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Winthrop University

Brand Analysis Project

Red Bull

Collins, Laming, Oliver, Outtrim, Vaudrin

MKTG 387 001

Patwardhan

30 April 2020
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Table of Contents

Executive Summary………………………….…………………………..…………………….... 3

Level 1: Who Are You? (Brand Identity)…………………………..………………………….. 4-8

Level 2: What Are You? (Brand Meaning)…………………………..………………..………. 8-9

Level 3: What do I think and Feel About You? (Brand Responses)…………………………

10-11

Level 4: How Much Connection Do I Have With You? (Brand Relationship).......................

12-15

Conclusion………………………….…………………………..……………………................. 15
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Executive Summary

This report dissects the brand, Red Bull. We created a short survey on SurveyMonkey

with 90 respondents. Without paying for a premium membership, we were only able to access 40

participants’ results. The survey concluded of multiple brand loyalty questions. We asked

participants to answer simple demographic questions such as age and gender. Following

demographics, we questioned consumers on their behavioral patterns. Questions such as how

often do consumers drink Red Bull, how loyal are consumers to the brand, and how likely would

consumers be to recommend the brand to others gave us insight into the mind of energy drink

consumers. Next, psychographic questions were brought up. We asked the respondents questions

regarding how they felt about the brand itself, if they felt loyal to Red Bull or not. We asked a

question about other leading competitors in the energy drink market, in order to get an idea

where Red Bull stands in comparison to others.

The second assessment used to to gain knowledge about the industry was a word

association test. We had five participants immediately recall three words that they associated

with Red Bull. This gave us an insight into the minds of consumers. In addition to the test, in

depth interviews about the brand and brand loyalty were conducted with five participants for

each group member.

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Level 1: Who Are You? (Brand Identity)

As an industry leader, and one of the first mass-market energy drinks sold in the United

States, Red Bull has rocketed to success both within the United States and internationally.

Introduced in 1997. Created originally in Austria in 1987, by Dietrich Mateschlitz, Red Bull was

originally developed as a spin-off of a similar energy drink product popularly sold in Thailand.

Upon a visit to Thailand, Mateschiltz became fascinated by a drink named “Krating Daeng”, one

of the first energy drinks to ever be sold worldwide. Mateschilitz took the energy formula and

included ingredients and flavoring more conducive to sales in the Western Market. Red Bull

became an aggressive investor in a new fairly underexplored sector of caffeine-rich energy

products marketed towards an active young audience. In Europe, Red Bull’s main positioning

began among blue-collar workers who were seeking the energy boost out of necisitiaity during

long overnight shifts. Red Bull was known as a product consumed out of necessity, with a

tactical use and not a product consumed casually. The brand’s entry into America was

accompanied by a marketing campaign used to target young, active adults and gain close

association with active outdoor lifestyle and extreme sports. By the mid 2000’s, some of the

most recognizable sports stars in America had signed endorsement deals with Red Bull such as

Alpine Skier Lindsay Vonn, Motocross Icon Travis Pastrana, Three-Time Supercross champion

Ryan Dungey, and Formula One Racing star Sebastian Vettel. This portfolio of professional

stars brought Red Bull thousands of hours of TV-time, with athletes wearing apparel bearing the

Red Bull logo, drinking out of water bottles that mimicked the look of Red Bull cans, and drying
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off using Red Bull towels among other product-placement tactics. On top of their existing

endorsement deals, Red Bull would bring a significant presence to many extreme sports events,

setting up on-site marketing activations, sampling, and direct in person marketing strategies to

directly reach their intended audience of action sports enthusiasts.

Red Bull’s portfolio extends past athletes and into owning franchises in the sports

themselves. Red Bull owns several soccer teams around the world, most notably the New York

Red Bulls of American MLS. Red Bull also owns and operates an extremely successful Formula

One Racing team, Red Bull Racing which won four consecutive Formula One constructors

championships from 2009-2013, and owns a 50% ownership stake in the Red Bull KTM Factory

Racing team in professional motorcycle racing. Both teams are seen among the elites in their

respective sports with each claiming multiple championships in series all around the world. This

marketing strategy helped make the Red Bull brand more than just an energy drink with many

people associating it with their ties to action sports. Of the seven people I surveyed on word

association tests, five mentioned the words “sports” “action sports” or “Formula One” as words

that come to mind when breaking down the Red Bull brand. 67.5% of survey participants stated

that they associate Red Bull at least somewhat closely with action sports, and 14.5% of survey

participants said that they know Red Bull most for their close association with action sports.

These statistics have continued to reinforce “lifestyle” marketing strategy which has since been

mimicked by several other brands. Energy drink competitors Rockstar, Monster, and NOS have

followed suit by investing heavily in action and motorsports marketing, with each brand taking a

similar approach to aggressive sponsorship and promotion within the space. GoPro action
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cameras, Yamaha Motorcycles, and sunglasses icon Oakley have also adapted extremely similar

marketing strategies, establishing Red Bull as a true market innovator.

