Red Bull. As the story goes, before the Austrian energy drink was released, they went to a tasting company. The company tests carbonated beverages with different target demographics, collects the feedback and delivers the results.
According to the company, Red Bull got the worst feedback in their history, with one guy saying, “I wouldn’t drink this piss if you paid me to.”
Not to mention the fact that it comes in smaller cans than many of their competitors. To top it all off, it’s more expensive.
And yet, Red Bull has the biggest market share among energy drinks and sell nearly 7 billion cans a year. It’s an icon in the energy drink world and it’s associated with the daredevil lifestyle, with sports and activity.
What gives? How is this possible?
It’s genius marketing.
First off, taste and smaller can give you the idea this is doing something to your body. Red Bull’s selling point isn’t that it’s tasty. The selling point is that it’s not. It’s almost like medicine. You drink it for the effect, not the taste.
And because it comes in a smaller can, it gives you the idea it’s not wise to drink more than that, because you can “overdose”. Indeed, drinking too much caffeine (of which Red Bull has plenty) can lead to lots of negative effects, including anxiety and paranoia. Not to mention the danger of mixing it with alcohol (don’t do that!).
Next, the price makes it easier to believe you can achieve the effect you’re after. There are many cheaper alternatives, but none sell. Why? Because they taste like piss, but since they’re three times cheaper, I’m not sure I’ll get the same effects. Even if the caffeine kicks in, how do I know they’re not putting other poison in? Red Bull is a global brand, so if there was something foul about it, people would’ve found out by now.
All of this positions Red Bull in a niche of its own. It doesn’t compete with Coca-Cola or Pepsi because it’s a new category. OK, Coca-Cola is distributing Monster, but even so, Red Bull has a much bigger market share and Monster is playing catch-up by copying a lot of what Red Bull does (less successfully). And BTW, this is not me dumping on Monster - I prefer it to Red Bull. But in terms of marketing, Red Bull beat them to the punch.
Red Bull wasn’t the first energy drink, but it was the first energy drink with good branding and marketing. Red Bull popularized the market.
Red Bull. As the story goes, before the Austrian energy drink was released, they went to a tasting company. The company tests carbonated beverages with different target demographics, collects the feedback and delivers the results.
According to the company, Red Bull got the worst feedback in their history, with one guy saying, “I wouldn’t drink this piss if you paid me to.”
Not to mention the fact that it comes in smaller cans than many of their competitors. To top it all off, it’s more expensive.
And yet, Red Bull has the biggest market share among energy drinks and sell nearly 7 billion cans a year. It’s an icon in the energy drink world and it’s associated with the daredevil lifestyle, with sports and activity.
What gives? How is this possible?
It’s genius marketing.
First off, taste and smaller can give you the idea this is doing something to your body. Red Bull’s selling point isn’t that it’s tasty. The selling point is that it’s not. It’s almost like medicine. You drink it for the effect, not the taste.
And because it comes in a smaller can, it gives you the idea it’s not wise to drink more than that, because you can “overdose”. Indeed, drinking too much caffeine (of which Red Bull has plenty) can lead to lots of negative effects, including anxiety and paranoia. Not to mention the danger of mixing it with alcohol (don’t do that!).
Next, the price makes it easier to believe you can achieve the effect you’re after. There are many cheaper alternatives, but none sell. Why? Because they taste like piss, but since they’re three times cheaper, I’m not sure I’ll get the same effects. Even if the caffeine kicks in, how do I know they’re not putting other poison in? Red Bull is a global brand, so if there was something foul about it, people would’ve found out by now.
All of this positions Red Bull in a niche of its own. It doesn’t compete with Coca-Cola or Pepsi because it’s a new category. OK, Coca-Cola is distributing Monster, but even so, Red Bull has a much bigger market share and Monster is playing catch-up by copying a lot of what Red Bull does (less successfully). And BTW, this is not me dumping on Monster - I prefer it to Red Bull. But in terms of marketing, Red Bull beat them to the punch.
Red Bull wasn’t the first energy drink, but it was the first energy drink with good branding and marketing. Red Bull popularized the market
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