Red Bull Creative Brief

Introduction:
Red Bull is a sweet, caffeinated energy drink aimed to give customers the high energy kick. It offers s the following products: Red Bull energy drink, Red Bull sugar free, Red Bull cola and Red Bull energy shots. For this particular research project, we will only be focusing on Red Bull energy drinks.

Company Background:
In 1982, Dietrich Mateschitz became familiar with tonic drinks that were spread and dominant in the Far East, specifically in Thailand. At that time, one popular tonic drink company was owned by Chaleo Yoovidhya in Thailand. Mateschitz was inspired by this idea and established his own energy drinks company in Austria in 1984. He named his company Red Bull, which implies power and energy.
Since Mateschitz took the energy drink idea from the Thai owner, he obtained some of the drink ingredients from him as well. It contains taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, B vitamins, sucrose, phenylalanine, and glucose.
Mateschitz developed a unique marketing plan and started selling Red Bull Energy Drink in the Austrian market in 1987. This was not only the launch of a completely new product, in fact it was the birth of a totally new product category. After Red Bull’s success in Austria, it entered its first foreign market Hungary in 1992, and the United States in 1997. As Dietrich Mateschitz states, “Around 4 billion cans of Red Bull are consumed every year. The responsibility for the success of the world's No. 1 energy drink is shared by the company's 6,900 employees around the world. The Red Bull headquarters are based in Fuschl am See, not far from Salzburg, Austria.”

Slogan and Logo:
Red Bull's slogan is "it gives you wings". The slogan is very widespread and most people are aware that this slogan belongs to Red Bull drinks. Furthermore, it indicates that Red Bull gives people power, energy and wings which make it easier for people to complete their tasks and make people feel that they alert.

Red Bull’s Main Competitors (Energy Drinks):
• Power Horse
• RockStar
• Bison
• Monster
• Burn
• Effect

Problem:
The communication plan attempts to inform its target audience that Red Bull can boost mental awareness and energize a busy person. Also, it reminds its customers that Red Bull is an effective, good tasting substitute for other caffeinated beverages, such as coffee, tea and Pepsi and it contains all natural ingredients.

According to the Hierarchy of Marcom effects, the communication plan is aimed to establish brand loyalty by creating awareness through its promotional activities among its target audiences. Moreover, it gives the chance for customers to have a free trial for Red Bull in order to taste it; hence, evaluate if it meets their expectations.
Target Audience:
Red Bull targets its customers based on specific age demographics. Red Bull’s target market currently is aimed at teenagers and adults, aging from 15 to mid 30s. Furthermore, Red Bull targets clubbers, alcoholics and individuals who undergo stress while completing their tasks.

Consumer insights and brand imperatives:

Unlike other competitors, Red Bull is recognized as the top-of-mind energy drink. Today, it is also known as the best-selling energy drink in the marketplace. The brand essence lies behind its promotional activities, such as friendly members of Red Bull distributing free samples of their drinks. Moreover, it motivates its targets audience by providing sponsorships in different events and gatherings, such as schools, parties, clubs, social gatherings, sports events including Olympics and much more.
Consumers are attracted by their advertising vehicles (Red Bull Beatle cars) that provide mobile displays, painted blue and silver with a giant can of Red Bull mounted on top. In addition, events such as Air shows and Flug Tag shows developed a sense of consumer interest towards the product. Furthermore, it nominates winners for different gifts and prizes during its shows and events; hence, enhancing interactivity between the brand and consumers.
Consumers also prefer this drink because it enables them to accelerate their performance and revive themselves quickly after being under pressure. “Red Bull promotes its consumption ‘to increase physical endurance, improve concentration and reaction speed, improve vigilance and stimulate metabolism.” (Red Bull, 2008).
Since the brand loyalty is increased in Red Bull, it is achieving a higher market share and it is able to charge premium prices for its drinks; thus, it is the most expensive energy drink in the market.

Media Imperatives/ Creative Direction:
Red Bull uses a media mix in order to reach its target audience at the right moment in the right place. Red Bull uses TV, radio, press, internet and sponsorships. In other words, the company focuses on the media through which it reaches its target market. Red Bull creates its advertisements using a humorous and witty cartoon campaigns, transferring the message that this energy drink helps one complete tasks and function by “giving you wings” . Red Bull launches its advertising campaigns and sponsorships during sports events, parties, schools and places where people are most active.
Throughout Red Bull’s campaigns, the firm prefers personal interaction with their consumers and advertising through digital media, rather than print media. It relies more on what is called 'buzz marketing' or word-of-mouth. The reason why Red Bull favors these methods of advertising is that they offer higher scope for quick response/ feedback. According to Red Bull, one of the advantages of using TV, radio or cinema advertising is that consumers are exposed to these ads from time to time, in comparison to tangible print media which are always available. This advertising method arouses consumers’ interest and curiosity as they are not exposed to it daily.
The animated cartoons used in Red Bull’s advertisements symbolize the light profile of the brand. These ads are usually humorous and send a message related to “body and mind”, hence supporting Red Bull’s campaign slogan: “Red Bull revitalizes body and mind.”

