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  • SUB CATEGORY :
    USE OF MOBILE & DEVICES
  • ENTRANT COMPANY :
    LEO, MUMBAI
  • TITLE :
    TURF FINDER
  • BRAND :
    GATORADE
  • ADVERTISER :
    GATORADE
  • AGENCY :
    LEO INDIA, MUMBAI
  • CHAIRMAN :
    RAJDEEPAK DAS
  • CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER :
    AMITESH RAO
  • CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :
    VIKRAM PANDEY/SACHIN KAMBLE
  • EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :
    HIMANISH ASHAR/AYSHWARYA SHARMA
  • CREATIVE DIRECTOR :
    DURGESH AMBLE
  • ART DIRECTOR :
    ASHWIN YADAV/SILVI KASLIWAL/MEGHA SUD/PRASINDHA M
  • COPYWRITER :
    RISHAV CHATTERJEE
  • ANIMATOR SPECIAL EFFECTS :
    ROHAN MIRGAL
  • CLIENT SERVICE DIRECTOR :
    JAIKRIT SINGH
  • ACCOUNT MANAGER :
    SAKSHI CHAWLA
  • STRATEGIC PLANNING MANAGER :
    PRITISH MUKHERJEE
  • PLANNER :
    VARSH R
  • FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :
    OFFROAD FILMS, MUMBAI
  • DIRECTOR :
    AKANKSHA SEDA
  • EXECUTIVE PRODUCER :
    KHALIL BACHOOALI
  • FILM PRODUCER :
    FAHAD PATHAN
  • CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :
    India’s hydration market is a battlefield of juices, energy drinks, and water, leaving little room for a specialized sports drink like Gatorade. Despite being the global leader in hydration, Gatorade was losing relevance in India. The real challenge? Sports were disappearing—not out of choice but compulsion. Only 2% of 1.4 billion Indians actively played sports. Urbanization had erased playgrounds, and sports infrastructure spending was under $10 per capita. Without sweat, hydration had no context.
    Gatorade needed a radical shift—from marketing hydration to enabling play. Enter Turf Finder. Using 20 years of Google Maps traffic data, Gatorade identified fleeting windows when streets cleared in India’s most congested cities. At these moments, modular turfs were deployed, turning crowded urban roads into sports arenas. This wasn’t advertising—it was branded utility.
    The execution spanned from Mumbai to India’s biggest cities, with strategic partnerships amplifying the campaign. Collaborations with CultFit and Mumbai’s civic body under the FIT INDIA initiative unlocked 30+ additional locations. Each turf became a space for sweat and sampling, as players rehydrated with Gatorade mid-game.
    The results were groundbreaking: 50,000+ participants, 121% sales growth, $1M earned media value, and a national movement that reshaped urban sports. Turf Finder proved that hydration thrives when brands remove barriers to play.
  • CREATIVITY/IDEA/INSIGHT :
    Space in Indian cities isn’t static—it’s a factor of time. Streets that choke with traffic during rush hour become unexpectedly empty during off-peak hours, dictated by office schedules, factory shifts, and transit surges. While urbanization has erased playgrounds, Gatorade realized that space wasn’t gone—it was just mistimed.
    This insight inspired Gatorade Turf Finder, a creative solution that turned fleeting opportunities into playable moments. Using 20 years of Google Maps data, the campaign analyzed traffic density, pedestrian flow, and congestion patterns to identify precise windows when streets briefly emptied. These temporal openings became a new blueprint for urban play.
    At those moments, Gatorade deployed modular turfs, transforming roads into sports arenas—cricket on narrow lanes, football on wider streets, and badminton courts in compact spaces. This wasn’t just about selling hydration—it was about enabling play.
    By aligning space and time, Gatorade created a dynamic new utility for sports, proving that even in India’s densest cities, play could find a place. The idea was simple yet groundbreaking: don’t wait for permanent spaces—activate the ones that already exist. This redefined Gatorade’s role, making it a brand that didn’t just market hydration but created the conditions for it to thrive.
  • STRATEGY :
    India’s hydration market was saturated with lifestyle beverages like juices, water, and energy drinks, making it difficult for Gatorade, a performance-driven sports drink, to find relevance. The bigger challenge wasn’t just competition—it was the lack of active sports culture. With only 2% of India’s population playing sports and urbanization wiping out playgrounds, sports participation had become a rarity.
    The insight? The problem wasn’t interest but access. People wanted to play, but overcrowded cities and disappearing spaces had made play impossible. Hydration had no relevance without sweat, and sweat needed play. Gatorade had to go beyond selling hydration and strategically pivot toward enabling play.
    The campaign targeted urban youth aged 18-35, split into three key cohorts: beginners eager to start, those incorporating fitness into their routines, and sports enthusiasts seeking access to play. The strategy shifted from marketing hydration to creating opportunities for sports, redefining Gatorade’s role as a catalyst for participation. By addressing a critical barrier, Gatorade moved beyond professional athletes and connected with everyday players, making sports hydration relevant in urban India.
  • EXECUTION :
    Gatorade's Turf Finder transformed India’s chaotic streets into opportunities for play through precise execution driven by data. The campaign began with analyzing 20 years of Google Maps data, pinpointing 150+ high-density locations where traffic congestion temporarily cleared. These fleeting windows became the foundation of the campaign.
    When these windows opened, Gatorade deployed modular, state-of-the-art turfs—football on wider roads, cricket on mid-sized lanes, and badminton in narrower streets. The turfs were designed for rapid assembly and dismantling, ensuring they didn’t disrupt the city’s rhythm but maximized playtime. Each drop was geo-targeted, notifying nearby participants in real-time and drawing hundreds of players.
    The campaign launched in Mumbai in March 2024 and expanded to India’s largest cities within four months. Partnerships with CultFit and Mumbai’s civic body unlocked additional locations under the FIT INDIA initiative, turning the campaign into a national movement. Additionally, every turf drop doubled as a sampling channel where players naturally consumed Gatorade mid-game, experiencing its benefits firsthand.
    This execution wasn’t just about activation; it was a live blueprint for reclaiming urban space for sports. Turf Finder didn’t just fit into the city—it transformed it, proving that sports and hydration could thrive, even in the densest urban landscapes.
  • RESULT :
    Tangible Business Impact:
    • 121% sales growth in Mumbai.
    • 4% profit margin increase.
    • $1M earned media value.
    Engagement and Participation:
    • 50,000+ players engaged across 150+ mapped locations.
    • Each turf drop attracted 100+ participants per session, making play a reality in previously inaccessible areas.
    Cultural Shift:
    • 72% of participants reported feeling motivated to continue playing sports after the activation.
    • Gatorade reshaped urban sports by creating a movement that extended beyond just hydration.
    Partnership Success:
    • Collaborations with CultFit and Mumbai’s civic body expanded play locations under the FIT INDIA initiative, unlocking 30+ new sites.
    Digital and Awareness Impact:
    • Reached 111M people.
    • Generated 51.39M impressions and 40.3K website visits.
    • Top-of-mind awareness increased by 2 percentage points, and consideration to buy rose by 3 points.
    Turf Finder wasn’t just an activation—it drove real-world change by addressing systemic barriers, reshaping behavior, and delivering business growth.
  • URL :
    https://youtu.be/kBw2IdYYdvE?si=MFAlMY7lpo7sBVbO