Case Study

Gatorade College Football Activations 2021

Gatorade Sweat Earns Championships Sweepstakes

Overview

Looking to capitalize on the excitement of the return of fans to college football, Gatorade and their creative agency Motive partnered with Marketing Resources Inc. to administer a fun promotional program highlighting three of the biggest conferences in college football; the SEC, ACC, and Big Ten! Gatorade and Motive developed a high-end look and feel to the creative, with the MRi team bringing the vision to life in three separate promotional microsites, each highlighting the conferences and Gatorade brands and offering a unique experience for the consumers with ties to the conferences.
College Football Activations 2021

Few times are more exciting than the start of college football! With school back in session, Fall in the air, and fans back in the stands, the 2021 season looked to mark an amazing return of the tradition. Gatorade, a brand synonymous with college sports, especially Football, wanted to develop a consumer promotion that amplifies Gatorade’s SEC, ACC, and Big Ten football partnerships, exciting consumers and driving relevance and sales in Convenience and Gas South and Central Division Markets. To help make the programs a success, the Gatorade teams and partners wanted to; build on the success of the 2020 programs, creating a simple, seamless consumer experience; attempt to limit “sweepers” participating by setting program limits and creating relevant prizing incentives; localize the campaign, ensuring registered users are located in key South and Central Division states only, and ensure no purchase is required. This was no simple or easy task.

Gatorade’s Promotional Purpose

With the pandemic beginning to slow down and most of the country resuming at least some semblance of normalcy, Gatorade knew this was the perfect time to connect with their consumers. As a brand that is nearly synonymous with sports and championships, and with the college football season just around the corner, Gatorade and MRi set their sets on a related promotional campaign.

Campaign Playbook

In an effort to better connect with their consumers on even deeper levels, Gatorade hoped to create a localized program, tapping into the rich emotions surrounding college football (it’s ok, we all get a little teary-eyed watching our favorite team take the field sometimes, this is a safe space). So, we created three distinct campaigns centered around three huge football conferences, the SEC, ACC, and Big Ten.

Tapping into these local markets and offering rewards specific to those regions (someone in Alabama won’t be too jazzed about Big Ten tickets, but boy would they love SEC tickets..), Gatorade was able to more effectively connect with and incentivize their loyal fans.

Each distinct campaign of course had a corresponding microsite. As always, these MRi developed sites were the central hubs for their associated promotional programs. They each featured important info for the programs including rules, how to enter, and frequently asked questions.

SEC Program

Open to consumers in the South Division states, users can enter daily for the chance to win a trip to the 2021 SEC Football Championship game and score some daily Gatorade SEC swag available as instant win prizes. Adding to the excitement, the program includes an AR filter developed specifically for the campaign, where users can use #GatoradeSECSweepstakes to post their photo(s) and get a GP bonus entry.

ACC Program purchase incentive

ACC Program

Open to consumers in the South Division states with ties to the ACC, users can enter daily for the chance to win a Grand Prize trip to the 2021 ACC Football Championship game and score some daily Gatorade ACC swag available as instant win prizesThis program also has weekly, changing Poll Questions based on the ACC football season that users can complete to earn one (1) Grand Prize bonus entry each week.

Big Ten Program

Open to consumers in the Central Division states with ties to the Big Ten, users can enter daily for the chance to win a Grand Prize trip to the 2021 Big Ten Football Championship game and score some daily Gatorade Big Ten swag available as instant win prizes. This program also has weekly, changing Poll Questions based on the Big Ten football season that users can complete to earn one (1) Grand Prize bonus entry each week.

The Results

3

Distinct Campaigns

1

Grand Prize Awarded Each Week

>

20

Lucky Fans

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Oak Park/Hybrid

Systems and Network Administrator

About Us

Marketing Resources, Inc. is a leading promotional marketing agency that specializes in purpose-driven promotions. With over 25 years in the business, MRi helps brands Identify, Develop, Execute, and Analyze promotions and marketing projects that consumers love. We’re a team full of committed, passionate, solutions-driven, hands-on, and innovative individuals who collaborate to bring success to our client’s programs.

