The curious, and amazing, case of Red Bull

A few days ago, I happened to stumble upon a seemingly innocuous video on a website. It was the trailer of a snowboarding documentary called ‘The Art of Flight’. A quick glance at the write-up accompanying it suggested that it was financed and promoted by Red Bull. Ok, I thought, let’s give it a shot. I went ahead and watched the clip.

Three minutes later, I picked up my jaw from the floor, blinked a couple of times, breathed in and out, kept staring at the screen in amazement, and hit the replay button.

This went on for about half an hour. At least.

And that’s how I was introduced to the adrenaline pumping, visually compelling, and insanely addictive world of Red Bull’s branded content. 

(In case you’re thinking my description of the after-effects of watching that video is a blatant exaggeration, go ahead and take a look yourself)

With the ever-increasing popularity and influence of social media, a major aspect of which is sharing stuff, branded content has come to the fore like never before. Brands are gradually warming up to the idea of creating interesting, innovative content which their target groups would like and share with their peers, thus enhancing brand visibility.

But there’s something different about what Red Bull is doing. It has not just taken a liking to the idea of branded content - it has grabbed it by the collar and yanked it to a whole new level.   

Since the very beginning, Red Bull has been a massive supporter of extreme sports. Snowboarding to mountain biking to Parkour, it has championed the whole bunch down the years. From sponsoring athletes to financing events, it has constantly been in the thick of things, photographing and filming every spectacular moment. In 2007, Red Bull established its own content division, Red Bull Media House. And since then, there has been no looking back. Be it movies, TV shows, miniseries, special events, online videos or even magazines, Red Bull Media House has delivered original, high-quality, engaging content on a regular basis.

And as for branding, you might spot the odd Red Bull logo on an athlete’s t-shirt, safety helmet, a parachute or a helicopter. But it doesn't seem too forced anywhere. Of course there are a few clips where you will find someone taking a swig from a can of Red Bull. But with so much awesomeness happening, you don’t really mind.

Red Bull seems to have taken up content creation and marketing so seriously that in some circles, it is referred to as a media company that just happens to sell energy drinks. As I write this, Red Bull’s Youtube channel (the only one I subscribe to as of now) shows over 2000 videos, close to half a million subscribers, and more than 300 million video views. Now that’s saying something.

And it’s not just about extreme sports anymore. Red Bull has also branched out into music - promoting musicians, concerts and setting up its own record label as well as studios. And the half a dozen magazines in its stable cover everything from F1, pop culture, lifestyle to even nature and science. Unbelievable, isn’t it?

Some may argue that the flagship product Red Bull offers, the kind of image attached to it, its youngish target audience and other similar factors created a favourable environment where it could generate and promote such provocative, uber-cool content and gain mileage out of it. Well, maybe Red Bull can be said to be a bit lucky that way. But it just didn’t sit on that luck, right? It bloody ran with it.

And the result has been nothing short of exhilarating.

PS: Just in case you think Red Bull has lost its clout in the energy drinks segment, its official website states that it sold a total of 4.631 billion cans worldwide in 2011. That’s an increase of 11.4% against 2010. It must be doing something right.