Between its early adaptation and introduction into the American market, Red Bull

quickly became the nation's energy drink sales leader, a spot that it continues to hold through

2020. With over $4.6 billion in United States sales across its product line, and $2 billion in sales

of their original Red Bull energy drink alone, Red Bull still stands at the top of energy drink

sales charts in the US market. Known as an iconic brand, Red Bull still holds the top spot but has

quickly come under fire from Monster, a rising energy drink brand distributed by Coca-Cola.

With a significantly more diverse product lineup, aggressive marketing that mirrors that of Red

Bull, and a strong distribution chain, Monster is the only other energy drink brand to gross over

$4 billion in total sales. In a survey of 40 consumers conducted by my group, Red Bull was the

second most recalled energy drink brand, with 48.72% of respondents ranking Monster as the

energy drink that they are most likely to purchase. Red Bull received 25.64% of the first place

vote, but led all competitors in being the second choice with 41.03% of the second place voting.

Red Bull also placed higher on average than Monster in the voting, making it overall the most

preferred drink on average.

Consumer awareness of the Red Bull brand is high with each person surveyed reporting

that they had heard of the Red Bull brand prior to taking the survey, affirming their position as a

market leader and titan of industry. 84% of the surveyed population affirmed that Red Bull was

the first energy drink that they had heard of, and closely associate it with originality and

innovation. On the contrary, over 60% of the surveyed population stated that Red Bull was slow

to innovate, and was not seen as a market leader. Only two of the seven interviewed people
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identified that Red Bull sold flavors other than the original Red Bull energy drink. A common

theme through the interviews is that energy drink rivals such as Monster and Rockstar offer a

much more expansive and diverse product line than that of Red Bull. Despite their launch of

various fruit flavors in 2013, Red Bull has made over 45% of its annual sales off of the original

Red Bull product. Rival Monster Energy sells 34 different flavors in the United States broken

down into nine different product lines including Low Calorie “Ultra”, Caffeine boosted “Maxx”,

Carbonation-Free Hydro, Coffee Inspired Java, and vitamin rich Recovery. On the contrary, Red

Bull only offers 16 flavors, all of which are either a lower sugar offering or a fruit-infused take

on the original drink. While Monster does hold an advantage in offerings, Red Bull is best

known for having a simple, defined, and concise product line. While Monster has a more diverse

market share, Red Bull’s identity is tied to one core product, the original Red Bull energy drink.

The original drink is still the single best-selling flavor of energy drink anywhere in the world,

leading to Red Bull’s central identity revolving around the original energy drink.

The survey also found that while most people know Red Bull for the physical energy

drink product, many consumers associate Red Bull with things other than just the physical drink.

Over 67% of respondents stated that they see Red Bull branded products on at least a weekly

basis, including hats, t-shirts, advertising, and Red Bull drink cans. Red Bull’s apparel presence

is greatly increased by their status as “lifestyle product” with many Red Bull branded clothing

items being sold not to symbolize the consumers loyalty to their favorite energy drink, but more

so to make a statement about their affiliation with the action sports lifestyle, or to support their

favorite athlete or motorsports racing team. In 2019, Red Bull launched a high-end clothing
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brand “Alpha Tauri” a premium fashion brand inspired slightly by the Red Bull lifestyle and

brand but independent of the energy drink ventures.

Red Bull’s product usage has evolved since its introduction into the United States market.

While many drink the energy drink on an “as needed” basis, the energy drink has evolved into a

daily consumption product, with many enjoying the drinks on a casual basis, not just when a

boost of energy is necessitated. Upon conducting the word association test, it was discovered that

Red Bull is extremely popular at bars and clubs, being used in various cocktails to create an

alcoholic beverage. Red Bull’s original energy drink is best known for being paired with vodka

creating a cocktail served at bars nationwide. Two participants identified “vodka” as a word

closely associated with Red Bull, signifying it’s penetration into the alcoholic beverage market.

The majority of people know of Red Bull’s products and marketing efforts but very little

is known about the company’s background. None of the participants were able to identify the

country of origin, inventor, or company that distributes the drinks.

Level 2: What are You? (Brand Meaning)

After conducting the short survey asking questions about brand meaning, the following

conclusions were made regarding personality traits, brand positioning and brand

competitiveness.

To start, our group asked 25 respondents to list the top three personality traits that reflect

Redbull. The top personality traits are (1) energetic (2) active (3) outgoing (4) fun and (5)

powerful. Specifically, 75% of respondents said “energetic” as one of their top three

personalities. 50% of respondents said “active” as one of their top three personalities. 30% of
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respondents said “outgoing” as one of their top three personalities. Based on these results, Red

Bull is seen as an upbeat and lively brand.

