Running head: REDBULL 1

RedBull: PCA Intro

Steven Rodrigues

Arizona State University

OGL 481 – Module 1

May 26, 2020

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RedBull: PCA Intro

RedBull is an Austrian energy drink company that has the highest market share of

any energy drink in the world. In the 1980’s, the founder of RedBull was inspired by a drink that

was popular in Thailand. After making a few ingredients changes to adapt it towards western

taste, RedBull Energy Drink made its debut in Austria in 1987 as the first energy drink on the

market (Giving Wings to People and Ideas, n.d.). RedBull famously promotes its products with

extreme sports events and athlete endorsements.

I worked for RedBull for a little more than a year and a half as a student marketeer on our

“Wiings Team”. As a member of this team, it was our responsibility to plan different events and

research different locations to reach consumers of a specific demographic. This was essentially

the first of three main parts of the job for people in my position. After deciding where to go and

what consumers to target, we were responsible for going there to pass out samples. Lastly, we

would have to write up reports that included the feedback we got from consumers, how many

people in our target demographic we were able to reach, and how many units of each product we

gave out.

RedBull has almost always relied on student marketeers just as myself to promote its

products. Most of the RedBull employees in this position were also attractive looking women.

While I had enough prior marketing experience to get hired for the job, it was clear to me that an

added benefit of my employment was the increased diversity on our team. I was told when I was

first hired that RedBull was trying to move away from their stereotype of using only “promo

girls”. Throughout most of the time I worked for RedBull, I was the only guy to be a member of

a wiings team in all of California. This made it pretty hard to fit it with the team chemistry. I was

able to get along with my coworkers very well, but I still always felt like an outsider to some
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degree. One thing I noticed was that our manager interacted with the rest of the team differently

than he did with me. He was less confrontational when speaking with me, and our conflicts

played out differently. I definitely was yelled at the least out of anyone on our team, even though

there were a few instances where it would have been warranted.

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References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and

Leadership. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Giving Wings to People and Ideas. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26, 2020, from

https://www.redbull.com/us-en/energydrink/company-profile