Excellent Marketing Initiatives by Red Bull

Introduction

Customers today are spoiled with choices. There are similar and identical products coming up every minute. No market today is a blue ocean; every market today is a red ocean, and hence it is very difficult for companies to set up their name in the market and position themselves in the minds of the customers. There are many companies whose products are huge even now. This is possible not because they are doing something right but because they are changing themselves and adapting to the market and customers’ demands. It is very crucial for us as readers to go through such initiatives so that we can glance over how various marketing models are applied in today’s market. Red Bull as a brand has not only earned success but has also set up a new category of energy drink.

In this article, we will be understanding the birth, growth trajectory, and excellent marketing initiatives of Red Bull. It is time to dive into the pool of marketing and innovation.

Image − Logo of Red bull

Inception and Growth Trajectory of Red Bull

For Red Bull, there is no limit to craziness. Red Bull as a brand conveys the message in the slogan that "Red Bull Gives You Wings" to fly high and achieve all that you want and aim for.

Red Bull was founded by Dietrich Mateschitz in 1987, and the first product or can was sold in Austria. By 1997, Red Bull was available in 25 markets globally, including Western Europe, South Africa, and New Zealand, and the company had packaged its product using slim silver and blue-colored cans.

Red Bull generally contains amino acid taurine, B-complex vitamins, caffeine, and carbohydrates. Red Bull started many new flavors and products, and some of them failed as well. Today, Red Bull is available in the market as

• Red Bull Original Drink

• Red Bull Total Zero

• Red Bull Sugar-Free, and

• in other flavors like cranberry, lime, and other berry flavors.

Today, Red Bull has other competitors like Sting energy drinks, sports drinks, Enerzal energy drinks, and others. Earlier, when Red Bull entered the market, its major competitors were Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Anheuser-Busch. Red Bull, instead of competing with the Soft Drink brand, focused on creating its own category of drink, which is energy drinks. Red Bull, the multibillion-dollar company, has associated itself with being a brand for the youth as well as the youth in you.

Excellent Marketing Initiatives by Red Bull

Red Bull has done it differently from the other soft drink providers in the market. Instead of using the regular channels of marketing or distribution, the brand decided to develop its own platform through direct channels and make itself available for extreme physical events that required energy. Some of the marketing initiatives by Red Bull are:

Sponsoring Events by Red Bull

Red Bull sponsors events in which the customers require high energy and enthusiasm. In this sense, if someone asks Red Bull to sponsor a knitting competition or a book reading event, Red Bull will have to say yes. You will find Red Bull sampling its products or setting up stalls at college festivals, music shows, parties, concerts, festivals, sporting events, award shows, hi-way rest areas, and other adventurous events. This ensures that the core essence of the product is conveyed to consumers. So the consumer starts turning to Red Bull whenever they need energy. This is the reason many customers associate Red Bull with "speed in a can" or "liquid cocaine."

Flutage Event Sponsorship in France by Red Bull

In the Flutag event, participants have to build flying machines whose total weight is less than 450 pounds, including the weight of the pilot. The ramp way for the Red Bull-sponsored Flutage was 30 meters above sea level. When the flights were flying through the ramp, it was like a repetition of the slogan "Red Bull gives you wings in front of 30000 young people. Red Bull also sponsors events like river rafting competitions, football, snowboarding, surfing, mountain biking, cricket, and other athletic events.

Celebrity Endorsement and Athletic

Bull as a brand uses both entertainment celebrities as well as sports celebrities for celebrity endorsement. Here the brand is targeting customers who need energy while participating in extreme physical activities and, at the same time, loyal customers who want to have Red Bull for its taste and feel.

Some of the celebrity endorsers of Red Bull are Breanna Stewart, Paul Rabil, Beauden Barrett, Dominic Thiem, Kris Bryant, Max Verstappen, and others.

Selling and Marketing through Direct Channels

While entering the new market, Red Bull has this strategy that it will not use the age-old distribution channels for its product. You have to gain the customer's attention and help the customer make affluent choices. Hence, when Red Bull enters a new market, it starts penetrating the market first by advertising its brand or by selling its products through bars, cafes, and restaurants.

Red Bull provides bars, cafes, and restaurants with refrigerators and has hired people to ensure that these freezers are always stocked with Red Bull cans. This not only helps the company in driving sales but also helps in advertising, as there are big logos on the freezer. Once Red Bull has a strong hold on cafes, restaurants, and bars, it will enter gyms, health and fitness studios, retail shops, and convenience stores near schools and colleges.

Traditional Channels of Marketing

Red Bull uses the traditional media of marketing only when the region or market has reached maturity. Red Bull considers traditional channels for a later stage in the development of the market. This is used by the company to reinforce the brand name and product to the customers.

Conclusion

As of the end of 2022, Red Bull had 15779 employees under the brand name and a presence in 175 countries. A total of 11.58 billion cans were sold by Red Bull worldwide in the year 2022, marking an increase of 18.1% for the company, and the turnover of the company as of 2022 has been EUR 9.684 billion. The announcement marks the statement that as of 2023, Red Bull as a whole is aiming for huge upward trends and will be financed by the operative cash flow of Red Bull.

Red Bull has also dived into other products like T-shirts and accessories with the Red Bull brand logo on them, travel destinations, and the Red Bull bulletin. Red Bull has made its mark in more than 175 countries, and the company has developed a market for energy drinks as well as its own products.