Sales Promotion of Red Bull in France and China

Résumé du document

It seems interesting to analyse Red Bull, as the company uses unique methods of marketing. The brand relies on buzz marketing and word of mouth. The company, which is already established in 144 countries worldwide, launched its famous beverage in France.

Most of Red Bull consumers are young adults, who have got many occassions to drink Red Bull and they feel more concerned by this product.

Red Bull has also caught our attention because since April 2008, when it entered the French market with a product which became controverisial due to its composition, taurine. The taurine content is the main issue for French government while it's legalized in neighbouring countries like Spain, the UK, Austria and Germany.

In addition, in April we have seen the Red Bull cars in Paris, near the Galleries Lafayette and young women asked us to taste it. So we feel more attracted by the promotional actions of Red Bull.

In this study, we will focus on the French and the Chinese markets. Firstly, we will give a brief description about the market and the company background. Then, we will focus on the the promotional strategies of the company. To conclude, we will deal with the results and the strength of the Red Bull communication.

Extraits

[...] In addition, in April we have seen the Red Bull cars in Paris, near the Galleries Lafayette and young women asked us to taste it. So we feel more attracted by the promotional actions of Red Bull. In this study, we will focus on the French and the Chinese markets. Firstly, we will give a brief description about the market and the company background. Then, we will focus on the the promotional strategies of the company. To conclude, we will deal with the results and the strength of the Red Bull communication. A. [...]

[...] ( Promotional strategy One of the main strengths of Red Bull is a well thought and a provocative marketing strategy. The brand positions itself on a strategy, with a stimulating distribution network. Red Bull privileges below the line costs, like word of mouth or “buzz marketing”, and uses 30% of its turnover for the sales promotion of the product. In fact, Dietrich Mateschitz doesn't use traditional promotion: Red Bull is a brand which was built without depending too much on advertising, and has built its equity through careful below the line marketing. [...]

[...] Combining energy drinks with alcohol has resulted in new products including ‘Hair of the Dog'. We can sum up the current situation of Red Bull and the market via a SWOT analysis. II. The Company background Red Bull, the famous drink which gives you wings, was created by Dietrich Mateschitz in 1987 and sold in Ostrich in the same year. It was during a trip in Thailand, Dietrich Mateschitz discovered the “Krating Daeng”, a Thai energy drink. This drink was consumed by the taxi drivers, who were getting tired, to be energetic. [...]

[...] The lure of fast-growing profits in this market brought many competitors into the functional foods sector, where health and energy drinks have seen double sales every year since their introduction. In the article Soda with published in the Forbes magazine in 2005, Dietrich Mateschitz declared that Red Bull is a pioneer in the energy drink category worldwide: “When we first started, we said there is no existing market for Red Bull. But Red Bull will create it. And finally this became true.” The market received a significant boost when Red Bull entered the US market in 1997. [...]

[...] From April 2008, Red Bull is officially sold in France. We can buy cans in hypermarkets (Carrefour, Auchan), in supermarkets (Super in convenience stores (Station Total) and also in large specialized stores (Go Sport where the visibility of the product is high; Red Bull is sold near the checkouts). Let's continue the analysis with a key element for Red Bull: Promotion III. The Promotional actions The sales promotion is a marketing method which adds a temporary advantage for a product, a service or a point of sales, to get an immediate target response. [...]