GlaxoSmithKline is revamping Lucozade Sport after admitting last year’s major marketing push failed to strike gold for the sub-brand.

Lucozade Sport is being given a sports-focused £15m relaunch fronted by four brand ambassadors: Manchester United footballer Ashley Young, runner Mo Farah, triple jumper Phillips Idowu and gymnast Louis Smith.

The campaign, which kicks off tomorrow (8 January) with a TV campaign comprising four 30-second ads, reinforces the ties with sport established when Liverpool footballer John Barnes fronted the brand’s launch in 1990.

Under the slogan ‘Faster. Stronger. For Longer’, the campaign, which will also include 7,500 outdoor ads, will push the message that compared with water, Lucozade Sport helps consumers exercise better and for longer.

The company admitted that the big-budget ‘Yes’ campaign it launched last May - which featured musicians including rapper Tinie Tempah and was designed to help the overall Lucozade brand compete with Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar - had not worked as well for Sport as it had for Lucozade Energy.

“There was no actual sport shown in the 2011 activity and, to be honest, some elements worked and some didn’t,” said Lucozade Sport brand 
director Simon Freedman, who added that the new push would also feature the ‘Yes’ tag. “We have reconsidered the way the ‘Yes’ identity is used in our Sport advertising and remain confident ‘Yes’ will be just as effective for Sport.”

Sales of Lucozade Energy have risen 6% year-on-year to £256.5m while Lucozade Sport has fallen 1.9% to £116.4m [Nielsen 52w/e 1 October 2011].

The company is also expecting events such as the Olympics and Euro 2012 to help revive the brand’s fortunes. “When big sporting events are held, sports participation increases significantly,” said Freedman.

GSK has also revamped the brand’s bottles and will be rolling out the new design from this month.

Source

Vince Bamford

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