Overview

The System and Network Administrator plays a critical role on the MRi Digital team, and overall in the success of our company. They are responsible for the day-to-day administration and technical support of complex Linux servers, Virtual Infrastructure and Systems Management, and maintenance and support of end-user systems. You’ll be working closely with our teams on client projects and making sure our internal systems are updated and secure. 

Our ideal candidate will be proactive, have great organizational skills, not shy away from communication with our teams, think through and help solve different problems, and gain an understanding of our business to help our team achieve amazing results.

In this role, we’re looking for that person who does not accept average.

You will help us create the best digital, promotions, products, and campaigns to achieve our client’s marketing goals. MRi takes pride in our ability to constantly push the boundaries of development in the digital promotions space, and you will take an active role in working closely with our client services, business development, creative, and project management team to guide, develop, and deliver exceptional work for our clients and partners.

Our ideal candidate will be proactive, have great organizational skills, not shy away from communication with our teams, think through and help solve different problems, and gain an understanding of our business to help our team achieve amazing results.

Responsibilities May Include

  • Design, install, configure, upgrade, maintain, monitor, and tune performance of Linux-based servers and infrastructure, both internal and client-related promotions.
  • Provide support for problems and issues that come up from our clients, vendors, and internal teams.
  • Examine and audit various server logs and determine if any corrective action is required.
  • Review releases of new operating systems and evaluate the implementation in the enterprise.
  • Install, configure, and maintain server firewall and other security software.
  • Identify and provide technical resolution for potential security breaches, then establish and monitor security and apply appropriate fixes.
  • Implement and maintain technical solutions for disaster recovery and business continuity of enterprise and client systems.
  • Select the ideal server hardware for the company’s needs and administer physical server hardware, including repair and replacement of parts as necessary.
  • Monitor and maintain proper end-user system security by ensuring operating systems and software are up-to-date and applying patches as necessary.
  • Maintenance and support of all end-user service accounts including Office365, Google Workspace, hosted VoIP accounts.

The Essentials

  • 1-2 years of experience in Linux server administration in a small to midsize environment.
  • Bachelor’s degree or minimum 4 years of related work experience.
  • Able to effectively plan, deploy and administer Linux servers in an enterprise environment.
  • Strong familiarity with Linux OS, Windows, macOS, application, and hardware troubleshooting.
  • Familiarity with VMware ESXi and XenServer/XCP-NG, DigitalOcean, Amazon AWS, and Docker.
  • Networking and Storage – Familiarity with pfSense (*BSD pf) firewalls, Ubiquiti network gear, Synology NAS equipment, iSCSI, NFS, SMB, and AFP file protocols.  TCP/IP, UDP, and VLAN. configurations to manage networking and storage.  
  • Ability to compose thorough and clear documentation on routine tasks, standard operating procedures, and other documents beneficial to team members.

You’ll stand out if you have experience with

  • Debian-based Linux or Ubuntu operating systems, roles, services, concepts, security, permissions, middleware, and facilities required. (e.g. SMTP, NFS, SMB, iptables, LVM, LUKS).
  • Amazon AWS S3, EC2, and ElasticBeanstalk required.
  • Samba4 as an Active Directory Domain Controller, Administering Active Directory through. the use of GPOs and OUs.
  • Supporting Windows and macOS systems.
  • Scripting concepts and methods with competence in at least one relevant language (e.g. Bash, Python, Perl, etc.)
  • Internet clients/servers/protocols, including HTTPS, SSH, MTAs (e.g. Postfix).
  • An ability to explain complex technical processes in a more simplified version to team members, clients, and partners.
  • Experience with IT project management practices and techniques.
  • Strong written and oral communication skills.

The Perks

  • Medical insurance options
  • Dental insurance
  • 401(K) plan with company match
  • Flexible remote work policy
  • Paid sick days
  • Generous vacation and paid holidays

Interested in applying?

Send Resumes to resumes@marketingresources.com