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Contents: 1. Introduction………………………. 3 2. Perception…………………………. 4 3. Attitude…………………………… 5 4. Reference Groups………………… 7 5. Conclusion…………………………. 9 6. References……………………….. 10 Introduction: Red Bull GmbH is a global enterprise, which produces the brand Red Bull-an energy drink. An entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz founded the company Red Bull GmbH in 1984 after encountering the original drink called Krating Daeng (indirectly translates to Red Bull) in Thailand. The drink is an energy booster, which increases attention and concentration and also incentivizes your metabolism (Bized, 2008).
The brand enjoys worldwide annual sales of more than one billion cans and claims a 60% volume share of the world’s energy drinks (Mintel, 2005). In 2003 Red Bull in the U. K. had a sales volume of 85 million liters with an increase to 113 million liters in 2005, where the value sales were up significantly in 2004 due to the addition of the sugar-free variety, which had cemented the brand’s position as the best-selling drink in it’s category (Mintel, 2005). Being non- alcoholic, the energy drink comes under the soft-drink category.
Red Bull is perceived as a premium product with its price in the U. K. being 1. 05 Pounds. This high price professes its dominance over all other energy drinks in the market due to its uniqueness and the promising effects the brand delivers. Red Bulls main competitor in England is Lucozade, which produces a variety of flavors in the energy drink segment (Drawert). Mateschitz concentrated more on below the line marketing activities, mainly focusing on viral marketing (word of mouth) for promoting the brand (Arlidge, 2004).
Red Bull sponsors events such as windsurfing, snowboarding, cliff diving, break dancing, art shows, music concerts, video games and several other sporting/social events (Redbulletin, 2008). Red Bull produces four products, first being the original Red Bull can after which a sugar-free version was released targeting mainly to women, after which the Red Bull cola was released and recently the Red Bull Energy Shots were released. The models chosen to identify the consumers’ behavior in detail towards the marketing activities taken up by the company Red Bull are Perception, Attitudes and Reference Groups. 2.
Perception: Initially in Thailand, factory workers and drivers primarily consumed Krating Daeng to keep them alert at late working hours. When Mateschitz established the brand Red Bull, his main target was towards young professionals and not factory workers (Bized, 2008). The use of innovative marketing activities and minor changes made to the product, made it possible for the consumer to perceive the same product as a trendsetter and a globally recognizable brand (Arlidge, 2004). “Perception is the process by which physical sensations such as sights, sounds, and smells are selected organized and interpreted. (Solomon,et all: p. 56) . Red Bull conducted a series of activities, which include sampling and sponsoring of the product, where Red Bull modified cars were seen driven in public, handing out cans of red bull to people in need of energy such as shift workers, truck drivers, athletes et all; also the sponsoring of massive extreme sports events and competitions (Stefani. 2008)(Kumar. Linguri). (Desource, 2008) The consumers’ sense of sight was initiated every time a Red Bull car was spotted.
The car consisted of the colors blue and silver of the product itself and was also modified with a life-size red bull can mounted on it. This stirred an initial level of interest and enquiry for the product. The sense of touch was activated when free red bull cans were given out to the public. Rexam is one of the worlds biggest suppliers of beverage cans, earning a figure of $22 million on Red Bull can sales of $147 million. The size of the can being different, weighing 8. 3 ounces (235 grams) (Bized, 2008) made the consumer feel a sense of novelty when compared to the other standard size cans.
In terms of the energy drink category, Red Bull was one of the first to be introduced into the market. The initial reaction of the public was not favorable towards the taste of the product. After the release of their innovative campaigns such as sponsoring extreme sports events and giving out free-bees at sport events; red bull was not just promoting their brand but also selling a lifestyle. People seemed willing to be a part of this lifestyle; in turn consumers’ began to develop a taste for the drink also taking into account the fact that an energy boost would be procured from it (Stefani. 008) (Solomon, et all, 2006, p39-46). Red Bulls heavy publicity and continuous release of events and competitions, causes a high-level brand image perceived by the consumer gaining his/her attention towards the product. This allows the consumer to interact with the brand on a large scale, thus communicating the whole brand as an energetic experience and not just the product, setting it apart from other energy drinks in the market. Red Bull has generated a series of animated television commercials communicating the message – Red Bull Gives You Wings.
These advertisements metaphorically convey the fact that by drinking Red Bull the consumer directly obtains a powerful amount of energy from the product, thus giving him/her a sense of inquiry about the product. This adds on the initial retention of the product on the minds of the consumer. Red Bull mainly targeting the younger generation is an advantage to the brand. This is because individuals of that segment are rebellious in nature and tend not to follow the standard norms while choosing a brand.
Red Bull as a brand communicates those exact characteristics, thus establishing itself as a relevant product for its target group. 3. Attitude: Red Bull is used by a wide number of audiences where, their relationship towards the product is based on the utility and benefit from an energy drink, thus a behavioral segmentation is set for the product (Drawert. com). Nigel Trood, the managing director of Red Bull, UK says, “You use the drink if you feel you need more energy, if you are feeling tired or need to concentrate. Ultimately, we want to be the consumer’s first choice when they need energy.
