Energetic Advertising

In a recently published video on Red Bulls YouTube page, they take the viewer on a

journey to accomplish a seemingly unfathomable feat. The video portrays Australian daredevil

and skydiver, Felix Baumgartner, ascend 128,100 feet in his preparation for the Red Bull Stratos,

an event sponsored by the popular energy drink company to break the record for the highest

freefall by man. The jump was successful and not only proved what amazing things could be

accomplished by a man, but by a company as well with Baumgartner acknowledging that what

they had pulled off, wasnt even about breaking records any more (Mission Accomplished -

Red Bull Stratos - World Record Freefall). By simply placing their logo on the capsule

Baumgartner jumped out of, Red Bull was able to advertise to millions watching the record

breaking attempt. An article posted by Forbes Magazines Dan Bigman deemed the stunt as a

spectacular accomplishment and something that will keep people talking for a long time to

come; which is exactly what the company had hoped.(Bigman). This clever advertising is used

often by Red Bull as they realize what demographic enjoys their product and therefore use

marketing techniques that appeal to those audiences. Red Bulls diverse and thrill seeking

audience has swayed the company to use unique marketing techniques in which the consumer is

drawn in through sponsorships, events and commercial advertisements that appeal to the motives

of the audience. Red Bull is an intelligent company and effectively uses their money to invest in

advertisements that reach the consumer on a variety of mediums that all prove to be effective.
Individuals, regardless of age, have someone they look up to. Whether it is an athlete,

teacher or intellectual, role models heavily influence the actions of many people daily. This is

why celebrities and well-renowned people are often seen in advertisements, as they are able to

achieve and keep the attention of the consumer and ultimately influence them to buy a particular

product. Though Red Bull does feature these celebrities and role models in their advertisements,
this is not the only way they use them for advertising. Red Bull sponsors many athletes in a wide

variety of sports ranging from skateboarding, basketball or even soccer (in which they happen to

own a franchise, the New York Red Bulls). Sponsors are effective because they are paid to

endorse the product and are given free merchandise to keep them satisfied with the company. In

the commercial, Red Bull Gives You Wings, the company showcases its sponsors while adding

a twist of pursuing dreams. Throughout the video, popular sports stars and musicians are featured

while light yet driving music is playing in the background. At the end of the segment, a voice

over is heard, echoing, You can dream about it, or you can go out and make it happen,

seemingly inspiring the viewer to venture out immediately and achieve the impossible (World of

Red Bull Commercial - Red Bull Gives You Wings). However, in order to conquer greatness, the

consumer will then seek out a Red Bull as their inspiration did as well, falling into the trap of the

advertisement.
Kathleen Miller looks into this reality and discusses it in an article published in the

Journal of American College Health, where she finds positive correlation between an

individuals practice of conventional masculine norms and that individuals consumption of

energy drinks (481). Further, Miller also reports that Red Bull specifically devotes

approximately one-third of its annual market spending to sports sponsorships; a very large

sum of money clearly going to good use, evident by the mass popularity of the company and

successfulness of the company.

In past years, the prevalence of social and online sharing and networking has boomed.

Nearly every legitimate corporation has a Facebook or Twitter and uses these mediums to draw

in customers. Red Bull takes advantage of these sharing outlets by advertising events such as the

Red Bull Stratos jump. This is significant because these events are then shared by individuals

who follow Red Bull on the networking sites creating a chain reaction in which the event is
publicized to people the company would not be able to reach before. Advertising strategies

similar to this are realized by companies as being effective and is one of the main reasons Red

Bull uses it so well.

In Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, a book published late last summer,

Megan Howard credited Red Bull for being very effective at marketing the use of [the] energy

drinks with alcohol also citing that the brand grosses the highest sales in the energy drink

market due to many purchasing the drink to combine with alcohol (1290). On the Red Bull

website, an article, The Crystal Method can be found which ties the rarely seen advertised duo

of Red Bull and vodka together. The short write up tells the experience that author Ryan Hopper

went through while performing at a concert that endorsed the combined drink. He recalls the

vodka and Red Bull rushing to his head backstage as the rowdy crowd cheered relentlessly for

his act of deejays to go on stage next (Hopper). Venues like the one Hopper described are yet

another way Red Bull is able to draw their customer in. By holding a large event in which there

is only one sponsor, Red Bull is able to convince consumers to use their product without any

unaffiliated advertisements threatening to distract precious sales. When the customer attends

these well thought out events and consumes the Red Bull product, they will then associate the

sensation and joy they had at the event with the brand. This creates customers loyal to the

company and ensures profit in the future along with the personal advertisements from sharing

individuals will ultimately put out for the company.

