RedBull | redbull-vs-monster

Sources:

by Julia & Theresa

CHECK OUT THE AMAZING POSITIONING & BRAND ANATOMY OF RED BULL

CHECK OUT RED BULL'S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSESS

How are they going to address future opportunities in their market place? How will they tackle threats from competitors?
We are curious to learn more about their future strategy development!

Sources:

- http://www.freeswotanalysis.com/consumer-goods-swot/650-red-bull-swot-analysis.html http://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/redbull-swot-analysis-business-essay.php

by Julia

1. HOW IT ALL BEGAN

The Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by a Thai energy drink called Krating Daeng, which he tried to cure his jet lag with during a business trip in 1982 when he was marketing director for the toothpaste company Blendax.

After realizing the huge potential of such a drink in the European market, he created the formula for Red Bull and founded the company Red Bull GmbH. Originally the Thai drink belonged to Mr. Yoovidhya who Mateschitz formed a partnership with in order to refine the recipe. The launch of Red Bull in Austria in 1987 was the birth of a completely new product category.

Picture on the left: Red Bull’s very first ad: 17th April 1987

2. INITIAL TROUBLES

Red Bull had a moderate initial success in its home market, but due to health concerns about the high amount of taurine and caffeine the company was not able to expand to France, Denmark and Norway. In fact Mateschitz didn’t do much about negative rumours coming from consumers in the excessive party-scene that the drink was made of bull semen and testicles. He stated: “This ambivalence is so important. The most dangerous thing for a branded product is low interest". However he made necessary adjustments in order to enable the expansion to other countries and linked the brand to the “mental and physical resilience of extreme sport”. Mateschitz focused on establishing Red Bull’s image even before he tested it in its home market Austria. According to Mateschitz’s vision, Red Bull was never supposed to be just a drink, but to represent a certain edgy way of life. He managed to build an entire corporate culture by establishing a Red Bull religion and the drink is being sold in over 165 countries by now.

3. HOW RED BULL BUILT ITS CULTURE AND BRAND AWARENESS

We are going to have a look at the most important steps that led Red Bull to its breakthrough in the energy drink market.

1992: One of the first public events was the Red Bull Flugtag (Flight Day) that wants people to create homemade flying machines and drive them off 6-meter in hopes of achieving flight

1994: SPONSORING INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES
The windsurfers Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Robby Naish were the first international athletes endorsed by Red Bull, followed by Lindsey Vonn, Sebastian Vettel, Andrew Jordan, etc.

1995: GRAND PRIX TEAM
Red Bull enters the Formula 1 with their Team Sauber

1997: RED BULL CLIFF DIVING

Three seconds of freefall and athletic acrobatics

1999: THE RAPUNZEL SPOT

as one out of many cartoons (video on the left):

2000: RED BULL AVAILABLE IN MIDDLE EAST

Watch the ALADDIN SPOT, that Red Bull developed to launch the product in the Arabic world (video on the left):

2003: FIRST RED BULL AIR RACE

This is a race of airplanes containing flight aerobatics while passing through air gates at high speed. The planes and their pilots have to prove high flexibility and stress endurance. Through this extreme sport event Red Bull developed a completely new aerobatics discipline.

2005: THE BEGINNING OF RED BULL RACING

2006: THE MOONLANDING SPOT

This spot is one of the most famous and amusing ones shown in 24 countries including Russia and the US. Take a look at it here:

2007: THE START OF RED BULL RECORDS & RED BULL MUSIC STUDIO IN LOS ANGELES

Red Bull Records is an innovative music project that is looking to establish

a new approach towards artist relationships and music productions.

It is targeting the young music industry and creating a new progressive music culture.

Red Bull supports young promising artists and bands by helping them

to grow their network through their label. Their production tools are unique

and high class which makes recording easy and a great experience at the same time.

LAUNCH OF THE RED BULL MEDIA HOUSE

The Media House works as a producer in music, TV, radio, film, etc. The content is however always related to the brand’s identity and wants to “cause direct consumer impact”, such as the movie of Baumgartner’s jump from the stratosphere.

Several series of event marketing followed, such as Red Bull Crushed Ice Series and Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour.

2007: THE RED BULLETIN

The Red Bulletin is the company’s magazine that consists of 100 pages and is launched monthly in Austria, the U.S. and seven other countries.

