Red Bull Case Study
1. Red Bull’s promotional techniques are different from traditional ones other
companies use. In the beginning they were against the aggressive and excessive
promotional campaigns (Kotler). They relied on word of mouth and building
relationships with customers. Marketers would drive around in a Red Bull car
with a large can attached to the trunk and hand out free drinks. With all of the talk
about Red Bull and their drinks, rumors started to spread about what the
ingredients consisted of. Red Bull took a different approach to these rumors than
other companies traditionally would. They didn’t respond or acknowledge them,
which kept people talking about their products. Red Bull started growing their
promotional outlets by:
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Endorsing athletes
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Owning sports teams
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Sponsoring events
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Music and entertainment
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Red Bull Media House
Red Bull adapted and extended their promotional efforts to reach all of their target
market. They have a unique promotion strategy that sets them apart from other
companies and gives them their brand image.
2. Red Bull uses several elements of the promotion mix in unique ways. Their main
goal is to build relationships with people through emotional experiences. They
accomplish this by using advertising, personal selling, and public relations.
Instead of your traditional commercials and billboards, Red Bull advertised their
product by handing out free drinks. A recognizable Red Bull car, with a logo and
giant Red Bull can attached to the trunk, would drive around while marketers
tossed energy drinks to people (Kotler). This method and word of mouth became
the main forms of promotion for Red Bull. By doing extreme stunts, such as Felix
Baumgartners jump from space, Red Bull is able to connect with consumers from
their emotional reaction from their advertisements.
Personal selling is when a company promotes their product for the purpose of
making sales and building customer relationships (Kotler). Red Bull uses this
technique when they personally drove around and handed people free drinks.
They were investing in future sales and building relationships with customers.
The promotional mix element Red Bull uses the most is, public relations. They
have built relationships with customers and companies, by hosting or sponsoring
numerous events. They also sponsor individual athletes, and supply them with
products to endorse the brand. Red Bull owns a large amount of sports teams.
They don’t make a profit from the teams, but they hold value because it gives Red
Bull the ability to promote their products. When there were rumors going around
about what ingredients were in Red Bull’s drinks, they didn’t respond to the talk.
This was apart of Dietrich Mateschitz’s promotional techniques. This decision
was very unusual and a different approach compared to what other companies do.
By not responding, Red Bull kept the consumers talking and thinking about their
products.
3. No, Red Bull will not need to embrace more traditional media marketing in order
to keep growing. I believe if Red Bull changes their marketing strategy it will
prevent growth and reduce sales. Red Bull has created an image based off their
unique promotional methods. Consumers relate extreme sports and stunts with
their brand name. If Red Bull ventures away from their image of extreme sports
and stunts, consumers won’t be able to connect emotionally and build
relationships. When companies change a key element in the brand, consumers
become unsatisfied. We saw this in the Burger King case study when a store told
customers they were no longer serving whoppers. Customers associate whoppers
with Burger King, and they were the reason consumers purchased from Burger
King over competitors. If Red Bull altered their marketing techniques, I think we
would see the same reaction as we did with Burger King, unsatisfied customers.
4. Red Bull’s target audience are young athletic people who want to improve
endurance, concentration, speed, reaction time, and emotional status (Kotler).
Their promotional techniques are consistent with their target market. Red Bull
promotes their product by advertising, sponsoring, and hosting events for extreme
sports. Creating events and advertisements with extreme sports allows consumers
to connect emotionally with the product. They receive and decode the message
Red Bull promotes of efficiency improvement from their slogan, “Red Bull Gives
You Wings.” Consumers then react by purchasing products and becoming loyal
customers.
5. Red Bull is continuing to grow and in the last year their revenue was $5 billion,
with a 16 percent increase over the year before (Kotler). In order to keep growing
and reach their full potential, Red Bull will have to go beyond their target market
and attract new customers. They do not need to change their promotional strategy,
just add to it. They can do this by; advertising more through commercials,
offering sales and special promotions, and interacting directly with consumers.
Implementing these promotion tools along with continuing their current strategy,
Red Bull could attract more potential customers, while still appealing to their
loyal customers.
Sources
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Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2012) Principles of Marketing. Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Library of Congress.