It is very much about people using it in lots of different ways…” (Goliath 2008). The name Red Bull and its slogan ‘Red Bull gives you wings’ describes its benefits and appeals to the utilitarian function of the product. The effect produced after its consumption produced an energized and alert feeling that meets the consumers’ satisfaction, thus gaining a positive attitude towards the product. Red Bull brand is targeted towards the Generation Y of the market. These are consumers born between the 1980’s and 1990’s ((Bitze, 2008).
On studying some of their characteristics, the value-expressive attitude is catered directly towards them. Gen Y consumers are hip, cool and trendy opinion leaders who spend large amounts on products that are perceived to be popular which establishes a statement of uniqueness and self-identity. This feeling can also be accomplished by participating in social activities, a sector Red Bull focuses on a large scale (Promar International, 2001). The Red Bull Street Style competition is a yearly event, which takes place in many countries around the world.
Contestants are chosen to represent their country and at the end the winner is crowned the Red Bull Street Style Champion of that year. The consumer exhibits a high degree of passion towards these events, ultimately giving the product a status distinguishing it from it’s other competitors ( Red Bull, 2009) (Solomon, et all, 2006, p. 139). Red Bull Street Style – London Final (Red Bull, 2009). “An attitude is a mental or neutral state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related” (G.
Allport, 1935, p. 810). The ABC model of attributes and hierarchies of effects is taken into context to show the beliefs, behavior and affects the consumer goes through in order to purchase the product. Red Bull’s target audience being 16???35 year old male/female shows characteristics of being active, sporty and hardworking. They come under an experimental age, where consumers make USE of brands in order to feel new experiences and are also influenced by ethical groups (Drawert. com) (Solomon, et all, 2006. p. 140).
As mentioned earlier, Mateschitz restricted the standard norms of advertising and concentrated on a term called Buzz marketing. Red Bull employed trendsetters of a community to carry the brands message to places where the target segment was available; creating an initial belief and interest about the product by informing the consumers instantly about the benefits of the energy drink and also by supplying free samples, the consumer evaluates their believes through his/her experience from it and develops an opinion about the product.
This opinion is enhanced by a series of events red bull organizes in order for the consumer to interact with the product and based on this evaluation the consumer makes a relevant decision such as buying the product or engaging in their many activities. Buzz advertising also known as ‘word of mouth’ marketing, creates a level of involvement by the consumer; making the individual spread the news and knowledge of the product to others in his/her community. This type of strategy was used on a large scale.
Another one of their techniques used was by hiring university students as brand managers giving them free red bull cases in the event of a party. Receiving free cans, caused a positive appreciative attitude towards the brand thus increasing its popularity among that particular target segment (Kumar. Linguri) (Solomon, et all, 2006, p 140-141). The product was also launched in clubs and bars where the sales team would visit these places and persuade resellers to sell the energy drink. By doing this, the brand gets recognized and gains immediate prominence and attention (Kenneth Hein, 2001).
Red Bull was soon perceived as a popular drink in these destinations and was used as a common mixer along with other alcoholic beverages. This promoted the brand even further since consumers liked the feeling of being energized and active throughout the night. This risky and unpredictable lifestyle suited the characteristics of the target group Red Bull was focused on. 4. Reference Groups: Red Bull constantly encourages consumers to identify themsleves in a wide spread of activities mainly pertaining to different froms of sports.
This section explores what is called the ‘Red Bulletin’ a magazine catered to an active and highly motivated audience who aspire to be a part of this enormous community. Apart from publishing the events of the magazine online, it is also distributed along with Englands ‘The Independent’ newspaper on a montly basis. The magazine features articles of different sport events and projects organised by Red Bull explaning their stories and annoucing winners of the competitions ( Redbulletin, 2008).
Red Bull focuses primirily on brand managemtent to an extent where they take complete ownership of a sports event rather than just sponsoring it, providing complete control over how their brand is connected to the sport (Russell, 2009). The Red Bulletin does not use celebraties to promote their brand, instead they concentrate on publishing stories about the winners of their competitions in a section of the magazine called ‘Heroes’. These are everyday people who have gained success souly through their hard work, like any other individual.
The use of ‘real’ people is more realistic and persuasive when compared to a celebrity. The consumers’ indentification towards the brand is more effective and motivational casusing a higher degree of involvement. Red Bull thus selling an experience and a lifestlye by reflecting on different local cultures encourages people to be seen as a Red Bull ‘Hero’ (Redbulletin, 2008) (Solomon, et all, 2006, p. 351). Redbulletin. com, 2008 The latest development in technology with the magazine is called Red Bulletin Print 2. 0.
When the magazine is placed in front of a web camera of a computer which is connected to the internet, additional information pertaining to that article will appear projected onto the magazine. All that is needed is a web camera, a web browser and the Red Bulletin Magazine. The introduction of this type of technology stimulates the consumers interactivity towards the brand, offering a fascinating overall experience (Red Bulletin, 2009). Red Bull has an active forum on sites like facebook, twitter and so on where a vareity of events and on/offline competitions and games are held for the fans of the brand.