2010: SEBASTIAN VETTEL & RED BULL RACING

1ST FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVER'S & CONSTRUCTOR'S CHAMPIONSHIP

2011: THE ART OF FLIGHT

The documentary on freestyle snowboarding with Travis Rice was released by the Red Bull Media House. Check it out here - it’s definitely worth having a look:

RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY

Red Bull’s music space in Madrid was set up. The music Academy had existed for 12 years already and this was their first global project, followed by the RED BULL FLYING BACH EUROPEAN TOUR which combines classical music with breakdance.

2012: RED BULL STRATOS

Baumgartner’s mission to “the Edge of Space”

He jumped from 128.000 feet after getting to the stratosphere with a huge helium balloon guided by Red Bull’s experts.

It also contributed to new scientific data and the development of a new kind of space suits. Red Bull got the entire world watching the mission.

2013: The Red Bull Music Academy in:
NEW YORK: A month long music festival, celebrating over 34 Nights in more than 35 Clubs with over 230 Artists

INDIA - THE RED BULL TOUR BUS: Local artists from all over the country spread their projects through the tourbus.

BRAZIL - THE RED BULL STATION: They converted an old energy plant to a huge cultural venue for clubbing and arts.

2013: THE LAUNCH OF A NEW PRODUCT RANGE

In order to maintain the leadership position in the energy drinks market and live up to their mission “To spread our wings over the world” (Red Bull, 2013).

As you can see, Red Bull is extremely active and successful in many businesses other than energy drinks. The company owns a construction company, soccer clubs, academies, film productions, and even online clothing, which helped them to create an immense brand awareness.All this led to a growth in sales: in South Africa (+52%), Japan (+51%), Saudi Arabia (+38%), France (+21%), the US (+17%) and Germany (+14%). Red Bull therefore plans to continue investing in event marketing and sponsorships.

2013: MORE THAN 5.3 BILLION CANS SOLD

+ won the Formula 1 championships

+ victory of the Red Bull’s "Team USA" in the America's Cup

The next step will probably be to create a Red Bull country, one in which “Nobody tells you what you have to do — only what you don't have to do." (Mateschitz, 2013)

SOURCES

http://www.sfu.ca/~sheppard/478/syn/1131/Group_4.pdf

http://www.statista.com/stats/151493/red%20bull

http://www.forbes.com/companies/red-bull/

http://www.europeanceo.com/home/featured/2013/10/marketing-with-wings-dietrich-mateschitz-and-the-art-of-branding/

http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=545

http://energydrink.redbull.com/company

http://www.euromonitor.com/medialibrary/PDF/RedBull-Company-Profile-SWOT-Analysis.pdf

by Julia

RED BULL'S JOURNEY - THE MILE STONES

ALL RED BULL CONTRIBUTIONS - POWERED BY JULIA & THERESA

2014

THE FIVE LEVELS OF MEANING FOR RED BULL

by Theresa

Source: Kapferer’s model

http://tuesdaydigital.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/kap.png

by Theresa

RED BULL & THE LOVEMARKS

Sources:

by Theresa

THE BRAND PROMISE OF RED BULL & HOW IT CAUSED AN AMERICAN LAWSUIT

What is the brand promise of Red Bull?

The brand promise of Red Bull is very clear. It is communicated on all adverts, on the webpage, internet, social media and more. Everybody is familiar with the promise and knows:

« RED BULL GIVES YOU WINGS »

That Red Bull won’t give you real wings is obvious.

Anyways the message communicated with this

metaphor is widely understood.

Red Bull gives you energy and helps you

to make the impossible possible.

The brand promise is tailored to the main audience

of Red Bull, young people.

Through various advertisements Red Bull tells short stories about situations from the daily life in which some wings could be the solution to the problem– mostly in a funny way.

Read more: How can a brand promise like the one from Red Bull cause an American Lawsuit?

“THE RED BULL LAWSUIT FROM 2013/2014”

In 2013 in the USA a consumer, Benjamin Careathers, has claimed against the Red Bull company because their slogan for their energy drinks falsely promises it “gives you wings” because he felt betrayed by the dishonesty of Red Bull. The consumer has stated that even after drinking Red Bull he was not given wings – which is obvious, but enough to start a lawsuit in the United States. With this hilarious idea he succeeded in front of the court and Red Bull had to agree to pay out $ 10 to every person who bought the drink since 2002. No proof is needed that a Red Bull has actually been bought during the last 12 years. This has caused a run on the Red Bull website and it crashed down for a while. As the whole amount Red Bull has to pay is $ 13 m, it is not even sure that each person who claims will receive the full $ 10. Furthermore it has to be said that only US citizens have the right to get paid this fee, even consumers all over the world tried to join the complaints.

