First in Thirst
How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat Into a Cultural Phenomenon
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Gatorade is an enthralling story, brought to life in bright color and sharp detail in this book as journalist and author Darren Rovell chronicles every astonishing milestone of the company’s history.
With unprecedented access to the inventors, the marketers, the analysts and observers, and key company figures past and present, Rovell recounts the sweat-drenched University of Florida football practices, the first (unpalatable) prototypes, and the commercial and financial interest that quickly took hold following the drink’s first on-field successes. Then came the advertising, sponsorships, product placements (many of them fortuitous), and finally the two milestones that cemented Gatorade’s iconic status once and for all -- the ubiquitous Gatorade bath and the Michael Jordan "Be Like Mike" endorsement deal.
With refreshing candor, First in Thirst also offers an inside look at all the aspects that went into building the brand, such as:
negotiations,battles,lawsuits,mergers and acquisitions,product strategies,lucky breaks,and even the mishaps that have attended Gatorade’s reign as the 800-pound gorilla of the sports-drink scene.
First in Thirst identifies the nine Gatorade Rules, business principles that have helped Gatorade become one of the most dominant brands ever. By adhering to these principles, businesses in other industries may achieve greater brand recognition and market share. Long before America knew what "deep-down body thirst" was, a team of university scientists had already invented something to quench it. This book is the story of the product and the company, and of America’s fascination with the one and only Gatorade.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
What began in 1965 as the after-hours project of four University of Florida doctors, Gatorade has grown into an internationally renowned brand that today comprises 80 percent of the U.S. sports drink market it created. A lifelong Gatorade consumer and ESPN.com's sports business writer, Rovell locates the increasingly wide intersection of sports, business and popular culture, creating an account wide in scope, rich in details and sufficiently varied to keep the pages turning. Rovell's research pays big dividends in entertaining stories, relating, for instance, when Florida's head football coach, Ray Graves, initially allowed the doctors to test Gatorade, but only on his freshman team; or the late nights before games when the doctors could be found in the lab squeezing lemons into the concoction to mask its then-rancid taste; or Stokely Van-Camp's decision, when buying Gatorade from the doctors and their investors, to compensate the Gatorade Trust on a royalty structure instead of paying a flat $1 million fee, which "turned out to be a boon for the doctors. Instead of collecting a couple of hundred thousand dollars each, they were to earn more than $30 million each over the next 40 years;" and even criticism of Gatorade by those who assert the company "overpromotes hydration in order to promote its product." Throughout his account, Rovell reveals the many secrets of Gatorade's success, portraying the company as an ever-evolving pioneer that continually tweaks its business model to remain on top, a sports analogy to be sure.
