£50 million marketing stunt that generated £6 billion

Back in the 1980s, an Austrian called Dietrich Mateschitz was on a business trip to Thailand.

Proper jetlagged, as you do.

He comes across this energy drink called Krating Daeng.

Works a treat.

Dietrich thinks "this could work back home."

But there was literally no market for energy drinks in Europe back then.

None.

His response?

"If we don't create the market, it doesn't exist."

And that's exactly what they did.

And so, Red Bull was born.

Now, Red Bull doesn't actually make their drinks.

Production, logistics, all that boring stuff?

Completely outsourced.

They just focus on one thing: selling the experience.

They're basically a marketing company that happens to sell drinks.

See - most brands try to attach themselves to existing stories, right?

Sponsor this event, partner with that celebrity, hope some of their coolness rubs off.

Red Bull said "nah, we'll make our own stories."

Red Bull Soapbox Race?

Exists purely to make content.

Felix Baumgartner jumping from space?

Cost them £50 million but generated £6 billion in earned media value.

That's content creation on steroids.

Red Bull Media House is essentially the core of their business now.

They produce documentaries, TV shows, digital content, the lot.

They've got their own TV channel for crying out loud.

The energy drinks?

That's almost the side hustle at this point.

They realised ages and ages ago that ‘moments’ and ‘experiences’ are way more exciting to share than product photos.

So they stopped trying to make their cans look cool and started making their brand feel epic.

Red Bull were basically the OGs of brands thinking like creators.

Content first.

Product second.

A can of Red Bull represents energy, adventure, pushing boundaries, doing wild stuff.

They turned a fizzy caffeinated drink into a lifestyle.

When I talk about brands thinking like creators, this is what I mean.

Red Bull figured out that in the attention economy, the product isn't what you're selling.

The experience is.

The story is.

The feeling is.

And if you can nail that, people will buy whatever you happen to make.

Even if it's just caffeinated sugar water that probably costs 10p to produce.

Remember, the creator mindset is all you need to grow 🌱

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