Red Bull: Building Brand Equity in New Ways

RED BULL CASE STUDY (Week 4)

Reading: Red Bull: Building Brand Equity in New Ways (Best Practices In Branding, p.69)

ASSIGNMENT:

This case concerns the marketing efforts to build Red Bull’s brand equity, a product first discovered in Thailand and launched in Austria in 1987. The case discusses the companies slow growth strategy and plans to enter new markets in a methodical fashion in order to maximize buzz and anticipation. Red Bull achieved remarkable growth with only one product (the familiar blue/silver can) and very little advertising support, especially when compared to many other companies in the beverage industry. The challenge for the brand is to continue its stellar growth, despite growing competition from Coke, Budweiser, PepsiCo and additional new competitors.

1) Describe Red Bull’s sources of brand equity. Do these sources change depending on the market or country?

Consumers were to see Red Bull as a product that would give them a lift whenever and wherever they were feeling tired

Being priced as premium from the start, consumers saw it as a more elite product

Negative rumors only increased consumer awareness of the product

Consumers saw that Red Bull was limited on availability and this only made customers want it more

Consumers see Red Bull as a product being used by people having fun: playing a sport, being in a nightclub, or at a festival

Excited and engaged consumers

Red Bull is known as a sports sponsor

2) Analyze the various aspects of Red Bulls’ marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) and the design and utilization of their various brand elements. How do the different brand elements by their design support and reinforce the brand’s equity and positioning (Red Bull gives you wings!”)

Red Bull’s product is an energy drink with the highlighted ingredient taurine this makes it a great product for a lot of different markets, with mostly adrenaline-related hobbies

It’s prices are more premium, when they first came to market they were from $1.99-$3

Red Bull is known worldwide and has a 42% market share next to Monster in the energy drinks