Jennifer Daniel and Bobby Miller

Red Bull

Red Bull Gives You Wings

• Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz- introduced his taurine-fueled beverage to Europe in 1987

• Ten years later- Red Bull charged into the United States, launching a new category of non-soda energy drinks aimed at burned-out high-school and college students.

• Since its beginning, Red Bull has shunned print advertising in its marketing strategy. It has not created one Web-marketing campaign.

• Red Bull has expanded into 50 countries, experienced annual double-digit growth, and captured the loyalty of a notoriously mysterious consumer group: teenagers and college students

How Red Bull Did ItHere are some tools that Red Bull

doesn't use:• Billboards• Banner ads• Taxicab holograms• Blimps• Super Bowl spots

Even its TV spots -- all of which feature the whimsical sketches of a mysterious Austrian artist -- serve more to amuse than to educate or entice consumers.

"In terms of attracting new customers and enhancing consumer loyalty, Red Bull has a more effective branding campaign than Coke or Pepsi," says Nancy F. Koehn, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School

Red Bull grassroots marketing strategies:

• Red Bull provides student representatives with free cases of its energy drink and then encourages the kids to throw parties and give it to college friends

• Red Bull's branding strategy involves "consumer educators" -- folks who drive around in shiny silver off-roaders with giant, phallic cans of Red Bull strapped to the back. Their mission: to find people who need energy and give them a free can of Red Bull

How Red Bull Did It

• Energy drinks accounted for $375 million in wholesale revenues last year

• A whopping 65 percent of which went to Red Bull

• Red Bull annual sales reportedly top $1 billion worldwide

YES!

Did It Work?

Red Bull spawned an entirely new category in the U.S. beverage market:

Red Bull Car. Google Images. 28 Jan. 2008 <http://images.google.com>.

Red Bull Energy Drink. 28 Jan. 2008 <http://www.redbullusa.com/#page=HomePage.1133306867160-235591353>.

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