Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The beverage-industry company Red Bull entered the market for the
first time in Austria on 1 April 1987. Red Bull introduced its new product,
and arguably a new product category, Red Bull Energy Drink (Red Bull, n.d.
c). The inspiration for the founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, were functional
drinks from the Far East (Red Bull, n.d. a). Without any doubt, the idea of a
almost 25 years on the market, Red Bull is an employer for 8,966 people,
its product can be bought in 165 countries all around the world, and the
At present, there are four categories of Red Bull products: Red Bull
Energy Drink (Gives you wings when you need them), Red Bull Sugarfree
(Wings without sugar), Red Bull Zero Calories (Zero calories, 100%
wings), and flavoured Red Bull Editions (Wings for every taste). Even
though each category has its own motto and a distinct feature, they all
terms of the roles in the buying decision process, target market, potential
1
choice criteria, social influences on consumer behaviour, and sports
marketing.
process
Ellis-Chadwick, 2013: 117) distinguish between five different roles that are
product or service will be bought, decider makes the final decision, buyer
makes the purchase, and user consumes the product or service. In some
cases, one person can have more than one role and, according to
Woodside and Mote (in Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013: 117), product
In terms of Red Bull, it may be argued that all roles, except for
2
communication needs to focus on the influencer and the person that
During the initiation process, Red Bull should make their target
market aware of their needs to create (or increase) demand for energy
drinks. Red Bull has a section of their website called When to drink
(n.d. b) which describes various occasions and professions that might need
mostly males 18-34 years old, who need to stay alert, and very often fall
Furthermore, Red Bulls customers are most likely to come from the
first four major lifestyle groups identified by Young & Rubicam (in Jobber
and reformers. The aspirers are ambitious, follow trends, and indulge in
premium brand. The succeeders prefer quality and luxury goods, and the
exclusivity of Red Bull can be applied to them, too. The transitionals tend
Since the reformers are ecology-focused, they might be allured by the fact
that Red Bull cans are 100% recyclable. However, the mainstreamers,
3
struggling poor, or resigned poor are less likely to be interested in buying
Red Bull due to having a limited income and/or a different lifestyle. All
marketing mix.
group (discussed further in question 3). Red Bull should, therefore, ensure
that the brand is perceived well, and that people have positive attitude
Bull energy drink, the decider then makes the ultimate choice. The final
beliefs and attitudes towards Red Bull must be reinforced. However, Red
Bull energy drinks fall into a low-involvement category; hence the search
for alternatives will not be very thorough. Rossiter (in Fill, 2002: 98)
situation, therefore the higher the involvement, the more extensive is the
4
Since the purchase of a can of a Red Bull energy drink is a very
for Red Bull to ensure maximum satisfaction for the consumer so that the
purchase is repeated.
drinks
product or service. Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick (2013: 125) list four main
(price, value for money, running costs, residual value, life-cycle costs),
the combination of criteria might vary and the same criterion may possibly
Energy drinks are consumer goods, not durables, therefore reliability and
5
However, the remaining criteria are important. Performance and taste are
effect or better taste will most likely be chosen. The aspect of good looks
of a can of an energy drink might overlap with social criteria because the
target market is concerned with the way they are perceived by their peers.
Comfort that is not up to a certain standard might deter customers if, for
that the inventories are never empty and the product is available in as
running costs, residual value, and life-cycle costs are not relevant in the
towards certain energy drinks (and energy drinks in general) if the society
6
Also, drinking premium or ultra-premium drinks can be considered as
Fourth, some personal traits or lifestyle could affect the final choice
of the product; therefore people will most likely choose a brand, which is in
products. If some brand does not offer such versions of their drinks, it may
appealing to certain people because the image of the brand reflects their
product.
1995: 172). However, when the products are chosen according to the
marketers can take advantage of this and stress criteria that are well
7
Social influences on consumer behaviour with respect to the
target market
defined as the belief that pleasure is the most important thing in life.
Furthermore, advertising for luxury brands, which might include Red Bull,
First, culture reflects the basic building stone that society is built on
8
while taboos must be avoided. It can be argued that the consumption of
for all energy drinks marketers because they do not have to fight taboos.
Therefore, culture is not the most relevant problem for Red Bull.
have some implications for marketing. The factors that are analysed
Chadwick, 2013: 139). The factors can be used for market segmentation
lifestyle groups for Red Bull were already discussed in question 1. In order
to have the desired impact on the target market, knowing the structure of
people can move between socioeconomic groups and may not be a good
Third, social class is also derived from occupation. There are eight
(Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013: 138-9). Arguably, all social classes might
customers for Red Bull are probably the first three occupation classes:
9
and intermediate. These classes have a higher disposable income than the
2013: 140). Therefore, the implications for Red Bull are to maximise the
themselves.
decision-making process
culture. Some examples of sports marketing may be: Red Bull Flugtag,
Infinity Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Crashed Ice, Red Bulls, and Red Bull Air
Force. All the events mentioned above are either sponsored or directly
10
Sports sponsorship is a valuable communication tool for
118). These steps overlap with the roles of the buying process discussed in
customer can become more aware of their needs and/or the brand.
positive brand image and brand preference, both of which can be enforced
alternatives, which offer the same performance for similar prices. After the
purchase, it is important to make sure that the customer was satisfied with
Conclusion
11
To summarise, this essay has discussed four questions related to
first question, five roles of the buying decision process were discussed, as
well as the target market and lifestyle groups. It has been shown that Red
Bull should put emphasis on the initiator, influencer, and decider. In the
evaluation have been discussed. Due to Red Bull having the features of a
market research among Red Bull's target market could identify essential
choice criteria, on which Red Bull should focus. The third question has
plays quite an important role in the creation of demand for energy drinks.
It has been shown that neither culture nor geodemographics are crucial
class and reference groups are essential, and can be targeted and
exploited by the marketing activities of Red Bull. The fourth question has
shown that the effects of sponsorship correspond with the five steps of
potential customer aware of their needs and showing them that Red Bull is
their best choice. Last but not least, even though some answers are
considerably shorter than others, they all overlap and all the information
12
References
of the New Age, in Keat R., Whiteley N., and Abercrombie N. (ed) (1994)
13
Jobber D. and Ellis-Chadwick F. (2013) Principles and Practice of Marketing,
York: Routledge.
14