Red Bull has a similar brand positioning in relation to other energy drinks. They focus on

young, single people that are not living at home. This includes students, employees, and

professionals. Part of the beverages brand may be in part to its advertising. It has created extreme

sports events such as the Red Bull Air Race and the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series and

owns multiple sports teams in racing and soccer. Redbull has also positioned themselves as a big

sponsor for skateboarding companies. “Red Bull gives you wings” is known as their slogan for

this area.

With further research, Red Bull has positioned themselves on the bit more expensive

side. Red Bull energy drinks are generally more expensive compared to other energy drinks such

as Monster, Rockstar, Bang, etc. On the other hand, Red Bull may not have as strong a brand

awareness as Monster. Looking into market share,​ ​Red Bull captured around a quarter of the

energy drinks market in the United States in 2019. That market share leads them to around 2.89

billion U.S. dollars in sales.

Some of Red Bull’s closest competitors include Monster, RockStar Energy, Bang, NOS

Energy, and 5 Hour Energy. The number one competitor of Red Bull is Monster Energy. For

instance, 48.72% of the respondents listed Monster as their number one choice when choosing

energy drinks. To compare, only 25.64% of the respondents listed Red Bull as their number one

choice.

In conclusion, Red Bull has branded themselves as an energetic brand with competitors

such as Monster, Bang, etc. Even though they are a bit more on the expensive side, Red Bull is
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positioning themselves into the extreme sports industry and succeeding. Red Bull is also leading

their customers into an active lifestyle to help physical performance.

Level 3: What do I think and Feel About You? (Brand Responses)

In order to report the following content regarding Red Bull brand loyalty, one brand

association test was conducted, along with a short survey. The survey had 98 participants;

however, without paying for a premium subscription on SurveyMonkey, we were only allowed

to view the first 40 respondents’ results. During the brand association test, respondents were

required to recall the first three words that immediately came to their mind when the prompt was

given.

After conducting the short survey and asking questions about brand loyalty, 67.50% of

participants answered that they have never had a Red Bull before. 22.50% claimed that they

drink it once a month, 7.50% drink it once a week, and 7.50% drink one every day. 82.50% of all

participants were between the ages of 18-24. These results prove that this age group of

consumers are not motivated to buy this product. Those that purchase Red Bull say that they

purchase the product for the energy component. The word “energy” was a highly recalled word

during the word association test. These results were surprising, as this age group has the

reputation of supporting this brand. Two out of five participants for the word association test

recalled “alcohol” as one of their words. This shows that mixing Red Bull with alcohol is one of

the reasons consumers purchase the drink. Mixing the two substances is a popular recreational

beverage.
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Out of the 40 participants' survey results, 47.50% of the participants claimed they are not

loyal to the brand at all. 35% expressed that they were neither loyal or disloyal, and 17.50% said

they were somewhat loyal. 35% of the participants claimed that they would neither likely or not

likely recommend the brand to other consumers, followed closely by 30% of the participants

stating that they were very unlikely to recommend the product to others. After looking at the

results from the survey, I believe the results are in direct association with the number one

competitor of Red Bull, Monster Energy. 48.72% of the respondents listed Monster as their

number one choice when choosing energy drinks, compared to the 25.64% that listed Red Bull as

their number one choice. According to the survey results, Monster is the leading brand in energy

drinks, followed by Red Bull, Rockstar Energy, and NOS Energy.

Two negative responses to the brand were revealed during the short survey. Health

complications raised slight concerns for consumers, specifically those between the ages of 18-24.

Out of the 40 participants, 25% claimed that there is too much of a health risk when it comes to

consuming energy drinks. 32.50 reported that they believe there is a decent amount of health

risks, and 37.50 stated that there is some risk, but not enough to associate risks with the

consumption of energy drinks. When conducting the word association test with five participants,

three out of the five recalled “too much caffeine” or “too much sugar” as one of their three words

associated with Red Bull. These negative responses are subjective. For those who are not loyal to

the brand, the negative responses were much higher and much more severe compared to those
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who have a strong relationship with the brand. Much of the negative responses may come from

the media.

Level 4: How Much Connection Do I Have With You? (Brand Relationship)

In order to measure customers' connection with the brand, It is important to ask questions

about the frequency of consumption of Red Bull as well as the frequency of interaction with the

brand in general. According to our survey, 67.5% of respondents who’s answers we were able to

view never drank Red Bull. However, this same percentage of respondents saw Red Bull branded

products at least once a week, twenty percent of these seeing them on a daily basis. This measure

of frequency with the brand indicates that most respondents consider the brand an acquaintance,

because while they see the brand frequently, and are familiar with the brand, most consumers do

not choose Red Bull as their drink of choice. However, this is likely more related to consumer

perceptions of energy drinks as a whole than it is Red Bull. 57.5% of respondents said that there

is a great deal of health risk associated with consuming energy drinks, with 25% of these saying

that the risk is too great to ever consume energy drinks. This is a huge problem in the entire

industry, largely due to reports of student athletes who consume energy drinks regularly dying

from health related issues. The association of all energy drinks, including Red Bull, with

negative health effects greatly impairs the relationship most people will have with the brand.

