Little can. BIg impact!
Q: What makes Red Bull such a well-known brand?
Is it a marketing firm or an energy drink?
RedBull isn't your average consumer goods company. Originally named "Krating Daeng," which translates to "Red Bull" in Thai, and was just a popular local energy drink among workers when it was invented by Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhyah. That is, until Dietrich Mateschitz, a toothpaste company's business marketing director, saw an opportunity to give it wings. When Dietrich was in Thailand looking for a way to beat jet lag, he came across the drink. After seeing the advantages, he decided to become a partner and help spread the word about RedBull throughout Europe.
RedBull has risen to the top against large competitors thanks to revolutionary marketing efforts. Coca-cola and Pepsi were cashing in on anything soft drink-related at the time, though it appears they were all opposed to the idea of an "energy drink." That is where RedBull established itself and thrived.
Marketing With Wings
RedBull prioritizes telling stories that are authentic to its brand. Because of their compelling stories, people become loyal to a brand. Felix Baumgartner, the man who broke the sound barrier with the highest free fall ever recorded at the edge of our atmosphere, may be familiar to you. This stunt, which cost RedBull tens of millions of dollars to pull off, drew worldwide attention and a large number of people who were watching to see what incredible stunt they could pull off next. This anticipation is worth millions, if not billions, of dollars on its own. The reason for this is that loyalty is difficult to come by, and people who are willing to follow a brand for the sake of entertainment will be more loyal in the long run than those who simply enjoy their beverage. In many ways, long-term brand awareness is priceless. The more extreme the event or stunt, the more likely they are to tell others about it. The stunt in question, in which a man jumped from space, took place in 2012, but many people are still talking about it ten years later.
It is about the story, not the product.
I like to think of a good brand as a Netflix series worth binge-watching. Everyone can't wait for the next season and will continue to watch the show even if the next episode isn't released for another couple of years. In a way, those popular television shows or films become their own brand. Consider the Star Wars franchise, which has grossed over $10 billion and continues to grow due to fan loyalty.
Sponsoring & Creating Events
RedBull, like all businesses, began small, which meant that their marketing budget was limited right away. What are your options as a marketer on a tight budget? You improvise and work within the company's constraints while remaining innovative and competitive. That is precisely what RedBull did with its own Flugtag event. This is a Red Bull-sponsored competition in which competitors attempt to fly home-built, human-powered flying machines with a maximum size of 10 meters and a maximum weight of 330 pounds. The flying machines are usually launched into the sea or a body of water from a pier about 30 feet high. Being a fairly intense event, it naturally attracts attention and generates a plethora of photo-worthy moments that can be shared on social media. It's an odd event because it's not about engineering an aircraft, but rather about creating an awesome or hilarious float, but it works and has given RedBull a lot of exposure.
As they grew, they started hosting more extreme sports-related events and sponsoring athletes. These sponsorships include Formula 1 race car drivers, esports gamers, surfers, and many others, making the brand appealing to a wide range of young people. Now, it's impossible to miss the brand.
The Brand Voice
Known for its high levels of adrenaline and excitement.
They convey a sense of adventure and intensity, which is exactly what their product promises. They claim that consuming Red Bull will improve your performance, implying that you will become a better version of yourself. Because it must be consistent throughout all marketing materials, this voice is crucial. If Red Bull switched to a more formal and professional voice right now, they'd confuse a lot of people and lose what got them to where they are. The same is true if you work for or own a company. You must be consistent, or you risk attracting a wide range of customers while failing to build loyalty.
"Fake It Till Ya Make it"
While some companies have a killer product that goes viral or solves a major problem right away, most products do not. Even if a product is excellent, it must be heavily promoted and over time. As I previously stated, your marketing budget may be limited when you first start out but thinking of creative ways to save money while still getting your brand noticed will be one of the most important factors in your brand's success. Many businesses try to disguise how well-liked their product is right away. While this may work for a few businesses, it will backfire for the vast majority. Empty cans were placed in crowded public areas during Red Bull's early days to give the impression that the brand was popular. To that tactic, I would say it was extremely risky because it could have been demonized by those who focused on the littering aspect. Although, I'm sure RedBull employees were dispatched to clean up their mess, in today's world, if enough people discovered it was a publicity stunt, the brand would have been destroyed long before it reached such heights. The point I'm making is that if you're going to fake it, do it well, be bold, and expect to lose everything. Otherwise, rely on traditional methods to raise brand awareness, such as hiring a creative marketing team. Or, as RedBull did, combine the two.
Getting Sued
Of course, every large company faces the possibility of being sued, which is something to be aware of. When you have a large audience, you must be cautious. Your message must be free of any flaws or potential for misinterpretation. Because of its 20-year tagline, "Red Bull gives you wings!" Red Bull was sued for false advertising. The plaintiff was awarded $13 million after proving that no wing-like, intellectual, or athletic abilities were present as a result of consumption. Redbull has since changed "wings" to "wiiings." Given the fact that it is a clever workaround, it sounds the same. If that happened to a company that lacked the creative ability to come up with novel solutions, I guarantee they would have completely changed their message. The list of companies that have been sued for making false claims is extensive, demonstrating that the bigger you are, the easier you are to target. More money, more problems.
key takeaway
RedBull dominates branding and marketing in order to build a loyal following. This isn't your average beverage company. It doesn't actually sell anything a beverage. They sell stories with a sense of suspense and adventure. This is what their brand voice is all about. The company had to work hard to get to where they are now, but they were able to disrupt the market and become the world's largest energy drink company thanks to innovative marketing.
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