Red Bull and Social Media Advertising - Essay Example

Section/# Red Bull and Social Media Advertising Starting out as a little known entrant in the beverage market over 25 years ago, Red Bull has since come to be a prominent player; earning a yearly revenue in excess of 6.5 million dollars. However, red bull did not achieve the runaway level of success that has been denoted within the past several years overnight. Instead, careful decision-making and a nation is advertising and marketing campaign has ensured that the brand continues to gain popularity and generate profits. Yet, this particular analysis will not focus on the overall success for popularity that red bull has been able to achieve. Instead, the analysis will be concentric upon discussing and analyzing the way in which this particular beverage brand has leverage social media and online advertising mechanism for this continued growth. Although many other brands have been chosen for this analysis, the author selected rentable due to the fact that this particular company had previously leverage low-cost alternatives to expensive forms of advertising; thereby positioning a perfectly for the use of social media as a means of integrating with consumer. Is the hope of this author that the reader will gain a more informed and actionable level of understanding with respect to the way in which rentable has used online advertising and social media to engender a further level of “fandom” within its customer base. Additionally, the analysis will also discuss some of the potential pitfalls that exists with respect to leveraging this particular form of advertising in lieu of others. Firstly, before delving into the heart of the matter, it should be understood that rentable has been able to achieve the runaway level of success that it has partly as a result of the fact that it’s did not integrate with previous models of advertising that so many other food and beverage companies have fallen victim to. For instance, whereas it is perfectly plausible for the likes of at the or Coca-Cola to engage in a multimillion dollar ad blitz that covers, television media, or radio year, the overall ability of a youth. With relatively low levels of financial reserves, the possibility of engaging in such a process is inherently small. As a direct result of this, rentable took a different path (Zimmermann, 2005). Long before the era of social be again, the company began sponsoring individual extreme sporting events throughout the globe in an attempt to illicit support for their brand. This tactic worked to such a wide level of success that Red Bull began promoting itself in such a manner elsewhere and to a greater extent. As opposed to the ways that Coca Cola or Pepsi sponsored well known sporting events, the focus on extreme sports netted the firm a niche market in which the consumers came to identity with the product in terms of a personal experience that they had at the height of their recreational enjoyment. Leveraging this understanding of the consumer market, Red Bull came to be a dominant player in the realm of energy drinks. Yet, Red Bull did not simply redefine its approach to marketing once social media came to be represented as a fundamental way through which brands could integrate with the customer. Instead, the brand was one of the “first movers” within the market to engage its following on social media and encourage them to participate with Red Bull in online communities. Both Facebook and Twitter accounts were set up in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Within these, the relatively young demographic that typically engaged with Red Bulls product offerings was perfectly suited to provide the company with residual sales and profitability from interest and engagement that was effected within social media outlets (Fitzgerald, 2000). Once again, keeping the “low cost” advertising down to a mantra, Red Bull targeted its core followers with prizes, contests, drawings, and many other techniques that kept them interested in the company’s social media profile and content. Whereas other well known firms had begun to catch on the way in which social media was an integral way of engaging the customer, Red Bull had already established teams within Red Bull headquarters whose sole job was to refresh content, interact with individual consumers, and seek out new means by which further engagement might take place. By being proactive and engaging the consumer as this technology was becoming popular, Red Bull gained a strategic advantage over all the over well established firms that were rapidly playing a game of catch up. Furthermore, although Red Bull was not the first to engage with individual consumers and provide feedback on their own social media sites, they were one of the first to elicit a further level of engagement by randomly encouraging their fans and providing key product placement through social media at further locations than they might otherwise be represented. Beyond merely engaging in further sales and creating further visibility, the firm was also able to understand its consumers far better than it could have in any other way. Utilizing the data mining capability that social media offered them, Red Bull set out on a more targeted marketing approach through which the demographics, interests, and other personal information that could facilitate sales was tracked. Although this level of data mining is common within 2014, the rate at which Red Bull was engaging on it and the way in which they targeted this information as useful to the continued success and development of the brand is phenomenal; especially considering the fact that this was done was early as 2006 (Sebor, 2006). Another extraordinarily important aspect for the way in which Red Bull has chosen to integrate the market and effect social media advertising is with respect to the way it embraced the “selfie”. As anyone who has paid attention over the past year or two can note, the “selfie” has come to define the current era and the way in which we identify with one another and ourselves. Recognizing that this trend was more than just another trend, Red Bull began hosting “The Red Bull Moment”; allowing consumers to upload their “extreme shots” with the Red Bull brand being featured somewhere in the image. By sponsoring this approach, the brand caused tens of thousands of posts to self-promote the beverage line as extreme sports, the daily commute, life in the office, and working out at the gym were all idealized by the presence of the Red Bull emblem at some point in the picture. Other firms of course were quick to follow suit; however, Red Bull was once again the prime mover in effecting a change in the way that businesses understood “trends” and the means by which they might actually capitalize upon them (Khermouch, 2008). Although it might be understood that the social media approach of Red Bull is quite practically bullet proof, there is at least one essential shortcoming that must be noted. The length of time that social media marketing has come to be in vogue is relatively short; at least as compared to the way in which traditional forms of advertising have been engaged – i.e. television, radio, and newsprint. As such, there is evidence from a number of sources that many individuals are coming to tire of the way in which social media is represented within the current era. With this in mind, the way in which Red Bull proceeds based upon the information that has been discussed will play a large part in determining whether or not the strategy, and indeed the firm’s advertising apparatus, remains viable in the foreseeable future. From the information that has been presented, the ready can clearly denote the fact that Red Bull has played an active role in engaging the consumer market of social media in a way that few others did; at least in the initial stages of its development and adaptation. Because of this “prime mover” status, it is the assertion of this author that Red Bull was able to achieve a higher market share from effectively marketing itself on social media; at least as compared to the likes of other industry leaders. The residual effects of this will be felt on Red Bulls popularity for many years to come; due in part to the fact that once brand loyalties have been established and once an individual comes to identify with a particular brand, recreation, or habit they are likely to continue engaging with the product for a long period of time. Finally, although it might be tempting to assert that as a result of Red Bulls prominence in the market and their ability to capitalize on the trends that have been discussed that they will somehow be immune to further changes that may take place. Yet, as has been noted, a primary concern for the firm is that they have placed too much of an emphasis on direct marketing and social media. Within this understanding, even though the brand has achieved a run-away level of success on social media, it is incumbent upon leadership to continue to diversify their approach to the consumer so that in the eventuality that social media begins to fade from prominence within the life of the consumer, undue harm to the brand or its profits will not be felt. Bibliography Fitzgerald, K 2000, Red Bull charged up, Advertising Age, 71, 35, p. 26, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 May 2014. Khermouch, G 2008, Red Bull energizes marketing, Brandweek, 39, 38, p. 16, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 May 2014. Sebor, J 2006, Seeing Red Over Broken Wings, CRM Magazine, 10, 8, pp. 13-14, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 May 2014. Zimmermann, J 2005, RIDING THE Red Bull, Road & Track, 56, 6, pp. 132-139, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 May 2014. Read More