The Brand
Red Bull GmbH is a Food & Beverages company, first founded in Austria in 1987, by Dietrich Mateschitz. In 1997, the energy drink was introduced to the United States and became a huge hit in the marketplace. Inspired by a prior energy drink, Krating Daeng, which was first introduced in Thailand in 1976, Red Bull has become the number one selling energy drink in the world. Red Bull is not only known for their remarkable energy drink line, but also for their unique marketing concept based on extreme sports and creativity.
"Red Bull has now become the leading energy drink brand in the U.S. with 24.9% of the market share (dollar sales) and is one of the world’s leading brands in energy drinks, selling 7.5 billion cans worldwide in 2019" (Kong, 2019, para. 3).
Red Bull's Mission Statement
“Giving Wiiings to People and Ideas" (Red Bull, 2022)
The Stories
Red Bull gains visibility and energy from promoting extreme events. I will use signature sets with different plots, told from different perspectives. This will create breadth and depth to both the core story and the message being communicated (Aaker, 2018, p.32). “Signature stories rarely stand alone. They usually come in sets. As we shall see, there are two advantages to having sets of stories. First, companion stories add interest, energy, and visibility. Second, a story set can express the depth and breadth of the strategic message, which may be too much for one story to convey” (Aaker, 2018, p.29). Based on this information, I will use sets of stories to gain a larger audience for the already established audience for mixed vodka drinks. According to Statista (2022), “Volume sales of hard seltzer in the United States stood at 1.6 billion 9-liter cases in 2021. By 2025, volume is expected to increase to 3.1 billion 9-liter cases” (para. 4). This shows the advantage of dipping into a market of alcoholic beverages because they are extremely popular. Red Bull also has an established core customer base behind their brand motto, “Red Bull gives you wiiings” (Lezzi, 2013, para.5). Maddie E. (2018) includes in a blog post, “Red Bull’s main Instagram account bodes an impressive 9.8 million followers. In addition to the global account, each country has its own account, with an average of 50–100K followers. Red Bull Canada (@redbullcanada) has 87.7K followers. The brand has several accounts catered to specific markets; for example, there is an account for their Formula One racing team, @redbullracing, which has a loft 2.4 million followers” (para.2). This shows the brand has already established a large customer base consisting of those passionate about extreme sports, extreme events, and having fun! The signature stories applied in this campaign are a mixture of brand, offering, and customer stories based around extreme sporting events. The sets of stories will consist of different plots, different perspectives, different spokespersons, and varied applications.
Audience Profile
“Red Bull’s target market can be identified as young urban males that live on the edge or aspire to do so. They’re also generally interested in extreme sports and challenging recreational activities” (Kong, 2020).
Demographics: The audience for this campaign will be 21-35 year olds who like to drink vodka beverages on the go. They like the idea of Red bull mixed with vodka because of the taste and energy it provides. Think about being out at a party, it’s late, the music is jumping, and you want to last through the night. Red bull Dragon Blood will do just that.
Psychographics: Athletes, college students, and working professionals who are ambitious and fearless. They take life by the horns and go for the challenge. These individuals are passionate about extreme sports and considered adrenaline junkies.
Geographic Information: The target audience of the Dragons Blood campaign lives in urban areas and major cities, where Red Bull events and extreme sporting events take place.
Campaign Objectives and Timeline
The two main goals of this digital campaign are to escalate brand awareness and promote lead generation. "Signature stories are ideally suited to provide visibility and energy to brands because they attract attention, draw people in and provide a reason to pass the story along" (Aaker, 2018, p.46). Trough word of mouth communication, others will hear about the new subcategory and will promote it to others they know. For 6 weeks Red Bull will promote the new subcategory, Dragons Blood through a digital press release, extreme sporting events, interview, blog posts, longform video commercials, and various social media posts. Since Red Bull already has a committed customer base, the subcategory will also be promoted through word of mouth communication and loyal customer recommendations. Extreme sports brand endorsers will also help launch the new subcategory, allowing for authenticity and shared interests with the brand community.
