Ever wonder what it takes to be Georges St-Pierre, world welterweight champion of the UFC? That’s the question we asked journalists in order to drive coverage of the G Series, the latest innovation in sports nutrition from Gatorade designed to provide athletes with the necessary fuel, fluid and nutrients before, during and after activity (see the Facebook info tab we built for it here).

(And yes, being naturally blessed with good genes helps but it’s the years of hard work and strategy that have gone into GSP’s training and nutrition regime that have made him into one of the toughest men on the planet.)

 Why did we ask journalists that question?

 The Goal: Generate media coverage for the G Series by focusing on Gatorade athlete Georges St-Pierre’s title fight at UFC 129, the biggest UFC event ever.

The Challenges: No access to GSP himself (in training, naturally…) and a very crowded news week (the UFC’s own activation & the Royal wedding among other things).

The Solution: On April 26, 2011, Gatorade Canada held a day-long media tour with the amazing Firas Zahabi, head trainer to the champ himself.  Firas held court at a downtown Toronto MMA gym to talk about the importance of sport nutrition and teach journalists and bloggers a few key MMA moves that they might see GSP himself throw down.

Outfitted in their G Series-branded gi, media worked up a sweat and got tips from Firas in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and striking stations. Throughout their workout, journalists learned the role the G Series can play in getting the proper nutrition before, during and after training. It’s like Firas says: you can be the fastest car on the track, but if you don’t have the right fuel, you’re not going to go anywhere.  Think you’d have what it takes? Check it out.

This week was a big one for Gatorade Canada: the launch of the new G Series line of products (check out the cool Facebook app we built for it here). With the G Series, Gatorade is moving into a new space (from purely hydration to overall sports nutrition), the kind of move that for such an established brand is never easy.

 One of the tools we used to help move brand perception was video, taking an existing event (a media tour featuring Maëlle Ricker, Olympic Gold Medallist & all round cool snowboarding dude) and carving out just enough time to shoot some video responses to questions we had asked key bloggers to submit. The Hip & Urban Girl’s Guide even made Maëlle their HUG of the week:

While this wasn’t the primary driver of our program, it was great to see bloggers starting to appreciate these types of videos as quality content for their networks. Definitely an easy-to-implement best practice to add extra value to future programs for our clients… let the videos begin!

Today, social media is a buzz word to many brands, but to the Gatorade team at High Road it’s our way of life. A successful social media program is proactive, highly engaging and integrated. Without these elements, a brand can fall flat online.

Using a number of social channels including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube , the Gatorade team at PepsiCo challenged High Road to create a robust and highly engaged online community that was closely connected to and invested in ongoing dialogue with the Gatorade brand.

Our approach to this project reflects some of the key learnings and best practices that we apply to all our social media campaigns:

Be Proactive

Timely and ongoing interaction is how brands build deeper relationships with their audience and keep online communities wanting more. To ensure ongoing engagement, High Road develops daily triage programs to proactively monitor and identify opportunities and breaking news that we can amplify across the brand communities.

Using social media tools including Sysomos and Radian6, we define a set of keywords and refine search teams relevant to the brand and audience. Every day, we prioritize the hottest news, info and rich media to post on Facebook and Twitter.

Based on these results and understanding of relevant events, we also deliver a weekly editorial calendar of scheduled content for the week ahead.

We’re Engaged!

A regular posting schedule is the first step to increasing community engagement online.  The second, and more important factor, is the quality of content. To create an exclusive and exciting experience for Fans and Followers, we regularly focus on amplifying the unique opportunities that every brand brings to the table. For example, we recently covered a photo shoot for Gatorade Canada with MMA world champ Georges St. Pierre by posing a question to our Facebook and Twitter fans:  “If you had one question for GSP, what would it be?” The response was incredible:

One lucky Tweep had her question chosen and GSP responded via video. Asking fans to participate in the conversation is great for engagement levels (having a Canadian MMA hero help out didn’t hurt either) and it positions your brand as a gateway to a special experience.

Don’t Hate, Integrate

A social media strategy is most powerful when it runs seamlessly across all marketing communications initiatives.  An ongoing element of a successful social media strategy is working closely with other agency partners to ensure all marketing initiatives either include or are amplified by social media.

Each step of the way, we are cross pollinating updates on all social media channels, increasing brand visibility and thought leadership online.

Tried, Tested, True

The only way to become a social media star and understand what really resonates with an online community is to measure response and engagement to content and continue to iterate based on these results. We develop detailed reports that highlight insights into social media “wins,” opportunities and benchmarks for future success.

Developing a strong and engaging social media strategy isn’t rocket science, but it does require attention and commitment.  Come join the Gatorade Canada conversation on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube!