Marketing Cases

Marketing Cases

AFTER THE RUSH: WHAT'S NEXT FOR RED BULL

Introduction

Red Bull was founded in 1987 by Dietrich Mateschitz who got inspired by the functional drinks from the Far East. He made some changes in the formula of pre-existing energy drink (Krating Daeing from Thailand) and came up with a new energy drink with the name of Red Bull. In 1984, Red Bull was sold for the first time in Austria, which is its home market. With the passage of time, Red Bull has become the most popular energy drink in the work with its market availability in more than 165 countries (Schackman, 2010). The amount of caffeine in a single can of Red Bull is twice as much as present in a single can of Mountain Dew. The company emphasizes that the formula of Red Bull took 3 years to develop. The price of a single can of Red Bull is higher than other energy and soft drinks.

Red Bull made a tremendous entry in the US and by 2010; it continued to hold 60 to 70 percent share of US market for similar drinks and annual sales. Many marketing experts viewed Red Bull's entry into US as a classic use of alternative and buzz marketing. There are two serious challenges for Red Bull which has emerged recently. The first one is that it has been banned in some countries due to its negative impact on health. The second is the increasing competition.

Answer 1

Red Bull's brand management team identified its target market i.e. college and university students and starting distributing free samples of Red Bull. The students were also encouraged to throw parties where cases of Red Bull would be provided. The other method which Red Bull's marketing team used was the formation of consumer educators, who used to travel to various locations to distribute free samples of Red Bull. The marketing team also organized and sponsored different extreme sporting events where the word-of-mouth communication about the brand spread and Red Bull's target audience became its first customer base.

Answer 2

Red Bull's marketing team has used different alternative marketing venues. They have marketed the product through different advertising events such as Red Bull Air Race and Red Bull Crashed Ice. The marketing team has also owned sport teams like FC Red Bull Salzburg, Red Bull New York, Red Bull Brazil etc. The marketing team has also setup their own TV channel on their website.

Answer 3

There is no doubt that traditional media is a way to build a business. It provides you the way to reach any market and can give you heavy number of customers. Also, through traditional media, a brand can remove spots and stains from itself which are caused by rumors and competitors (Dahlen, Lange & Smith, 2010). The alternative media of Red Bull is doing a good job. Red Bull can make use of traditional media as well. Firstly, it will help in getting more new customers and retaining the existing ones. Also, because of recent challenges faced by ...