Red Bull Does It Right

Our first project of the semester requires us to analyze the marketing strategies a company uses through its use of applications such as social media, web promotions through videos or emails, and any other specific marketing tools that particular company has employed. Our group is studying Red Bull, and boy do they have a real flair for engaging their customers.

Red Bull is the fifth most-liked company on Facebook, with over 32 million fans. Visit their page, and you'll see something interesting. Not only do they promote new products such as the new Blue, Silver, and Red canned drinks, but the overwhelming majority of the plentiful pictures posted are of people doing extreme sports, with the Red Bull logo just barely visible on the athlete's helmet or gear. Red Bull has become more than a brand: it's a lifestyle. The partier, the extreme athlete, and any combination thereof, they all follow the Red Bull lifestyle. Sure, most people probably use Red Bull as a convenient caffeine source to get through another boring day of school or work, but that is not the image that they have successfully associated with their name. Red Bull is about youth, fun, and excitement. And who doesn't want a little more of those in their life, especially when they come in a can?

Red Bull teams up with bands, celebrities, and athletes to better reach their target markets. They work internationally, nearly half of the Facebook posts are in a language other than English. It's silly to think that all 32 million of those fans are English-speakers, and seeing these perplexing posts only reinforces to the audience how Red Bull so is much more than an energy drink.

I'm not a Red Bull drinker, personally. But that didn't stop me from wishing that I did while combing through the pictures and videos available through their Facebook and Twitter pages. The association has been made in my brain that drinking Red Bull makes you inherently more awesome. If that's not effective marketing, I don't know what is. Red Bull maintains visibility in the media by sponsoring all types of sport events, from the record-breaking Stratos freefall to breakdancing competitions, to musical events across the globe. Spending money to give an aspiring breakdancer their chance at fame is PR work and advertising all in one. When it comes to marketing, on and offline, Red Bull does it right.