BodyArmor’s new NHL deal is part of a play to partner with ‘all the major sports’

One brand’s misfortune is another brand’s treasure.

After BioSteel, which used to be the official hydration partner of the NHL and its players’ association, filed for bankruptcy right around the start of the league’s 2023–24 season, there was an opening for a new partner. The sports sponsorship space is especially competitive in the beverage category, so when BodyArmor CMO Tom Gargiulo heard the news about BioSteel, he said he jumped at the chance.

“BodyArmor has had relationships with a couple of [hockey] players in the past…but it’s been several years since we’ve really played in this sport,” Gargiulo told Marketing Brew. “When we were looking at different opportunities of how to bring our brand to life, and the fact that we just recently launched in Canada, this opportunity popped to the top.”

As the Coca-Cola-owned brand kicks off its five-and-a-half-year deal as the official sports drink of the NHL and NHLPA starting with this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, Gargiulo laid out the company’s goals for the partnership and how he thinks it will contribute to the brand’s larger sports marketing ambitions.

Take it to the bank

The NHL sponsorship will put the BodyArmor sports drink on the league’s benches, in locker rooms, and training facilities, and its branding on coolers, bottles, towels, and benches during games through the 2028–29 season. Gargiulo declined to share financial details of the agreement.

Internally, the main goals of the sponsorship are to drive “awareness…and household penetration,” and, of course, sell more bottles of the sports drink, according to Gargiulo.

“You can’t take household penetration and awareness to the bank,” Gargiulo said. “You take dollar sales to the bank.”

As part of the deal, Gargiulo said he hopes BodyArmor can contribute to the growth of the sport. To that end, the brand is kicking off an initiative called “Ice on Us” on June 8 that will give people in the US and Canada access to certain ice rinks for free on that day.

The cool kids

Hockey is basically a religion in the Great White North, Gargiulo said, making the NHL an ideal fit for a brand looking to attract Canadian consumers. The sport is also showing signs of growth in the US, so the NHL deal is a “win-win” for BodyArmor, he said

BodyArmor is looking to appeal to consumers of all ages, but the NHL’s relatively young fanbase and talent pool was especially attractive, according to Gargiulo.

“The league is going through a renaissance in terms of the youth movement,” he said. “Their players are getting younger and more exciting and more dynamic, scoring is at an all-time high, since they moved to ESPN and Turner they’ve seen a tremendous growth in viewership, and their fan base continues to grow younger and more diverse. For us, it was a ripe opportunity to get a property that’s going through a major growth trajectory.”

Part of BodyArmor’s deal with the NHL includes a presence in NHL Street, the league’s youth hockey league, as well as a partnership with the Under-18 International Ice Hockey Federation youth tournament. To further court young NHL fans, BodyArmor is leveraging the NHL’s EA Sports and Roblox properties and is sponsoring the Hobey Baker Award for collegiate and high school men’s ice hockey players, Gargiulo said.

Not only are NHL fans skewing younger, but they’re “one of the most loyal fan bases you’ll find in professional sports,” he said. Beyond that, he added, the NHL audience is fairly unique compared to other sports in which BodyArmor has player partnerships, like the NFL, NBA, and MLB, which often tend to have “a lot of overlap.”

Prime time

Despite that overlap, BodyArmor “ultimately still wants to have a presence in all the major sports,” Gargiulo said. It’s the official sports drink of MLS, a partner of US Soccer, and it sponsors athletes from the WNBA, NWSL, NFL, NBA, MLB, and Nascar.

“One of the things that we invest heavily in is the partnerships we have with professional athletes,” he said. “They help bring credibility to the brand, but also help us talk to our consumers in unique and different ways…Typically our blueprint is going after players that are just on the cusp of hitting their prime.”

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, for instance, is a BodyArmor partner whose profile is on the rise despite a wrist injury ending his season early. The brand also partnered with Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young before he was drafted, and has been building out its work in women’s sports: WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu and NWSL legend Alex Morgan both work with BodyArmor, and it recently signed sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, both up-and-coming NWSL players.

BodyArmor’s NHL athlete roster could be growing next. The brand signed Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who was previously partnered with BioSteel, in January, and its association with the NHLPA could help it find players to use in future ad campaigns or otherwise partner with, Gargiulo said.