This example shows that the brand promise of Red Bull made them pay a lot of money but they will still stick to their slogan in future as they earn far more money through their successful marketing strategies.

More articles / sources about the lawsuit:

- Red Bull awards $13m to its customers for not giving them wings

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/red-bull-awards-13million-to-its-customers-for-not-giving-them-wings-9787627.html

- $13m lawsuit proves Red Bull doesn't give you wings

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11155731/13m-lawsuit-proves-Red-Bull-doesnt-give-you-wings.html

- So Red Bull doesn't actually 'give you wings'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/29550003

- Red Bull Drinkers Can Claim $10 Over 'Gives You Wings' Lawsuit

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/red-bull-drinkers-can-claim-10-over-gives-you-wings-n221901

- Red Bull Will Pay $10 To Customers Disappointed The Drink Didn’t Actually Give Them 'Wings'
http://www.businessinsider.com/red-bull-settles-false-advertising-lawsuit-for-13-million-2014-10#ixzz3IlECHFLU

Sources:

- Brand promise text:

https://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/brand-promise/

http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2011/11/a-brand-is-bigger-than-performance.html#.VGCCO_mG-So

- Brand promise pics:

http://www.thedrum.com/uploads/news/tmp/77017/redbullgivesyouwings-480x330.png

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/10/09/1412864959231_wps_10_Red_Bull_lawsuit.jpg

by Theresa

Red Bull’s product portfolio

Analysing their very few products, we found that Red Bull doesn’t win by producing the actual energy drink. They win by creating a strong brand portfolio in terms of marketing that is very diversified, contrary to their range of drinks. A typical example of the constraints of a FORMULA BRAND. They win by their way of advertising: from event sponsors to content creators to traditional advertisers. In Austria’s commercial register, Red Bull’s purpose is described the following way: “Red Bull’s objective is the marketing of the brand Red Bull.” Meaning that Red Bull has always been about much more than selling energy drinks.

THE CLASSIC

WHAT’S INSIDE?

Caffeine + Taurine + B-Group Vitamins + Sucrose & Glucose + Alpine Spring Water.

"Red Bull keeps me focused and energized so that I can compete at my best both on and off the field. It gives me the extra push needed to continually perform at top levels." - Thierry Henry

SUGAR FREE

Red Bull Sugarfree is a functional energy drink without sugar (only 3 calories per 100 ml)

It’s supposed to give you wings while balancing a busy day between work and gym or during fun nights out with your friends.

RED BULL ZERO CALORIES

Zero Calories and Zero Sugar, but still 100% Wings.

It offers zero calories, zero sugar and provides you with the same wings you get from Red Bull Energy Drink.

RED BULL EDITIONS

(LAUNCHED IN 2012)

Same benefit - Different taste. The Red Bull Editions combine the wings of Red Bull Energy Drink with three specific flavours: Cranberry, Lime & Blueberry.

The new products are line priced with the classic Red Bull energy drink and they supported the Red Bull Editions brand extension with an "expansive" marketing campaign including advertising, public relations, in-store point of sale (POS), digital and social activations as well as a national sampling program with the Red Bull Wings Team.

THE COLA from Red Bull

Why did Red Bull make a Cola? Why not? The result is Red Bull Cola: strong & natural. With a special formula that consists of natural ingredients only: Red Bull calls it 100% STRAIGHT UP COLA, meaning it’s not an energy drink, but a special natural cola. It contains coca leaf extract and kola nut and has no secret formula like the other products.

By launching Red Bull Cola the company tried to create a different image. They reveal the ingredients and proof their capability to innovate as the Cola is developed and produced in-house.

As already statet in the SWOT analysis, Red Bull needs to enlarge its product portfolio. They should use the value of their brand to stretch the range of their offer. According to sales figures it is one of the largest companies, but they need to remain competitive through efficient, innovative product development in the future.

5.387 billion cans of Red Bull were sold worldwide in 2013, which is an increase of 3.1% against 2012. Company turnover is higher than five billion euros (EUR 5.040 billion). Red Bull states themselves that their sales figures are the best in the company's history so far.