Because of this, it would be possible to say that consumers as a whole have a negative view of

Red Bull, while consumers of energy drinks might have a much stronger relationship with the

brand.
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The only questions that were skipped on the viewable portion of our results were the

questions asking customers where they ranked in relation to other energy drinks. This indicated

consumers distaste for the entirety of the energy drink market. However, among respondents

who consumed energy drinks, only 18% said Red Bull was their first choice. This indicates a

weaker relationship with most other consumers relative to competitors. 38.5% of respondents

said that Red Bull was their second choice of energy drink, which means that they have potential

to become the market leader by fostering a closer relationship with these customers than their

current primary choice. According to another question in the survey, 48.72% of respondents

indicated that Monster was their primary choice for energy drinks, meaning that they are likely

the market leader, and have the closest relationship with consumers. Much like Red Bull,

Monster uses sponsorships of athletes to build brand relationships and awareness. These include

sponsorships with Conner McGregor, the Professional Bull Riders, multiple X Games contests,

skateboarders, music events, and even Professional Esports associations and individuals. While

Red Bull is known for its massive sponsorships for more extreme sports, these audiences are

often smaller than the ones being reached by Monster's sponsorship of more high profile, less

niche sports. While Red Bull’s sponsorships are effective, they could increase sponsorships in

more popular, less extreme sports as well, as a way to become more visible to Monster’s market,

and foster a stronger relationship with those consumers. Another difference between Monster

and Red Bull is the price. Red Bull is typically more expensive than Monster. This likely has a

negative impact on the brand’s relationship with consumers. A consumer currently has no reason

to switch from Monster to Red Bull because Monster is more popular while also being cheaper

than Red Bull. If Red Bull were cheaper than Monster, it would be significantly easier for them
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to build stronger relationships with the consumers who currently view Red Bull as their second

choice.

In our most disappointing question on the survey we asked customers to rate their level of

loyalty to the Red Bull brand. Not a single one of our viewable respondents said that they were

loyal to the brand and 47.5% of respondents saying that they had no loyalty whatsoever to the

brand. This shows that there is almost no psychological bond or personal identification between

our respondents and the brand. Red Bull could possibly try to gain more loyalty by choosing

particular sports to sponsor. For example, sports such as hockey, football, basketball, and

baseball have incredibly loyal fanbases. Again, Red Bull’s current sponsorship niches are

important to the brand’s success, and should be maintained, the brand could increase loyalty with

key sponsorships of teams such as the Yankees, Redwings, or the Chicago Bulls. These sports

teams have incredibly loyal fan bases as well as having some of the most iconic logos in the

world of athletics. Having these brands identified with Red Bull could be beneficial in creating a

psychological bond between the brand and consumers. Many consumers identify with these

larger team sports, with some teams brands becoming so popular that non-fans wear clothes

branded with their logos. If Red Bull can associate itself closely with these types of sports, it

could create more loyalty for the brand than the niche extreme sports they primarily focus on.

Another potential reason for Red Bull’s lack of psychological bond with consumers could

be their relaxation of their advertising campaign. For many years Red Bull relied heavily on their

“It gives you wings!” slogan in their advertising. They developed iconic animated commercials

designed around the idea of Red Bull giving you wings. These commercials depicted the Red

Bull that initially was the first most popular energy drink, but as the years went on, those
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commercials became less used. If Red Bull would've continued this campaign, they likely would

have a much higher level of brand loyalty than they do now. Many customers developed their

first images of Red Bull with those commercials, and now they basically never use the slogan

anymore, or the hand drawn animation style of their commercials that customers became familiar

with. This change in their marketing campaign likely caused a lot of lost loyalty for the firm

because the familiar attachment is not there, I would personally even argue that the slogan and

commercials were more iconic than their actual logo

Conclusion

Red Bull is one of the top, leading brands in the energy drink market; however, there

were some negative connotations with the brand. When asked about Red Bull, consumers

relayed concerns pertaining to health complications when consuming the product. This may

factor into one of the reasons that our respondents claimed that they were not loyal to Red Bull,

and were not motivated to buy the product.

While there are some negative connotations following the brand, Red Bull is still an

extremely popular and viable contender in the energy drink market. Red Bull will continue to be

seen as a mainstay in American, energy drink consumption and sales.