams who cannot afford or are not saavy enough to build their own venue. Although a huge cost, a team with their own stadium adds heaps of credibility to their case as potential entertainment outlet. Once the Red Bulls move to their new stadium in 2010, I’m confident the view of the team as an amateur sports outfit will largely disappear amongst New Yorkers. And with the marketing power of Red Bull, I hope there’s nothing but sell outs for the team in the future.