Company Overview: Research Work Led by Robert Cade.
Action Plan Outline
Objective: What will this program accomplish?
Target Market: At which market or markets is this program aimed?
Description of the Program: What are the steps being taken to accomplish the objective? A rich, detailed description is required.
Who: Who is responsible for carrying out this program? (Name of person or job title)
Timing: When will the program take place? (Start and stop dates)
Budget: How much will the program cost?
Measurement: How will the effectiveness of the program be measured? How will the company know that it was successful?
Gatorade came out in 1965 after research work led by Robert Cade from the University of Florida and was developed to help the student athletes of the Gators teams deal with dehydration under the hot Florida weather. As such, the first drink created was Gatorade Thirst Quencher lemon flavor which became the first sports drink and has since been a dominant force in the sports drink market. Gatorade was the first to introduce a broad range of carbs and other electrolytes into their drinks which led to the effectiveness in minimizing the dehydration effects as most sports drinks at that time were based on sugars. The Gators performance improved which drew attention to this great new drink.
Soon the drink gained much attention and an intense marketing campaign began in 1967. In 1969, a second flavor was introduced and it also marked the year that Gatorade entered a commercial contract with Stokely-Van Camp Inc, for the sale and distribution of their products. In 1983, the Quaker Oats bought Gatorade for $200 million after which they aggressively sought the market expansion of products beginning with Canada in 1984 and eventually Europe, Asia, and Australia by 1993 currently 80 different countries. Pepsi Co acquired Gatorade’s parent company Quaker Oats in 2000 and has introduced flavors including glacier freeze, grape, and fruit punch to name a few.