How does Red Bull marketing actually work?

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Red Bull grew by owning its own media. It puts on dozens of its own events around the world, which its founder found more fun than buying 30 seconds of the Super Bowl. (Dietrich Mateschitz)

It also buys and runs whole teams, an F1 team among them, so the brand sits inside the sport. (Dietrich Mateschitz)

I think Red Bull is the one who does this the best. They understood very early on like media leverage matters

Samir

Why does Red Bull give away footage of its own events?

Make the show yourself, then hand out the footage.

• For its Air Race World Series, Red Bull gave its own footage free to more than 70 TV stations around the world. They ran it because it cost them nothing to make. (Dietrich Mateschitz)
• The stunts are huge. Red Bull once asked Felix Baumgartner to jump from almost 39 km above Earth. (OhTBK)

Red Bull backs more than 500 athletes across 97 sports, and that count is about 15 years old. (Dietrich Mateschitz)

So how do the people in front of the camera get paid?

Does Red Bull pay influencers?

Pay for the production and let the creator be the hero.

Red Bull funds cool productions or ideas for influencers instead of paying them directly, unless they are a Red Bull athlete, as it fits their media-focused strategy.

• When a talent does not want cash, Red Bull pays in equipment and leaves the contract alone. (Red Bull)

The drink shows up right before someone does something awesome. Nobody says buy a Red Bull. (Open Residency)

Red Bull's Student Marketeer program is one brand's answer to scaling past a handful of faces.

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The harder part is doing this without Red Bull's bank account.

Can a small drink brand copy Red Bull's marketing?

Copy the idea in a scene you can own.

Red Bull pays the $200 million yearly cost of its two F1 teams out of operating income. (Dietrich Mateschitz)

A marketer who ran athletes at Red Bull says people who took the same playbook to another drink imploded. He adds that Red Bull still buys its way into things and has never cracked skateboarding. (liquiddeath.com)

• Target musicians instead of action sports athletes, since bands can turn sponsors down while skaters depend on Monster and Red Bull as their only paycheck.
• Liquid Death invests in comedians the way Red Bull invests in athletes.

The 80 Capita snowboards could not be bought, only obtained by knowing someone, and shops that demoed the board got a case of Liquid Death and had to post about it. (Stix, head of brand at Liquid Death and one of the first US sports marketing managers at Red Bull)

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Picking the scene is step one, and keeping it going is the work.

More on this:

• How did IM8 land Inter Miami, and what can your brand copy?
• Why has no influencer marketplace won, and which ones do brands actually use?

How do I build this without Red Bull's budget?

This is the part we run for brands, so you get the Red Bull effect at your size.

Keep creators posting all year, without a flat fee every time.

If you have some of the steps in place, we audit what's missing in each and how to take it further.