Red Bull’s explosive rise in the beverage industry shows the power of a bold marketing strategy. Discover how unique campaigns and high-energy branding helped Red Bull become a global success.
Red Bull Energy Drink Case study
In 2019, Red Bull sold 7.9 billion cans, more than the world’s population at that time. Without having great taste nor being a healthy alternative, Red Bull manages to sell billions of dollars every year. It’s all happening just because of their marketing strategy. Red Bull outsources its drinks and is essentially just a marketing company. There are already Pepsi and Coca-Cola, which have most of the market share, but how does a new company make its space in the soft drink business?
The Inspiration Behind Red Bull: Dietrich’s Jet Lag Solution
In 1982, Red Bull’s founder Dietrich Mateschitz got jet lag while traveling from Australia to Thailand. For some days he couldn’t sleep well. The first time he tried Chaleo’s product Krating Daeng, he felt better and was able to sleep. This experience excited him, and he started thinking about how many people in the world were victims of low energy. If they could sell this kind of drink, others would also have a pleasant experience. He brought to Australia a new concept, new formula, and new format that was completely an energy drink.
Targeting Youth and Using Negative PR to Build Buzz
Dietrich and Chaleo teamed up together, but to market their product, they chose the teenage generation. Dietrich knew targeting teenagers for energy drinks would be easy, and teenagers would also grasp the concept of energy drinks. They appointed some campus ambassadors to host parties so that students could come to the college parties and try Red Bull. One of the rumors was that they use bull’s sperm to make their soft drinks. Though they didn’t clarify that in the media, they used it as negative PR and marketing.
The Legendary Stratos Project: Marketing Stunt of the Century
One of the most famous and genius strategies they came up with was the “Stratos” project. They decided to throw a man from the stratosphere (an atmospheric layer composed of stratified temperature layers) to break the record for the highest free fall jump. They got hold of a professional skydiver named Felix Baumgartner. They spent 65 million dollars on preparation and social media campaigns. Everyone thought it was crazy, but in terms of visibility, they got 8 million live stream viewers, making it the most-watched YouTube live in history. They got 52 million views on the webcast, it was shown on 72 TV stations, generated 3.2 million tweets, 22,000 Instagram photos, and more than 130,000 Facebook shares. Eventually, they got tons of PR. As a result, sales rose by 7% in the following 6 months, generating 1.6 billion dollars in revenue.
Building a Legacy Through Extreme Sports Sponsorships
They pick extreme emotions and exciting sports to endorse them. They pick this to align with their energy drink concept. They also own football, racing, ice hockey, and other exciting sports to spread visibility to the people. And also it was their long-term goal. The sports teams they own have their players also advertise to raise its popularity. With all these marketing strategies, they became a successful company in the energy drink category.
Conclusion
Red Bull create new dynamic for the energy drink industry. It’s not just a energy drink company, actually it’s a marketing company which sells energy drink. Do you ever drink Red Bull? Share your thoug
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