Red Bull Marketing Strategy: Energizing Success with a Fearless Approach

Red Bull is a master in the game of advertisement and marketing. There’s absolutely no doubt about it. ✅️

The concept of Red Bull’s animated cartoon commercials, with so much creativity infused in them, is by far amongst the best ones out there. ?

The energy drink provider’s tagline, “Red Bull gives you wings,” has become its identity marker. ?

It is going to be so fun to decode the successful marketing techniques of this marketing expert. ?⤵️

About Red Bull

Red Bull is a pioneer energy drink company ? based in Austria, widely popular across the world. It is often recognized by the company’s popular tagline, ‘Red Bull gives you wings.’

Founded in 1987, the company dominates around 43% of the market today.

In the year 2022, the company sold an impressive figure of 11.582 billion energy drink cans all around the world.

Red Bull energy drinks have found the most love in the core markets of Western Europe and the USA.

As of 2022, the company works with 15,779 employees spread across 175 countries in the world. ?

QUICK FACT ?- Would you be surprised if I told you that Red Bull has a close relationship with music? Well, in 1998, the Red Bull Music Academy was set up as a workshop and lecture series for aspiring musicians. It went on to organize events and workshops and set up Red Bull Radio and the RBMA Daily.

Red Bull’s History in Short

Red Bull, originally inspired by an energy tonic in Thailand, was founded by Dietrich Mateschitz.

After working on the product for around three years, Mateschitz introduced Red Bull Energy Drink in the Austrian market on April 1, 1987. At that time, Red Bull not only marked the inception of a unique product but also of an entirely new category itself. ?️

QUICK FACT ?- Red Bull inaugurated its journey with the first-ever sale of its can on April 1, 1987.

In the following year, Red Bull went on to organize its maiden event- the Dolomitenmann, considered to be amongst the toughest relay races. This marked the entry of Red Bull into sports. ?‍♀️?‍♂️

From then on, Red Bull became associated with sports events. It began sponsoring athletes, launched its extremely thrilling airshow ✈️, reignited the thrill of cliff diving, etc.

In 1994, Red Bull expanded its market first in Germany. The UK markets were entered a year later and the USA in 1997.

Today, Red Bull has a global identity and is endorsed by athletes across several countries. ?

Marketing strategies of Red Bull

Word of Mouth

Red Bull started as a pioneer product and product category. It could not rely on traditional advertising techniques. So how did they manage to get their product to people??

Well, they straight-up went to their target audience and offered them free samples at parties ?, coffee shops ☕️, libraries ?, etc. Men between the age of 18 and 35 were the primary targets of the company.

Even today, Red Bull does whatever it has to do to be where its audience is- be it a music festival ? or a sporting event ?.

‘…gives you wings’??

This has to be one of the most recognizable taglines of our times.

The essence of this slogan lies in the idea of Red Bull giving its consumers the energy to bring their thoughts into action. It resonates well with the concept of an energy drink, doesn’t it?

QUICK FACT ?- The story of Red Bull’s iconic cartoon commercials began with the launch of its first such advertisement in the year 1992.

Creative content

Red Bull has quite a talented marketing team that creates top-notch content at par with any media outlet ✅️. It is often humorously argued that Red Bull might just be a media house that successfully sold an energy drink. What do you think about this?

The Red Bull media house is the force behind the company’s strong media presence ?. It has engaged in the creation of several TV shows ?, documentaries, and movies, along with print and digital media.

The RB Media House constantly strives to portray Red Bull as a lifestyle brand strengthening its appeal to its target audience, most specifically in extreme sports and adventure space.

QUICK FACT ?- Some of the films and shows created by Red Bull’s media team are ‘Karl Meltzer: Made to be Broken,’ ‘Sail and Run,’ ‘Lessons from the Edge,’ etc.

All these movies and shows are bolti around extreme sports and adventures like running through the Appalachian Trail, the Great Himalayan Trail, and so on.

Publicity Stunts

If you were to search ‘Red Bull stunts’ on YouTube right now, you would have your jaw dropped to the ground. DO IT!??

Red Bull produces some extremely dangerous yet thrilling stunts that people watch with their eyes and mouths open ?. The views that these videos have gained on YouTube are astounding but expected. The infamous Stratos Jump is one such stunt by Red Bull.

Event sponsorship and creation

Red Bull sponsors a lot of sports and cultural events, including Coachella.

Not surprised? Then, did you know that Red Bull is also a creator and organizer of a bunch of such events??

Cliff Diving, the Flugtag airshow, and the Soapbox races are some of the most popular and exciting Red Bull sporting events. You must be familiar with the Red Bull Racing team in Formula One. The team became the world champions for the first time in 2010 ?.

QUICK FACT ?- Gerhard Berger, the Austrian F1 legend, was the first motorsports athlete to be sponsored by Red Bull in 1989.

When it comes to cultural events, Red Bull organizes the ultimate dancing battle for B-Boys and B-Girls, the Red Bull BC ??. It also organizes music workshops through RB Music Academy and broadcasts local music on its radio station.

Social Media ?

Red Bull maintains the quality of its media content on multiple social media platforms.

If you were to check out their Facebook page right now, you could get a sight of visually appealing content in the form of images and artistic videos.

