Marketing Management: Red Bull

Solution Preview

1. Provide a brief description of your product/service (Red Bull: the energy drink) and a brief history of the firm that produces your product/service.

The product selected is Red Bull. Red Bull is an energy drink that is manufactured and sold by an Austrian company as Red Bull GmbH. It is sold in a slim, tall, blue and silver can and its slogan is "Red Bull gives you wings". It was created in 1987 and is currently the most popular energy drink globally with over 4.7 billion cans sold through the year 2011 (Smith, 2009).

Red Bull was created by an Austrian entrepreneur named Dietrich Mateschitz. His inspiration came from his exposure and enjoyment of a pre-existing energy drink he had experienced in Thailand called Krating Daeng . Mateschitz idea was to take the similar ingredient's found in Krating and modify these to fit the taste preference of western cultures. He converted the Thai translation of krating (guar or bull) and daeng (red) and established his brand name as "Red Bull" (Smith, 2009).

Basing his research on studies conducted in Thailand of the energy drink Krating Daeng, Mateschitz was able to determine that the drink was a favorite among many working professionals and athletes whose schedules demanded being alert, aware, and required a lot of energy (Smith, 2009).

The original Red Bull was marketed to Hungary and Slovenia before eventually entering the United States markets through California in 1997 and quickly took off across the country as a pioneer and leader in the energy drink market, launching its creator Mateschitz into the Forbes top 260 of wealthiest people in the world in 2008 (Smith, 2009).

2. Describe and discuss (broadly speaking) the 4 Ps associated with your product/service.

Old 4 Ps - Product, Place, Promotion, Price

Product:
For Red Bull, its product is unique to any other driven by its one of a kind taste and its functional effects on the body that help to generate energy and alertness not common to any other soft drink found in stores (Clark, 2010). Red Bull was the product that pioneered the energy drink market in the United States. It has only one variation to its original product and that is it offers a sugar free version, otherwise, it's brand is only one drink.

Place:
Through aggressive marketing and advertising and tying the name brand to many different sports and recreation events, Red Bull has a place in almost every major retail outlet and food and drink establishment in the United States and in many countries globally giving consumers maximum access and exposure to the brand (Clark, 2010).

Promotion:
Promotion is considered one of Red Bulls strongest marketing approaches. The company has created a niche in the market that is quickly recognizable through its slogan "gives you wings". Their branding and image immediately give consumers confidence and their customer have grown to embrace the concept that Red Bull promotes pushing ones limits of what is possible which correlates with helping them to use their talents to achieve their goals and success. Red Bull promotes living your dreams (Clark, 2010).

Pricing:
Red Bull has developed a premium pricing strategy that places its products price higher than that of its competitors brands. By establishing a strong reputation and consumer confidence factor in the quality ...