November 5, 2022 - Digital Press Release - Published late October, right before the holiday party scene to get the audience excited about the new subcategory coming to the marketplace on December 17th, 2022. The digital press release will introduce the new subcategory, providing facts and testimonials to increase visibility and energy through narrative transportation. According to Aaker (2018), “Research show that when narrative transportation occurs, persuasion does too” (p.64).
November 10, 2022 - Longform Video Layout - Published via television, YouTube, and other digital media platforms to increase visibility and endorse the must-have offering before the holiday party season.
November 15, 2022 - Micro-Podcast - Published directly after longform video is released to public to provide a celebrity endorsement of the new subcategory, persuading others to go out and buy it. The micro-podcast will also foster communication between the Red Bull brand community by giving insight about the new product launch and what must-haves are being offered.
December 1, 2022 - Blog Post – Published after audiences are introduced to the new subcategory through a press release, longform video, and micro-podcast to reinforce the must-haves and set up more barriers to their competition., The blog post will also provide an employee testimonial reinforcing the must-have experience through a captivating signature story.
December 5, 2022 - Social Media Posts – Published during the first week of December leading to the product launch on December 17, 2022. These posts will intrigue the audience and persuade them to buy through a call to action. These social posts will promote lead generation, increase website traffic, increase exposure, and customer engagement. By utilizing the IoT, the posts will gain substantial exposure and word of mouth communication will take place.
Press Release
Objective: The goal of the press release is to build exposure among the audience for the new subcategory. By having a compelling story, it will grab the audiences attention and keeps them involved in the campaign. By including a message from the CEO, the press release provides authenticity and transparency. According to Aaker (2018), A signature story is an intriguing, authentic, involving narrative that delivers or supports a strategic message clarifying or enhancing the brand vision, the customer relationship, organizational values and/or business strategy" (p.10). Not only does the press release intrigue and involve the audience, but it also provides authenticity, supports a strategic message, and enhances the brand vision.
Edits Made: The edits I made here were the publication date changed to November 5th to be more in line with product launch. The tone was revised as well to be more professional and included a call to action at the end of the release to influence the audience to order a case for the holidays.
Blog Post
Objective: I chose to do a blog post that was informational, providing the audience with recipes for holiday cocktails, using Red Bull Dragons Blood. The goal of the blog post is to draw in a larger audience, by intriguing them through energy and visibility. The recipes are exciting and nostalgic because it makes the audience think of the holidays. Aaker (2018) claims, "The most important role of visibility, is to help make a brand relevant" (p.46). The blog post will come out in the early phase of the campaign so, having a compelling story that draws in the audience is key. Not only will the blog post include a compelling story but it will also have a call to action that will provide the audience with a reason to go out and buy the new Dragons Blood since the recipes contain the new alcoholic beverage.
Edits Made: The edits made to the blog post were from feedback from the original blog post. I needed to create more of a story rather than inform and give facts. Instead, I chose to include recipes as a way to entice the audience and open up to a new audience of people who like to cook or are creative. Through strategic story telling I embedded facts about the new subcategory and its must-haves. Aaker (2018) advises, "By themselves, facts may not do well at gaining attention, persuading, inspiring, ect. ... Presenting facts in the context of the story -and not by themselves-can thus be helpful" (p.14). By embedded the facts into the blog post it will draw in the audience and persuade them to purchase.
