Gatorade Initiative Aims to Keep Young Australian Athletes in the Game

PepsiCo ANZ has launched Gatorade’s global Fuel Tomorrow program in Australia, unveiling a national platform designed to help more young people stay in sport. The campaign was brought to life by Team Fuel, which delivered a fully integrated campaign spanning research, strategy, creative, digital, partnerships and earned media.

Fuel Tomorrow is Gatorade’s long-term global mission to help 2.5 million young people access the life-changing power of sport by 2030. In Australia, Gatorade commissioned The Centre of Sport and Social Impact (CSSI) from La Trobe University to conduct a study to better understand confidence as a barrier to participation in team sports for young people.

The research culminated in an academic white paper identifying the ten key principles for building a teen's confidence to participate in team sport, which underpin the entire Fuel Tomorrow program locally.

Susan Press, marketing director at Gatorade ANZ, said, “Fuel Tomorrow is about creating long-term change, and that starts with truly listening to teens.

"The white paper was a foundational step in understanding why so many are walking away from sport, and now everything we’re building is shaped by those insights, and we’re excited to bring this to life in a way that feels authentic, actionable and genuinely supportive.”

Team Fuel, a bespoke team model led by Akcelo in collaboration with Chisel, TSE and TRIO, along with research partners REVOLT, FiftyFive5 and Year 13, developed and launched the Fuel Tomorrow platform, bringing the white paper to life and its first initiative to tackle the teen sport confidence crisis: Gatorade Confidence Cards.

Co-developed with Professor of Sports Psychology Richard Keegan, the free digital cards provide conversation prompts to help parents better support their teens after games, particularly during the emotionally-charged car ride home.

As a campaign extension, three documentary-style films will be released, sharing real-life stories from teens who’ve experienced negative pressure in sports that has impacted their confidence. Covering netball, AFL and soccer, the series draws on insights from the white paper and will roll out across social and digital.

In addition, a national partnership with NOVA will see hosts discuss the issue of confidence in teen sport during peak drive-time, helping to raise awareness among parents and kickstart more open conversations at home.

Oliver Cassidy, client partner at Team Fuel / Akcelo, said, “From the moment we were briefed by Gatorade, we could see the passion and commitment the team had to keep teens playing sport.

"The briefing was held in one of the teams own AFL clubs, and as we discussed the impact of team sport on our own lives, it became clear that everyone had a deep connection to the issue and a genuine desire to create real change for teens. We couldn’t be prouder to help make that happen.”