Red Bull in the UK Marketing - Case Study Example

Download file to see previous pages The paper "Red Bull in the UK Marketing" is an outstanding example of a marketing case study. Marketing is an important function of any organisation. It is about communicating the intended message (about the company) to intended recipients (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Effectiveness of marketing is judged by the consistency in the message conveyed by the firm and that received by the consumers. Globalisation has led to an intensification of competition as firms face competition from both local and multinational competitors. Similarly, information technology and media channels have increased consumer awareness increasing buyer power. In order to nullify a competitive advantage, businesses tend to replicate the strategy of successful competitors. However, some firms pursue a differentiation strategy (Porter, 1985) and are quite successful at that. Red Bull is one of the brands which originated and has survived on the strategy of differentiation.

• Red Bull was founded in 1987 by Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. Since then Red bull has sold 40 billion cans in 166 countries. In 2013 alone the company sold over 5 billion cans. Red Bull is a market leader in energy drinks segment and has managed to keep its premium brand image intact despite the volatile economic environment.
• However, Red Bull is in its maturing stage of the product life cycle and it is likely that it will lose its market share in future and will go into decline. Several factors such as changing consumer perception and behaviour, rise in competition etc. are likely to force this decline. In anticipation of such changes, Red Bull must look into broadening its product mix. This horizontal mix is essential for long term survival of Red Bull.
• This report examines the horizontal expansion marketing plan of Red Bull into the UK market. The report examines the need for such a venture and sets out objectives that Red Bull should seek to have. The report also employs various marketing tools to examine the position that Red Bull should seek to establish in the market and proposes how to do the same, with the view to compete effectively. Environmental analysis of Red Bull is carried out using marketing tools including PESTLE analysis, SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces and marketing mix.
• Overview of Red Bull
• Red Bull is an energy drink sold by Austrian company Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987. Red Bull is a global brand and is the global market leader in energy drinks; it sold 5.2 billion cans in 2012 (redbull.com, 2014).
• Red Bull is a well-known brand often associated with attributes such as recklessness, thrill, adventure, power (Brasel and Gips, 2012). Red Bull is advertised through events (such as Red Bull Air Race, Red Bull Crashed Ice), sports team ownerships (Red Bull Formula 1 team, RB Leipzig, Red Bull New York), celebrity endorsements, and music as well as through its own media channels (Lauria, 2008).
• Not much official data is available about red Bull because Red Bull is a privately owned organisation. However, Red Bull publishes some of the data which is shown in the charts below:

Chart: Red Bull turnover (in million Euros). Source: redbull.com (2014)

Red Bull has grown not only in terms of revenues but also in terms of the number of employees and number of markets. From 160 in 2010, Red bull is now reported to market its products in 166 markets (redbull.com, 2014). The chart below shows that it has also continued to increase its workforce despite the global downturn.

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