RSS 2.0Red Bull: The Greatest Marketer of Our Generation
We’ve declared today “Red Bull Day” at Parthenon Publishing. It’s not because of the energy drink’s sponsorship of Felix Baumgartner’s 24 mile free fall, as amazing as that was. It is because we think Red Bull is the greatest marketer of our generation.
Red Bull has been in the news a lot since Baumgartner’s record-breaking and breathtaking fall on Oct. 14. Most of the stories focus on trying to quantify Red Bull’s return on its sponsorship investment. The numbers are impressive: tons of news coverage; millions of views on YouTube; loads of tweets; massive coverage on Facebook. And that’s all great. However, most miss the bigger picture of how Red Bull built one of the most recognized brands in the world long before this jump.
Red Bull’s real accomplishment has been the business it has built over the past 25 years. It created a new beverage category, built a huge base of loyal fans and is now one of the world’s most recognized brands. The Stratos sponsorship is part of that story, but only the most recent example. Red Bull built its business through content marketing. Instead of relying on traditional ads in established media, it created its own. It became a content producer through event sponsorships, team ownerships and custom media creation – including its own magazine.
Through its content marketing efforts, Red Bull has created a story that has become its brand. It has created an emotional connection with its audience. And that audience strengthens and spreads the message. As a result, Red Bull sells more than one billion cans of its energy drink every year in the U.S. alone. And it does so at a price point of more than three times the cost of traditional carbonated drinks.
While millions of people looked at Baumgartner’s jump in awe, many marketers looked at Red Bull’s marketing success with envy. They should. However, they should not mistake this for a single win or social media phenomenon. It is part of a long-term strategy from the greatest marketer of our generation.
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