Objective:
The Mission Statement of Red Bull is as follows:
"We are dedicated to upholding Red Bull standards, while maintaining the leadership position in the energy drinks category when delivering superior customer service in a highly efficient and profitable manner. We create a culture where employees share best practices dedicated to coaching and developing our organization as an employer of choice."
Red Bull’s main objective is boosting one’s energy.

SMART Objectives:
Red Bull uses the acronym SMART to set objectives for their strategies and plans. The SMART objectives are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time based.
Specific
Red Bull sets its objectives in precise numerical terms such as numbers, percentages, or even frequencies.
Measurable
Red Bull monitors and records the data based on behaviours and actions. It measures the effectiveness of the objectives by evaluating consumers’ response.
Achievable
Red Bull managers invest a reasonable amount of effort and application into achieving their main objective.
Realistic
Red Bull sets its objectives based on the inputs they have in order to be realistic to reach their goals.
Time Based
When planning a Red Bull campaign, the company sets specific dates and times for when the implantation, process and evaluation will take place.


SWOT Analysis:
Strengths:
Effective communication
Loyal customers
Market share leadership
Strong brand equity
Reputation management
Weaknesses:
Higher price than its competitors
Manufactured only in one factory: Austria
Opportunities:
Emerging markets and expansion abroad
Introduce new products, such as Red Bull Tea, or Red Bull candy bars
Threats:
New competitors emerging in the markets

Support:
Since Red Bull’s establishment till the present day, the company did not face any major complaint or problems regarding its products or promotional activities; hence, enhancing its credibility. Moreover, it maintains its promise which is stated in their objectives and mission statement. It also retains its customer satisfaction by introducing new ideas in order to meet their customers’ satisfaction.

Benefits:
Red Bull promises the following benefits:
1- Enhances performance
2- Boosts concentration and reaction speed
3- Increases endurance
4- Stimulates metabolism

Red Bull drinks contain B-group vitamins which play an important role in energy metabolism, such as the build-up and break-down of carbohydrates, fat and protein. B vitamins are also shown to support mental and physical performance.
Communication Objectives: - What do we want customers to do in response to our messages?
While Red Bull advertises new products that are launched in the market, it sends out a message to the consumers about that particular product. In result of that message that provides information regarding its products and what they offer, attention is created. Consequent to that attention or awareness, the brand seeks response from the consumer, in other words, action or feedback. This type of awareness from the brand and direct response from the consumer is a two way communication process.

In reference to page 151 in Principles of Advertising, the model translates the main aspects of the communication process in advertising terms. The process/model starts with the source, which in this case is the Red Bull firm, and ends with the target audiences, which are the Red Bull/energy drinkers. When a consumers respond to an advertising message, they go through the following stages; perception, knowledge, feelings, connection, believe/persuasion, action. In advertising terms, this is known as the communication objection, which can be summarized in the following table: taken from the textbook page 155 (2009)

Communication Objective Consumer Response Drivers
Perception See/Hear exposure, selection, attention, interest/relevance, awareness, recognition
Emotion/Affective Feel want/desire, feelings, liking, resonance
Cognition Understand need, cognition, learning, differentiation, recall
Association Connect symbolism, conditioned learning, transformation
Persuasion Believe motivation, influence, involvement, conviction, believability/credibility, preference and intention, loyalty
Behavior Act trial, buying, contacting, advocating, referral, prevention/avoidance.

The consumer begins collecting information that is being delivered in the advertisement through their five senses, and then translates this information into meaning. This is also referred to as the perception facet. There are a few drivers that stimulate perception which include; exposure, attention, interest and relevance, and finally awareness and recall. The effective and emotional facet, which is the second stage of the response process, reflects the feelings of the consumer towards the advertisement. These feelings stimulate wants and encourage needs towards the product which in this case is Red Bull. This stage is then followed by the knowledge and understanding of the advertisement, the cognitive facet.
Once a consumer feels strongly about the product, the association and persuasion facet comes in, in which the consumer translates the symbolism of an advertisement into attitudes. These attitudes can be negative, positive, or neutral. The major goal of Red Bull is to enhance positive attitudes towards their energy drink, which in turn will create wants and increase sales. Those positive attitudes are positively correlated with the way consumers behave towards Red Bull. In other words, automatically a consumer develops a wants to buy the energy drink, which is where the final stage of the consumer response occurs, the behaviour facet, or in other words the action phase.
Red Bull utilizes highly targeted communication methods through their interactive promotional strategies, successful and active advertising methods, and free sampling and testing of their products mainly at social events.

The proposition and Selling Idea:
Red Bull promises its buyers with a boost of energy once a consumer drinks their product. The use of symbolism methods in their logo (the red bull) which is known as the strongest mammal, and the wings in their motive “Red Bull gives you wings” strongly reflect what the drink provides to the consumer, which is a creative and unique way of delivering their message to the target audience. In addition, the use of symbolism in their proposition and selling idea is a very provocative and challenging way in communicating with consumers, because it differentiates this energy drinks from its competitors in the market through its uniqueness and creativity.

Conclusion:
Red Bull is achieving leadership in the market by maintaining customer satisfaction, coming up with innovative ideas and effective promotional strategies.