Website Analysis: Gatorade v. Powerade

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These two sites, while having similar objectives in their design, took relatively different approaches to do so. The URL for each site is listed at the bottom of the page. It is quite evident that both sites are intended to appeal to a specific, and likely the largest, segment of sports drink consumers - athletes. Both Gatorade and Powerade list their sponsored athletes in hopes generating an image (this is also called positioning). Many firms will encourage customer engagement online, and one easy way to do so is by encouraging followers on twitter. Both companies have a portion of the site dedicated to social channels and following the company on twitter. There is also a portion of each site that lists the various products sold by each firm. Often times firms will attempt to grab the attention of potential consumers with appropriate graphics and videos. The differences in website layouts makes for navigation differences. For Gatorade, the initial website has a simple appearance with a navigation toolbar in plain view. There are also a couple of videos and an advertisement encouraging the viewer to follow Gatorade on twitter. To look at various pages on the website such as products or athletes, one must navigate using the toolbar. For Powerade, the initial website page displays the entire website. One may view everything on the site by merely scrolling to the bottom of the page.  There is a horizontal toolbar at the top of the page that also may be used to navigate to various parts of the website. So which site has a more successful appeal to that valuable customer market segment - the athletes? In the end, it likely becomes a subjective matter where the preferred sponsored athlete (Gatorade v. Powerade) is the deciding factor of the preferred sports beverage.

Gatorade: www.gatorade.com
Powerade: www.powerade.com/index.html