kyle ramsey / bodyarmor
Nine years ago, Michael Fedele had a dream job for any marketer — brand manager for Coke’s Powerade and Vitaminwater.
Today, he’s leading marketing for BodyArmor, employing a classic challenger marketing approach and a “better-for-you” positioning to build a brand on track to reach $1 billion in sales this year. BodyArmor is expected to surpass Powerade in market share this year.
And, Coca-Cola is now an investor in BodyArmor, having bought a minority interest two years ago. “It’s been a surreal journey,” Fedele said.
It seems appropriate that Fedele’s career is somewhat circular. He started in the music business at Atlantic Records. “Whether it was music, sports, or beverages, I was always fascinated by what was cool and why, and how you could use that to connect to consumers,” he said.
Fedele was recruited in 2012 by BodyArmor founder Mike Repole, who’d already created Glaceau, parent of Vitaminwater, and sold it to Coke for $4.2 billion. Repole convinced Fedele there was room for a healthier isotonic beverage.
Fedele countered Gatorade’s long-established league rights by signing high-profile athletes like Mike Trout and Rob Gronkowski, and charting a course on unfamiliar waters.
“There was no blueprint for successfully taking on Gatorade,” Fedele recalled. “When you asked people to name a sports drink, 99% said Gatorade, so we used them as a rock to push off of. We poked the bear a bit with our creative, and got athletes like Kobe [Bryant], Trout, and eventually James Harden, that got consumers’ attention. We were never going to have their budget, so we needed to be creative and disruptive.”
Surely, some of Coke’s investment was prompted by Repole’s reputation, and some because Gatorade is owned by Pepsi. Whichever, it’s clear that Fedele’s been orchestrating the right tunes at BodyArmor.
Vice President, Marketing, BodyArmor
Age: 40 (turned 40 in January)
Born: Stamford, Conn.
Education: University of New Haven, B.A., music business; University of Connecticut, MBA
Family: Wife, Vanessa; son, Cameron (7); daughter, Sienna (5)
Advice to my 20-year-old self: Study harder, but still have fun.
Guilty pleasure: Hardcore gangsta hip-hop music.
Could not go a day without: Communicating with my family.
Cause supported: Youth sports, in and around Stamford, Conn.
Person I’d most like to meet: I would love to have met David Stern.
Most unusual question asked while networking: “What’s the most important thing I should know about you?” That’s a pretty good one to get right to it.
Sports industry needs to do a better job of … : Making itself more affordable for the average family.
Sports business leaders should be more mindful of … : What consumers want.
You would be surprised to know that I … : Own and wear between four and five dozen pairs of sneakers at any given time.