Even on their Twitter and Instagram, you could get a glimpse of some enthralling content built around speed, sports, and motion.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Red Bull has been promoting its image as a brand moving towards sustainability. You must have watched their ‘life cycle of a can’ commercial. ♻️

It also engages in social initiatives like the Wings for Life Foundation, which is dedicated to the research of spinal cord injury.

Top Products of Red Bull

Red Bull Energy Drink

The original star of Red Bull is still the most popular one. Infused with the vitality of B-group vitamins along with caffeine, taurine, water, and sugar, it is a preferred energy drink for many top athletes, working professionals, and even students.

Red Bull Sugarfree ?‍♀️

This energy drink is made for people who want wings but without sugar. It does contain artificial sweeteners in the form of Sucralose and Acesulfame Potassium.

Red Bull Yellow Edition ??

This Red Bull variant is immersed in the exotic flavors of tropical fruits so that consumers can enjoy a fruity taste while energizing their minds and body.

Red Bull Green Edition ??

The Green edition energy drink is infused with the exotic taste of dragon fruit.

Red Bull Summer Edition ☀️

Apricot and strawberry together? Well, this Red Bull variant offers this combo of flavors to beat the summer heat.

Red Bull’s Marketing Mix 4P Analysis

Product

Red Bull’s product mix is quite simple compared to other beverage companies.

The original Red Bull variant is the star product contributing the most when it comes to sales.

Apart from that, the company also offers a range of flavors along with non-alcoholic and sugar-free variants.

The company has introduced a separate line of natural soft drinks that goes by the name Red Bull Organics.

Despite all these variations, the company has maintained its essence of being an energy drink producer.

Place

You must have spotted Red Bull at a convenience store, a gas station, or even a concert. As mentioned before, Red Bull follows its audience everywhere.

Red Bull positions its products in places visited by its audience frequently- high-traffic areas ?, music festivals ?, sports events ?, etc. To improve its product visibility, Red Bull focuses on enhancing its displays to stand out from other items placed on the shelves with it.

It works in partnership with distributors, wholesalers, and retailers ?. Hotels, airlines, and event organizers are all partners of Red Bull, providing the brand with the reach and the massive customer pool it requires.

Price

Red Bull focuses on investing in research and development, superior-quality ingredients, and top-notch manufacturing processes. These factors together ensure that the end product is of great quality ?.

Instead of lowering its price to match its competitors, Red Bull relied on its unique features and benefits to justify the premium pricing.

The company’s target audience prefers Red Bull over other lower-priced energy drinks because of the brand’s reputation. Instead of lowering its price to match its competitors, Red Bull relied on its unique features and benefits to justify the premium pricing ?.

The premium pricing strategy of Red Bull corresponds with its cost of production and superior product quality. It also helps the company justify and maintain its image of being a premium energy drink company.

Promotion

Red Bull is equally focused on utilizing traditional channels like TV ?, radio ?, and print media, as well as digital advertising channels like social media ? to promote its brand and products.

Red Bull campaigns are hailed for their creative storytelling aimed at bonding emotionally with its audience. The campaigns are built around the company’s ‘…gives you wings’ slogan ?.

Red Bull actively engages in sports, music, and cultural events. From sponsoring athletes and teams to setting up a music academy and a magazine- Red Bull does it all.

The company also relies on product sampling and experiential marketing to impact its audience on a deeper level. Free trials give people a peek into the brand’s offerings and encourage them to make purchases.

Red Bull’s Top Campaigns

Stratos- World Record Freefall ?

In 2012, Red Bull became hot news when it sponsored an event in which Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver, was supposed to free fall from the stratosphere in a helium balloon.

It was broadcasted live on YouTube and gained a massive audience. You can check out the link below to experience the second-hand thrill of the event.

Give Life to the Night ?

In Vietnam, Red Bull recycled 2475 of its cans to turn them into a source of renewable energy. The purpose of this initiative was to tackle the electricity crisis by harnessing solar energy to light up dark nights. The campaign highlighted the brand’s principle of providing energy to people to fulfill their dreams.

The Art of Flight ??

Experience the surreal nature at its best in Red Bull’s Art of Flight commercial. Nine men, including Travis Rice, snowboard through the majestic snow-laden mountains with dangerous avalanches and adventure. Red Bull, once again, stayed true to its slogan and gave these snowboarders the wings of energy.

Key Takeaways

Red Bull has successfully decoded what its audience wants to experience, both in terms of its products and its marketing campaigns.

It creates thrilling films featuring extreme sports events sponsored by the company.

This is quite an apt strategy for a brand that claims to enhance the energy and performance of its consumers.

FAQs

Why do Red Bull ads showcase extreme sports?

Red Bull sponsors thrilling sports events to showcase its adherence to its slogan, ‘Red Bull gives you wings .’The wings metaphorically imply the fact that the energy drink can enhance people’s energy levels and boost their overall performance. Hence, adventurous sporting events like snowboarding, airshow, parkour, and kayaking are utilized to promote the brand image.

What is unique about Red Bull’s ads?

Red Bull invests significantly in sponsoring ad films that feature extreme sports in the most difficult terrains – kayaking in the Namibian desert, snowboarding amongst some extreme mountains of the world, and so on.

Does Red Bull partner with celebrities?

Red Bull features popular extreme sports figures in their campaigns. Felix Baumgartner, Travis Pastrana, and Danny MacAskill are some famous names associated with some equally famous sports campaigns sponsored by Red Bull.