Micro-Podcast
Objective: The Micro-Podcast I created for the digital campaign involves an interview type approach, where a Red Bull employee (the podcast host) interviews a pro athlete. I chose this type of interview style segment because it made the overall story more engaging and memorable. The utilization of a companion story provides the audience authenticity and connection. The interview provides another persons insights about the new subcategory. Through descriptive facts the story comes to life through an emotional connection. Aaker (2020) explains, "The empirical evidence from many dozens of studies dramatically shows that, in comparison to descriptive portrays of facts, stories are much better at getting attention, affecting perceptions, changing attitudes, being remembered, inspiring and energizing. Not 20% or 30% better, but 200% to 300% better" (p.94). The goal of the micro-podcast for this campaign is to give the audience a role model's opinion of the new subcategory to show trust and an unbiased opinion. By including a Red Bull employee to host the podcast it carries out the messaging from within the organization. This provides substance to the story and gives the audience an emotional connection not only to the brand but the the new subcategory. I also chose to interview a pro female athlete because I want to open up into the female market. By including a female athlete into the campaign it connects to the female market, giving them a reason to keep listening. The music in the micro-podcast is from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I chose this music because it is energetic and upbeat and transfers perfectly to the tone of the campaign.
Edits Made: The edits I made to the micro-podcast were from feedback from my peers. Initially the music in the podcast did not transition into the talking points as smoothly as I wanted. I made the transitions from the music to the people speaking more smooth, which helped to make the flow and tone more compelling for the story.
Planned SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
Objective: I chose to create planned social media posts for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter because the majority of the audience for this campaign utilizes these platforms the most. This will result in the post getting the most exposure possible. The goal for the social media posts are to communicate the must-haves of the new subcategory and continue to remind the audience of the new product being offered. The social media posts I created for this digital campaign represent the brand's colors and style. The tone of the posts represent the "over the top" energy of the Red Bull brand. In the planned social media posts I wanted to communicate the organization's values; "People, Culture, and Ideas" (Red Bull, 2022). By researching the audience of my campaign, communicating a consistent message, and adding creativity into the mix, the social media posts catch the audiences eye and draws them in. Through ethnographic research and studying the market trends, I was able to create these planned social media posts. I also created more than two social media posts for this campaign because I plan to first run a trial/test run to understand what images work best for open and click rates as well as driving traffic to the website. Each social media post also contains a call to action to encourage the audience to go out and buy the new subcategory.
Edits Made: The edits I made for this planned social media posts came from my own observations. I added more posts to the mix so I could run a trial/test run to understand what is working best for the campaign.
Longform Video Layout
Objective: For the longform video layout part of the campaign, I wanted to really bring the story to life. I decided to do some research, looking through previous Red Bull commercials, to keep the branding and tone cohesive throughout. By incorporating humor, my goal is for the audience to stay entertained. "Humor rewards the audience by entertaining. As such, it attracts and maintains attention" (Aaker, 2018, p.126). The plot of the video takes place during the holidays on New Year's Eve, right after the new subcategory will hit shelves. This will give the viewers a reason to buy the product. The holiday season connects to the audience on an emotional level that contributes to them liking what they see. Aaker (2018) advises, "A host of theories and studies in advertising, consumer behavior and psychology support the premise that emotions are often more important than facts when consumers make decisions" (p.65). To get creative, I incorporated dragons wings, smoke, and fire in the video. The goal of doing so is to hopefully have the audience create their own meaning to the story as well.
Edits Made: The edits I made to the longform video layout came from constructive feedback from my peers. The time stamps were changed to reflect the script of the characters. I also added the call to action scene at the end, informing the audience where to buy.
Final Takeaways and Reflection
This digital storytelling campaign was built on sets of stories, really bringing the message to life. Red Bull has established a committed core customer base through their marketing efforts and by giving their customers what they want. In a world of rapid innovation, Red Bull knows they need to stay relevant and create new must-haves for their customers. By doing extensive research, we can understand the insights of our audience and cater our messaging to get a positive response. The Dragons Blood subcategory was created in hopes to provide the customers with a new product they want and bring excitement and energy to the brand. Stories are more powerful than facts alone because they provide the audience with energy and excitement. By providing an emotional connection to the audience, the story comes to life. When creating a digital campaign, we need to remember to always communicate in a cohesive, consistent manner. After completing each section of the campaign, I realized I needed to go back to make edits where necessary to create a cohesive flow that represents the tone and the branding of Red Bull.
References
Credits:
Created with an image by Phillip Holland - "Sports Video"