SOURCES:

http://energydrink.redbull.com/red-bull-energy-drink

http://energydrink.redbull.com/company

http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/the-perfect-marketing-strategy-that-fell-out-of-the-sky/

by Julia

THE RESONANCE

How loyal are Red Bull’s customers? The brand’s community seems to be huge worldwide. People know athletes and events sponsored by Red Bull: they google them, follow them on Twitter, share their experiences. This became a huge virtual network of very brand loyal consumers. Its resonance is especially strong in its home market Austria, but is spreading fast all over Europe and the world. Austrians feel attached to the brand as Red Bull shows a large deal of community involvement and creates employment. Red Bull’s fans are linked through facebook groups, music exchange platforms, event websites and much more. These REAL fans would not consider buying any other energy drink anymore. The taste is rather minor - it is much more influenced by belonging to a certain edgy and energetic group of people.

Red Bull’s FEELINGS

Red Bull creates the strongest feeling among its competitors. It stands for young, dynamic, fun and edgy. Not only it makes you feel energetic and powerful, but on the other hand it feels a little dangerous or exciting to consume the drink, almost as if anything would be possible wearing Red Bull’s wings. You feel like slightly breaking the rules (almost as if you were taking drugs). The events Red Bull hosts are usually state-of-the-art and very particular - attending such an event (especially in the music scene) makes you feel being part of something unique and special and at the same time freedom is held very high.

THE JUDGEMENT

Doing blind taste testing and running a questionnaire, we obtained the result that Red Bull is the clear top of mind in the energy drink industry. It will probably face challenges, but it remains the number one energy drink in the world. It had the highest recall rate of their logo without any writing on it. Also its taste was preferred by consumers, even though we tried to trick them by making them believe they were drinking Monster. It tastes slightly sweeter compared to Monster. It also creates an image of superiority and a stronger overall perception compared to its competitors. The well communicated brand values allowed the brand to create a strong brand identity.

Red Bull’s BRAND IMAGERY

The range of images around Red Bull is wide. It is associated with entertainment, music and fun, as well as with strength, and power, and also with extreme sports, leadership and extraordinary skills. It keeps you awake to study, but it also makes you fly whenever you feel down. That means we can observe associations reaching from the daily life (long drives, long working hours, etc.) to the party scene (long nights of clubbing, new music, being social) to any kind of sports (dangerous extreme sports, outdoor sports as well as creative sports like the soap car races). Their message is that Red Bull can be consumed in all these different situations and will always help you to reach higher.

Red Bull’s PERFORMANCE

How to successfully sell taurine in a can? Make sure it works as a tool to keep people focused, awake and make them believe they are a leader and achiever. Red Bull provides you with energy and it is doing a good job in this field. Red Bull seems new and edgy, especially on the french market. However, it has been very well implemented in consumer’s minds thanks to its strong performance. Red Bull is a clear outperformer in its field - not just in terms of efficiency but also outside of the can. Even though the range of its products (as analyzed in below articles) is rather narrow, they possess roughly 70% of the energy market share worldwide. Its colours, can design and taste are unique and very present on several points of sale (bars, clubs, supermarkets, restaurants, etc.). That is mostly the reason for Red Bull’s premium pricing strategy. They are able to charge slightly more and people are ready to pay a little more as they also offer more, in terms of their brand image including the numerous events and the World of Red Bull built around the drink.

Red Bull’s BRAND SALIENCE

Red Bull’s brand salience consists of its broad brand awareness. People recognize not only the taste (as seen in our ‘blind’ tasting tests), but also Red Bull’s packaging (the silver/blue design) is associated to the brand. Also the logo showing two fighting bulls evokes a strong feeling for Red Bull’s functionality in terms of gaining strength and power that helps you to get through a hard day of work. Red Bull in anchored in people’s minds firstly for its efficacy, as it is very useful whenever you feel tired. You feel like you can refill your batteries by drinking the energy. Secondly, the slogan ‘Red Bull gives wings’ has experienced wide popularity. Red Bull tries to live up to this slogan by literally helping extreme sportsmen to fly (see Felix Baumgartner). This aggressive approach towards extreme sports and events created a strong imagery as well as feelings around the brand. As mentioned before, it is about much more than just an energy drink.

by Julia

AAKER about Red Bull's brand personality

"Although all the activities are around high energy, there are two brand personalities that live side-by-side. One is the serous athlete excelling in difficult challenges. The other is a fun-loving, humorous, whimsical personality as represented by much of their “Red Bull gives you wings” advertising and humorous cartoon videos on their website."

Aaker, May 15, 2013

https://www.prophet.com/blog/aakeronbrands/140-red-bull

According to Aaker Red Bull embodies two different brand personalities:

Personality 1 Personality 2

Serious & Challenging Fun & Loving