Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

The act of choosing and purchasing an energy drink is considered a routine response behavior given their relatively low cost and minor impact on a consumer’s life. In order trigger a “need response” in shoppers Red Bull will often make agreements with store chains to place branded coolers stocked only with Red Bull in check-out lanes other high visibility areas. These glowing coolers stand out to customers waiting in line and burdens them with questions such as – “Are you tired? Are you thirsty?” By ensuring premium product placement with retailers, Red Bull is able to effectively increase the chance that a customer will reach for their product over a competitors.

Ch. 5 – Developing a Global Vision

Legal difficulties in France due to health concerns over Taurine (one of the drink's main ingredients) once forced Red Bull to produce a “modified” version of the beverage for export to France only. This unforeseen development made it impossible for Red Bull to continue producing a globally standardized product.

 

When the ban was eventually lifted in 2008, Red-Bull used the opportunity to push the original recipe once again in France, only this time with a marketing twist. New cans emblazoned with a stamp that read “Taurine Formula” were produced for the French market to both alert loyal consumers to the change and to attract newbies by emphasizing the mysterious ingredient on the packaging.

Ch. 4 – The Marketing Environment

 It is predominately generation Y males across the globe who find themselves in the crosshairs of Red Bull’s wildly successful marketing plan. This being the case, I did some digging to find out why this approach has been so effective for them. A 2012 research study conducted by Kaohsiung Medical University (located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan) endeavored to “to examine whether exposure to concepts of masculinity increased the desire for energy drinks and whether the use of energy drinks contributed to the achievement of a masculine sense of self.” The study confirms both suspicions and wraps up with: “the finding that consumption of energy drinks reinforces one’s masculine sense of self may provide a partial explanation for why energy drinks such as Red Bull are extremely popular among adolescents and young adults in traditional male-oriented societies.” When we juxtapose the conclusion of this research with Red Bull’s testosterone fueled marketing campaigns it becomes clear that the company understands what drives the demographic they are targeting to purchase and introduces concepts of masculinity to their advertising as a response.

Ch. 18- Social Media and Marketing

As one of Red Bull’s core marketing tactics is to appear as “one of us” through personal engagement and compelling media content – it’s no wonder that they rely heavily on all major social media platforms to spread their message. Most of the content shared has nothing to do with the flagship beverage they produce, but rather the extreme lifestyle they want you to feel connected to by associating yourself with their brand. Captivating videos, beautiful imagery, and clever captions are shared with over 46 million fans by the hour – who in turn share with everyone they know, and so on. Their strategy is unique in that they seem to not let on that there is a product to even be sold by them. They are not pushing a product at followers and saying “Our drink tastes so good! Try it!” Instead the goal is to captivate an audience so much as to be absolutely sure that the fans will do the work of sharing the content, engaging new people, and creating more and more Red Bull awareness for them as each minute passes. At the start of writing this post, Red Bull’s Facebook page had exactly 46,045,259 followers. As I finish writing, the page has grown to 46,045,721 in minutes! Only truly fascinating content and a highly skilled social media team can generate a loyal following of Red Bull’s magnitude.

Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Since it’s launch, Red Bull has devised many strategic plans over the years in order to introduce the drink to new age groups, cultures, and genders. With a heavy focus on market development, these strategic plans have mainly involved aggressive advertising, viral video campaigns, event sponsorships, and newsworthy extreme stunts intended to build a connection with the targeted group and make them feel as though they too can tap into the thrills perceived to be associated with their product. For instance, between 2011 and 2012 the company made an effort to increase Red Bull awareness with the 35 to 65 age group. One campaign included organizing a freefall from the “edge of space” featuring skydiver Felix Baumgartner – who was transported 13,000+ miles above the earth by Red Bull Stratos (one of Red Bull’s strategic business units) for a record-breaking jump that was sure to make headlines. The stuntman in our story, you guessed it, was in his mid 40’s at the time of the jump. Footage of the incredible feat inevitably spread like wildfire and was, of course, saturated with the famous Red Bull logo.

Ch. 1 - Overview of Marketing (Brief History and Mission Statement)

 

Inspired by an energy drink called Krating Daeng during a business trip to Thailand, Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz developed the formula and concept of Red Bull in the mid 1980’s. The drink was first sold in Dietrich’s home market of Austria, blowing a new product category wide open for the rest of the world as it steadily made its way through a majority of Europe, before reaching the US in 1997. Fast forward to 2016 and Red Bull is now sold in more than 169 countries with approximately 60 billion cans having been consumed worldwide. The company slogan is “Red Bull Gives You Wings” – with the product historically being perceived as targeting young men with advertising and sponsorships that include a host of male dominated extreme sports.