The Idea: If you want wings, we will give them to you – this is the secret of Red Bull Energy Drink. Red Bull doesn’t sell you. Instead, they invite like-minded people to join them on an extreme journey. Red Bull’s stop-at-nothing approach positions them as an experiential lifestyle brand that has unleashed massive growth & loyalty.
What’s their secret?
Red Bull was honored as Fast Company’s Most Innovative Company in 2012 after creating “Red Bull Media House,” an offshoot production company meant to capture the product’s vitality. The energy drink company had moved into media. Says Werner Bell, director of Red Bull Media House, “Stories were told. It was part of the DNA of the brand.” Since its creation, Red Bull has been a story and an enabler more than a packaged product. They invite you to enter their world!
What’s their difference? Red Bull’s core belief is that their product should fuel your journey, not just be consumed. They embody a paradoxical combination of relentless self-promotion and shocking reservation. Their product is the extreme culture it represents. And that lifestyle (not the product) speaks for itself.
Red Bull has been a platform for some of the most magnificent “adrenaline moments” in the last twenty years, most notably their Red Bull Stratos event, a skydiving effort which set a world record at 23 miles. Red Bull is 100% committed to letting their users, and their artistic efforts, speak for the brand. The users are the mouthpiece and evangelists for the brands. The brand is genuine and its evangelistic followers are a cultural force.
CEO of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, was asked about the evolution of his company in 2012 and to define what the product does: “it is an invitation as well as a request to be active, performance-oriented, alert, and to take challenges.”
How are you creating brand discipleship through your larger cultural experience?
How are you letting others carry your brand experience to the masses?
