Social Media Marketing Campaign Final Project
YouTube: Red Bull Stratos Campaign
Red Bull is the world’s leading energy drink beverage. Mostly known for fueling college
students during finals week, and being stocked in your work vending machine for when you
need a pick me up. However, Red Bull has used social media campaigns on YouTube to redefine
how Red Bull ‘gives you wings’. Red Bull is using real fan, athlete, and influencer footage of
extreme sports such as snow boarding, mountaineering, professional biking, etc to associate
the drink with thrilling and daring actions. In 2012, Red Bull brought this strategy to new
heights, literally, by sponsoring and streaming Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner in his record
attempt to freefall from an altitude of 39 kilometers. The campaign was labeled the ‘Red Bull
Stratos’ and made history in more ways than one.
According to the Red Bull, the mission of Red Bull Stratos was to go beyond human limits and
advance in scientific discovery by providing valuable medical and scientific date for future
pioneers. More specifically, they wanted to provide the research on how the human body
copes with the extreme conditions in space. However, the objective behind the mission was to
break records. The first being to sponsor the world-record jump and free fall from 128,000 feet
in the air, which Baumgartner succeeded in. While not in their mission statement, Red Bull
wanted being recognized as the brand that broke the record with experimental marketing like
never before.
