BUZZ NEWS

Red bull: "Can you make it?"

Posted on November 6, 2008
Mathieu Picault

Red Bull is no rookie at coming up with original buzz-creating initiatives. Just at the beginning of this year, after hanging with 10 surfers, the energy drink created the Red Bull surfing website in which Internet users can really feel like part of the surfing action. Its most recent initiative took place two weeks ago in Europe. Red Bull offered students a unique chance to travel across Europe, sparking a lot of buzz along the way.

The idea was simple and effective: 250 teams of 3 students departed from 5 cities (Madrid, Rome, Budapest, Berlin, and Manchester) on October 24. Their goal was to pass through as many of the race’s 35 check-points in 15 countries as possible before arriving at the finish line in Paris at 6pm on October 31.

What is unique about this operation is that the only currency the students had to pay for their food, travel, and accommodation were cans of Red Bull! Not only did the students clamor to join this unique race, but they also served as guerilla marketers for the energy drink.

Going even further than a guerilla marketing campaign/race, Red Bull created a website dedicated to spreading the word about the race. Photos were regularly uploaded to the website and via its post system, Internet users were able to follow the day-to-day experiences of the teams.

It turned out that no team made it to all 35 check points. In fact, no team even made it to half of them! The winning team made it to 13 check-points during the 8 day race. While the teams themselves had trouble making it even to a third of the designated checkpoints, the operation was a huge Internet success.

This campaign helps Red Bull reaffirm its image of being young and cool. It certainly isn’t a drink you can picture your granny drinking, is it? Being able to have the race’s finish line in Paris was a bit of an accomplishment for the energy drink. While we’ve had it on our shelves for over a decade, Red Bull was only legalized in France this year after the drink that gives you wings removed taurine from its ingredients.

After seeing the originality of its last operations, I’m excited to see what Red Bull will come up with to make its next buzz! Just for fun, we’ve uploaded a little Red Bull dance that broke out at the Marseille check-point in southern France! OLÉ