Red Bull Takes Marketing Buzz Into Space

Once upon a time, Steve Jobs and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) were the masters of marketing buzz. Today, Apple continues to create buzz with each new version of its iPhone and iPad, but energy drink manufacturer and distributor Red Bull have surpassed it. The secret?

The enlisting of the right messengers to spread the company’s brand to the right audience in the right context, the place and time the message is launched. The context is like a magnified glass that allows consumers to see and imagine things couldn’t see and imagine before. A message launched in a cosmopolitan city, in front of a landmark structure, a statue is more effective than a message launched in the middle of nowhere. Likewise, a message launched in the aftermath of a major event that has captured broad attention is more effective than a message launched at a usual time.


Red Bull messengers are usually extreme sports professionals. The context is well-known landmarks where they perform Red Bull sponsored events: A jump over the Corinth Isthmus, a dive in the Voullagmeni Lake, and a Formula One race. Tomorrow, Red Bull Stratos, a group of extreme professionals, has carried buzz marketing into the space. One of its members, Felix Baumgartner is about to take an epic jump from the edge of space, according to Red Bull Stratos official site. Supported by a team of experts, Felix will ascend in a helium balloon to an altitude of 120,000 ft / 36,576 m where he will take a leap of faith into the unknown in an attempt to become the first person to break the speed of sound during the free fall.

Judging from Red Bull’s rapid transformation from a start-up Austrian corporation to a global giant that is challenging Coke (NYSE:KO) and Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) in their own home-turf, its buzz campaigns must be working. And Felix Baumgartner’s space jump seems to have already accomplished one of its goals: It has drawn a broad coverage by the mass media and the social media.