One such event called the Red Bull Stash was organised on facebook, where the Red Bull Energy Shot product was hidden all over the country for people to find. Fans of Red Bull were asked to log on to facebook and by entering their post code they would find hints on secret loactions within that area. The brand encourages the fans to publish stories and post pictures and videos of their adventure, and mentioning the names of people who have completed the competiton and the time taken to do so. The winner would win a trip to New York city to experience the world famous b-boy competition organised by Red Bull as well (Facebook, 2009).
In relation to racing, Red Bull holds a major stake in the F1 Racing community. The company also runs a Red Bull Junior Team where they sponsor young commited drivers and encourage them to take part in the F1 races. The brand had formed its own F1 team in the year 2004. Mateschitz had recruited a famous former McLaren driver David Coulthard to lead the team. Using this strategy, individuals who follow the F1 races and fans of David Coulthard would significantly develop a positive attitude towards the brand which can e related to a value-expressive form of influence. F1 Racing plays a major part in the the worlds sporting events thus forming a large audience, favourable towards it’s drivers, who are most often seen as famous personalities. After the release of this announcement the consumers’ attitude towards the product forms a different approach, where he/she feels the characteristics that of an F1 racer and protrays what type of person they would like to be by purchasing the product (F1complete, ) (Solomon,et all, p. 351). (Red Bull Racing, 2006) 5. Conclusion:
The success of Red Bull can be accreddited to its well planned marketing strategy as well as its ability to market itself as the most popular energy drink by branding itself in respect to an image that focuses on the andrenaline rush, which results in a positive perception by the consumers. Any time Red Bull has entered a sporting segment, the company always make sure it has complete ownership of whatever image or entity they pursue ??? from the original acquisition of the Formula 1 team to other activities that include extreme sports such as Air Races, Music Events , and Rock Climbing and many more.
This has worked well with the brands image being unconventional, edgy and enthusiastic. Though the company needs to expand its target segment to the older age group, the current strategy seems to be working well so far in terms of the overall financial success. Though their entire success can be credited towards the Generation Y consumer category. The advertising campaign of the company has also proven to be a successful one. The punchline of their advertisments being “Red Bull gives you wings” has been a trademark witty image to the company’s brand image.
The company has also perfected itself in the buzz marketing strategy aspect of it’s business since involvment is a very important part in creating a buzz, and this has always been an objective of the company (Kumar. Linguri). In the past decade, there have been over a hundered different energy drinks trying to penentrate into the market share owned by Red Bull – which has in certain aspects resulted in the company creating an even more aggressive marketing campaign.
In context to health, the company claims to have certain health benefits that include improved performance, better concentration and speed, as well as stimulation of the metabolism (Red Bull, 2009). A conclution may be drawn on how well the company’s marketing activities has positioned itself from the beginning till today, as the most successful energy drink available in the market accredited to its intelligent marketing strategies and how well the brand image has been percieved by the consumers till date. 6. References: Images 365 Media Group Ltd. 009. Red Bull Racing [online]. Accessed 1st December 2009]. Available from: http://www. sportinglife. com/formula1/teams/redbull. html Bachelot a les (red) bull ! n. d. [online]. [Accessed 1st December 2009]. Available from: http://desourcesure. com/medialand/2008/05/bachelot_a_les_red_bull. php Checkered Series Photography. 2008. Red Bull [online]. [Accessed 1st December 2009]. Available from: http://checkeredseriesphoto. com/Clients. html Red Bull. 2009. Red Bull Street Style-London Final [online]. [Accessed 1st December 2009]. Available from: ttp://www. redbull. co. uk/cs/Satellite/en_UK/Event/Red-Bull-Street-Style—London-Final-021242760791168 Red Bulletin. 2009. Heroes web site [online]. [Accessed 1st December 2009]. Available from: http://en. redbulletin. com/heroes/ Websites Arlidge, John. December 5, 2004. [online]. How redbull woke up the teen market. (Accessed November 16, 2009). Available from: http://www. guardian. co. uk/media/2004/dec/05/advertising. formulaone A DOSE OF REALITY. October 16, 2009. [online] [Accessed December 7, 2009]. Available from: http://en. redbulletin. om/articles/a_dose_of_reality/ Bized website. 2009. [online]. (accessed November 14, 2009). Avaliable from: http://www. bized. co. uk/compfact/redbull/redbull11. htm Bized Website. 2009. [online]. How does Redbull market its products. [Accessed November 14th, 2009]. Available from: http://www. bized. co. uk/compfact/redbull/redbull5. htm CASE STUDY-RED BULL: Running with bulls. September 14, 2007. [online] [Accessed 21st November, 2009]. Available from: http://goliath. ecnext. com/coms2/gi_0199-6957316/CASE-STUDY-RED-BULL-Running. html Kumar, Nirmalya.
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