Founded in 1987 in Austria, Red Bull quickly became one of the leading companies in the energy drink market through a series of brilliant Marketing strategies that skyrocketed the brand’s value.
Today, the company holds the highest market share among energy drinks, reaching the mind-blowing 38% globally – and we will dive into some of the secrets behind Red Bull Marketing that made them so successful.
Red Bull Marketing strategy: what made the company so successful?
So, without further ado, let’s dive right into it:
1. Inspiring and memorable slogan
Red Bull is the proud owner of one of the most popular and memorable brand slogans in the world: “Red Bull gives you wings“. Created in 1997, it hasn’t changed a single bit until today as opposed to many other companies that are occasionally changing theirs when rebranding.
Of course, it doesn’t mean that this catchy brand slogan didn’t face any problems over its long history. According to BBC, the company had to pay over 13 million dollars following a US class action lawsuit because customers felt that the slogan was false advertising, and it didn’t actually give them wings.
While the slogan itself isn’t what made Red Bull so popular and successful, it adds to their overall Marketing strategy because they have always stayed true to it – and you are going to see why in the next few points.
2. Sponsorship of extreme sports
Red Bull doesn’t give you wings literally, but they sure stayed true to their slogan by sponsoring extreme events to establish powerful brand awareness and imply that their energy drink gives you incredible, out-of-the-world performance.
In 2012, they organized and sponsored a unique event called Stratos, in which Austria’s Felix Baumgartner did a parachute jump from the edge of space in front of millions of people watching live from all around the world.
Red Bull Marketing: breaking Guinness Records and sales
The mission was more than successful – it not only broke multiple Guinness World records, such as registering the first freefall to break the speed of sound barrier, but it was also a huge boost for Red Bull Marketing.
While the estimated cost of the Marketing stunt was about $30 million, Felix’s jump led to breaking over $500 million in sales for the company. Talk about a good campaign!
And this wasn’t the only event like this organized and sponsored by Red Bull. In 2021, Dario Costa became the first person to fly an aircraft through a tunnel, seriously pushing the limits of what’s possible.
3. Brilliant advertising approach
Next on our list of Red Bull Marketing strategy lessons is their fun and humoristic approach to advertising. It all started back in 2000 with a series of video ads with distinctive illustrations that always drew the attention of the audience.
They were so unique that people immediately knew when watching one that it was Red Bull, even if they didn’t see the logo or the brand name until the end of the ad. This also proves the power of the brand awareness that the company has been cultivating for years.
These ads went on for years, and they kept their unique and distinctive style that made people so drawn to them.
And of course, there was also this unique “Red Bull gives you wiiings” at the end of each ad, a popular phrase which was also extended to their banner and display ads as well.
Red Bull Marketing: distinctive advertising style
4. Smart use of Guerrilla Marketing
Another lesson that we can learn from Red Bull Marketing strategy is their wonderful application of Guerrilla Marketing.
If you are not familiar with the term, Guerrilla Marketing refers to the use of clever and unconventional methods to boost sales or attract the attention in business, generally making use of one’s environment.
For example, one of their first Marketing moves ever was hiring the famous “Red Bull” girls to hand out free drinks to college students, which also fall within one of their main target audiences – young active people.
So, when these students started preparing for their exams, what first came to their mind was Red Bull – the perfect energy drink to help them prepare and stay focused during a whole night of learning.
This campaign was an absolute success and increased their sales rapidly, so Red Bull went on to extend it to other places as well. Because their target audience was 18-35 yr old males, they extended their campaign to college parties, coffee shops, libraries and other places where they typically hang out.
5. Strong and consistent branding
And of course, the success behind Red Bull Marketing is not only based on individual events or actions. The company has done an outstanding job in establishing a strong and consistent branding that made them easily recognizable worldwide.
It revolves around their famous tagline – “Red Bull gives you wings”, and it has effectively positioned as the energy drink for males that leave on the edge or aspire to do so.
They understood their target audience really well, reaching them with a consistent, clear and constant communication. The message is simple – you can boost your focus and athletic performance by consuming the company’s product.
Disclaimer: I am not claiming this myself, I am just talking about their positioning and corporate branding. I have no particular opinion regarding Red Bull’s products.
6. Word-of-mouth Marketing
The sponsorship of extreme events and sports not only brings publicity and works brand awareness as it attracts millions of viewers worldwide, but it does something else as well. And that is, increase the effectiveness of word-of-mouth Marketing.
According to Investopedia, word-of-mouth Marketing is one of the most effective forms of advertising because over 92% of consumers trust their friends and family more than they trust conventional media.
Combine this with millions of people watching your event, and you are also able to reach their friends and family because everyone will be talking about you and sharing your videos over social media.
Red Bull Marketing strategy: word-of-mouth Marketing
7. Focus on quality content
Next on our list of secrets behind the success of Red Bull marketing is content.
When it comes to developing and implementing a successful content strategy, Red Bull definitely knows what they are doing. Back in 1996, Bill Gates wrote that “content is king” – and this is something that holds true to this day, especially with the rise of technology in the Information age.
Red Bull is no stranger to quality content – from publishing blog posts, news and customers stories to a YouTube channel with almost 6,000 videos, it is clear that they don’t hesitate when it comes to investing in Content Marketing. And yet again, they are delivering the right message to the right audience time and time again.
Red Bull is also doing a great job with their social media strategy. They are masters of making their posts feel relatable to their audience (young males) through memes, teasers, or by simply posting content like this:
Or this:
And of course, let’s not forget something very important. A very key part in their Marketing message is to target the risk-takers, the doers, the people who are willing to take on an adventure with inspirational social media posts:
Red Bull Marketing: use of social media channels
In other words, there are a lot of aspects behind the success of Red Bull Marketing strategy. And while some of their events might be difficult to replicate by smaller companies on tight budgets, there is always something that we can learn from them and apply it in our own business strategies.
What is the Marketing strategy of Red Bull?
The Marketing strategy of Red Bull is a combination of high quality content across all digital channels, sponsorships of extreme sports that drives brand awareness and word-of-mouth, Guerrilla Marketing, a humoristic advertising approach, as well as powerful and consistent branding.
Is Red Bull a Marketing company?
No, Red Bull isn’t a Marketing company, it’s a brand of energy drinks founded in Austria in 1987. However, they are famous for their brilliant Marketing strategies, including the organization of extreme stunts such as the jump by Felix Baumgartner from the edge of space, which broke multiple Guinness records and brought in millions of viewers.
How does Red Bull use Guerrilla Marketing?
Red Bull uses Guerrilla Marketing in a variety of ways, the most successful of which was hiring “Red Bull girls” to hand out free drinks to college students (their target audience) back in the 80s. This strategy was extremely successful, boosting their sales significantly. Another use of Guerrilla Marketing was the strategic placement of empty Red Bull cans close to night clubs to make the drink seem widely popular, more than it was at that time.
Why does Red Bull market so much?
Red Bull markets so much because their smart strategies help them increase market share and boost the profitability of the brand. With a market share of 38%, Red Bull is the leading energy drink company worldwide, making them generate over US$6 billion in annual revenue.
That was all from me for today! Thank you for taking the time to read my article on Red Bull Marketing strategy, and I hope to see you in the next one. In the meantime, if you have any questions or doubts, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments below. Also, if there is anything that you would like to add regarding Red Bull Marketing, feel free to do it as well!
