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Case Studies

Gatorade

Challenge: Effectively communicate Gatorade's message to certified athletic trainers about the importance of properly hydrating athletes.

Solution: Create a unique, cost-efficient communication tool featuring entertaining and engaging information that appeals directly to the target audience.

Details
During activity, heat exhaustion and dehydration are a concern. Each year, more than 300 people die of heat-related illnesses with children and teens being the most susceptible, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Knowing how to prevent and treat dehydration can be the difference between life and death.

To ensure young athletes are properly cared for, Gatorade initiated an awareness program targeting certified athletic trainers. This educational program stressed the importance of keeping hydrated. Gatorade partnered with imc2 to create the interactive component of the program. Utilizing its proprietary multimedia education platform, VivilogueSM (www.vivilogue.com), imc2 developed the Gatorology CD-ROM as an informative, interactive program that connected with Gatorade's key professional audience.

This interactive supplement leads viewers on an entertaining, yet informative journey about dehydration. Gatorology has five chapters on various topics including dehydration's dangers and consequences, disadvantages of plain water, fluid emptying, absorption and transfer, the osmotic impetus and performance edge. Each chapter incorporates a number of engaging features such as a virtual body tour that demonstrates how the body is hydrated and the physiological changes when the body is dehydrated, as well as voiceover by Dr. Bob Murray, director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. After viewing the dehydration tutorial, visitors are directed to the Gatorade Sports Science Institute website to receive continuing education units.

The Gatorology CD-ROM includes four additional sections about dehydration. These sections vary from downloadable materials and tools providing further aide for athletic trainers to an interactive weight chart showing proper pre- and post-workout goals.

Formatted as a CD-ROM and included in a direct-mail kit, Gatorade sent the Gatorology CD to athletic trainers before the start of the school year. Gatorade also added the presentation to its online resources allowing them the opportunity to prepare athletic trainers for the seasons ahead while further promoting the safety of athletes everywhere.