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First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat into a Cultural Phenomenon
Published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Gatorade's invention, First in Thirst chronicles the rise of the sports drink industry and the near-monopoly that Gatorade has built and maintained through savvy marketing and branding strategies. Gatorade's history spans the nutrition and fitness fads as well as the rise of celebrity endorsers and designer advertising. Rovell has gained access to virtually all of the key figures in this colorful and instructive story, from the original inventors to top executives to well-known athletes and coaches. The book includes exclusive accounts of the drink's invention, and takes an inside look at the evolution of a global phenomenon. In many ways, Gatorade has found the Holy Grail of product it not only created and perfected a great product, it also singlehandedly built the need and the market that would ensure that product's dominance year after year. "Given its prominence and brand equity, it's amazing we've had to wait until now to read the story about the domination of Gatorade. Darren Rovell will quench your thirst by deftly weaving the tale from its humble beginnings to its extraordinary market share and iconic brand status." -- David Stern, NBA Commissioner "Well dump a bucket of green juice over my head! This guy knows how to tell a story. What a great insider's look at the building of a brand that people believe in." -- Seth Godin, author, All Marketers Are Liars
243 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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378 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 16, 2015
It was a neat success story about the emergence of Gatorade, but the entire book could have fit in a better written (and shorter) article on sports marketing. I took away a couple of good branding insights, nonetheless. 2 stars for this week's marketing fix.
November 29, 2015
Interesting book on one of the major success stories in marketing. Dr. Cade was a Renaissance man who wasn't just professor of Medicine, a renal specialist, a world-class violinist, a Studebaker car aficionado and restorer, biblical scholar and very generous and kind person but he and his colleagues built a Trust to send deserving students to College and Medical School. I had the privilege of working with him as a consultant on a couple of other inventions for a short period of time.
June 28, 2010
Terrible writing quality, but informative. Props for making the history of Gatorade into a good read.
November 17, 2019
There are some great lessons in this book -- like how challenging Gatorade was to drink made it seem more effective, or how setting up a situation for Gatorade to be naturally used was far more valuable than paying for it to be used.
The book was really strangely written, with sentences that made no sense in the context of the paragraph they were in. Sometimes it felt like an Associated Press article stretched out into an entire book.
It seems like the early stages of growth were completely skipped over, which was a shame. That's usually the stage of a company I'm most interested in.
The book was really strangely written, with sentences that made no sense in the context of the paragraph they were in. Sometimes it felt like an Associated Press article stretched out into an entire book.
It seems like the early stages of growth were completely skipped over, which was a shame. That's usually the stage of a company I'm most interested in.
July 8, 2019
This was an interesting read. It was more of a marketing/branding/business book than a history. Each section was interesting and some were very detailed. I don’t read much non-fiction, yet still found this book interesting.
April 17, 2023
Strong narrative by Darren Novell who manages to show how unscripted Gatorade’s narrative was when the company was founded and how structured it became in order for the company to maintain its amazing reputation
July 16, 2019
A great resource for people interested in sports marketing.
October 28, 2019
Very well-written. I was fascinated reading how Gatorade started and the evolution of the competition and marketing strategy.
August 26, 2020
Started fascinating and slowly dulled into a story of corporate and legal wars.
October 15, 2013
I enjoyed this book. It is a great history of the Gatorade brand. It was obviously written by a marketing person. It spends a massive section talking about the Michael Jordan commercial and give the Quaker Oats buyout of Stokely only a passing mention. Why did Quaker want Gatorade? The book doesn't give clear answer. That said, if you have ever been curious how Gatorade has been able to maintain 80% market share in the sport drink market, you should read this book.
June 30, 2011
I'm a runner who uses Gatorade for all long runs/races so I was interested in this. It's not bad, by any means, but I found it rambling at times and in desperate need of a good editing. Still, I loved the stories of the very first Gatorade and how disgusting it tasted. :)
September 10, 2011
I bought this because it was a 99c sale on Kindle, and because I like Darren Rovell's sports biz talk on Twitter. The writing is standard book-report like reporting, but the best parts are about how Gatorade approached branding and taking on Coke and Pepsi.
August 13, 2012
This was a light and overall entertaining history of how Gatorade was developed and marketed. Along the way, it looks at Michael Jordan's involvement with the brand, the battles with POWERade, and more. It wasn't deep writing, but it didn't need to me. I learned a lot about the brand.
December 6, 2013
It's interesting, but it's pretty much all about marketing for the drink. I was hoping for a bit more, like In-N-Out Burger by Stacy Perman, but this book is too structure, where you feel that you are reading a text book for an prerequisite to get into the program in advertising.
August 9, 2016
Everybody knows Gatorade. However the most well known cheap drink have evolved decades and decades to become a world wide sport drink. The process of growth might sound easy but success didn't happen without effort and passion.
January 15, 2008
Great insider look at the building of a brand I use everyday
January 27, 2008
It taught me a lot about the drink that I have everyday.
It often seemed somewhat boring, but many facts and factoids were very interesting.
It often seemed somewhat boring, but many facts and factoids were very interesting.
August 20, 2011
I knew that Gatorade came from the University of Florida, but this book truly explains the marketing genius over the lifetime of Gatorade. I enjoyed, even though i do not like Gatorade.
September 2, 2020
Similar to other business books like Shoe Dog, First in Thirst is a remarkable account of how a small start up became a household name - and a billion dollar success story.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews