Brief:

• PepsiCo's Gatorade sports drink brand launched a free app to help teenage athletes capture and share videos of their best "sports moments." The new Gatorade Highlights app can create broadcast-quality video clips with graphics and "motion stickers," per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
• The stickers move with the action in the videos, letting athletes point out key moments in the clips. Users also can add text overlays that feature their name, number, team and position to their videos.
• Gatorade partnered with technology and design firm Work & Co. on the strategy, digital design and development of the app, which is available on Apple's App Store and Google Play.

Insight:

Sports highlight reels are a staple on social media, with Instagram accounts like Bleacher Report's House of Highlights reaching 13 million followers with its edgy, viral videos. The account is especially popular among young adults and teens who react to its clips and share them with friends. With Gatorade's new app, the beverage brand can tap into that sports subculture on social by giving teen athletes software tools to create their own slickly produced clips.

The app not only is useful as a platform for encouraging user-generated content, but also reinforces the brand's long-term connection with student athletes that dates back to its initial creation for the Florida Gators in the 1960s. Gatorade helped to create the sports drink category, which Orbis Research forecasts will grow to $5.9 billion in 2021 from $4.6 billion three years ago.

Gatorade's latest app extends its tradition of experimenting with the latest technologies. The brand announced in April that it's testing a wearable "sweat patch" that aims to help athletes track their hydration and nutrients lost through perspiration. The brand is testing the patch at its Sports Science Institute in Bradenton, Florida, with a goal of introducing it to consumers next year, Inc. reported. The patch will accompany a mobile app that analyzes the patch and provides personalized recommendations of the right amount of fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrates to drink.

The sports drink brand also appears to be working to reach younger audiences who are more likely to depend on mobile devices for media consumption. It has sponsored a podcast called "The Secret to Victory," produced by Gimlet Media, that highlights how professional athletes overcome defeat and stay motivated to win.