The final and most traditional method Red Bull uses to market their product is

commercial advertising. Although this strategy often features content from the sponsorships and

events the company endorses, this medium is an outlet where everything is seemingly drawn

together. In a commercial titled, World of Red Bull, the viewer is immersed in nearly all of the

companys endeavors in the past year. Numerous stars and venues are featured including Felix
Baumgartner, Red Bulls proudest accomplishment yet. Looking deeper into the commercial it is

interesting to interpret whom exactly the producers intended it for. Much like a very similar

advertisement released around the same time, Red Bull Gives You Wings (mentioned

previously), this video also features a catchy sound track followed by an inspirational quote; if

you believe in it, then anything is possible, is the set of words chosen to close out this

commercial and almost comforts the viewer as they see the peaceful advert end (World of Red

Bull Commercial - Red Bull Gives You Wings [2]). Compared to its parallel, Red Bull Gives

You Wings, this commercial takes on a much more calm approach to the world of Red Bull and

has an inviting aurora that would allow someone unsure of what the product or about to be

welcomed to trying it. This is much different than Red Bulls normal strategy behind advertising

in which they constantly push themes of masculinity to appeal to a demographic they know

consumer their product. In comparison, this results in this source being very useful as it provides

a look at a totally different aspect of the company and condones diversity in their morals.
Overall, through the analysis of the literature in this project, it is interesting to see what

conclusions can be made about a company by dissecting and analyzing their strategies and

techniques. Red Bull is a successful company because of strong and powerful decisions they

have made in the past when they were a young company along with creative and imaginative

ideas being generated currently. Because of the diversity in their marketing it would be

interesting to compare the results from advertising with a company of a similar product that uses

more tradition advertisements to reach their consumer. Looking into which company is more

successful would be interesting as it would prove many things. In the book, Psychology of Men

& Masculinity, a scientific experiment is created to examine the achievement of masculinity

through consumption of energy drinks. The experiment concluded that energy drink

consumption and the regulation of masculinity are indeed very closely related (1). Findings
concluded one of energy drinks main appeals is that it provides a sense of masculinity for those

seeking it. It was concluded that at times if an individual feels as if their masculinity could be

threatened that, Red Bull seems to be one of their best friends (9). There are multiple ways to

look into these findings, but the most intriguing is seemingly why energy drinks such as Red

Bull help an individual to feel masculine. Is it the sudden burst of energy that appeals to men? Or

rather have companies drastically influenced the mindset of individuals who consumer their

drink by advertising a certain way? Inquiries such as these would be interesting to read into but

alas findings similar to these would be hard to come by.

What should be taken away from this review is not the content in Red Bulls advertising,

but rather the prevalence. This company has created an empire and somewhat cult following

filled with eager customers willing to spend vast amounts of money on a drink. Through their use

of events, sponsorships, sports teams, social media, concerts and advertisements both print and

commercial, Red Bull has become the most popular energy drink in the world. They literally

have advertisements everywhere regardless of the medium. The next step in research for this

project would be to compare Red Bulls successfulness to other companies whom advertise the

same way. This is referring to large corporate empires such as Coco-Cola and McDonalds who

have a vast amount of resources and revenue. Research could entail which of these companies

came up with the idea of mass advertising or even when it became socially acceptable to produce

this type of marketing. However, many controversial points arise from this comparison as well

including where companies should draw the line when it comes to advertising. How much

information should consumers be seemingly forced to digest every day when performing simple

activities such as going for a jog or getting the mail. Billboards, advertisements on busses, flyers

in the mail, marketing is everywhere but at what point is it too much? Compared to other

corporations Red Bull definitely goes easy on the advertising front with minimal television spots
for adverts of the like. But in the next steps of research all these questions would be interesting to

inquire and allow a closer look at the company.

Works Cited
Bigman, Dan. "Big Risk, Big Reward: Felix Baumgartner and Red Bull Deserve All The

Marketing Buzz They Get." Forbes. 14 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.

<http://www.forbes.com/sites/danbigman/2012/10/14/big-risk-big-reward-felix-

baumgartner-and-red-bull-deserve-all-the-marketing-buzz -they-can-get/>.
Chiou, Wen-Bin, Wen-Hsiung Wu, and King-Teh Lee. "The Achievement Of Masculinity

Through Energy-Drink Consumption: Experimental Evidence Supporting A Closer Look

At The Popularity Of Energy Drinks Among Men." Psychology Of Men & Masculinity

(2012): PsycARTICLES. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.

Flying Pigs. Red Bull. 8 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.

<http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Video/FLYING-PIGS-
Hopper, Ryan Patrick. "The Crystal Method." Red Bull. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.

<http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Article/The-Crystal-Method-

021242864181085>.
Meagan A. Howard, et al. "Effects Of Energy Drinks Mixed With Alcohol On Behavioral

Control: Risks For College Students Consuming Trendy Cocktails." Alcoholism: Clinical
 & Experimental Research 35.7 (2011): 1282-1292. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5

Nov. 2012.
Miller, Kathleen E. "Wired: Energy Drinks, Jock Identity, Masculine Norms, And Risk Taking."

Journal Of American College Health 56.5 (2008): 481. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 19

Oct. 2012.
Mission Accomplished - Red Bull Stratos - World Record Freefall. YouTube. 15 Oct. 2012. Web.

17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=dOoHArAzdug>.

World of Red Bull Commercial - Red Bull Gives You Wings. YouTube. 9 May 2012. Web. 18 Oct.

2012. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRWYNUvGohY>.

World of Red Bull Commercial - Red Bull Gives You Wings[2]. YouTube. 9 May 2012. Web. 18

Oct. 2012. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9pKUMvN7SU>.