Here at Hatch, we are always on the lookout for inspiring sponsorship partnerships and activity, and the recent Red Bull stunt definitely hits the spot!
This weekend not only saw over 8 million people tune in to watch the World Record Stratos mission unfold in front of their eyes (a YouTube record), but also the F1 2012 Korean Grand Prix and the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series all of which are heavily associated with energy drink, Red Bull.
The live coverage of the space free fall jump by Austrian, Felix Baumgartner, has definitely taken over the news agenda on Twitter and Facebook, alongside being mentioned in most of the mainstream papers and TV. This type of sponsorship activation shows how the online media agenda is changing the way these partnerships work, and how sponsors can be in charge of creating their own content and publishing this straight to their target audiences via the Internet. Not that it wasn’t a risky move for Red Bull, as the free-fall athlete could have potentially turned into gas whilst plummeting 800+ miles per hour!
It is now not enough for brands to just pay money to stick their logo onto the side of a product, an event, an athlete or another brand. They need to be proactive in exploring new ways to reach their target media, as audiences are increasingly tuning out of regular sponsorship branding. Brands should work to create exciting ways to give consumers something new and exclusive, as in today’s media saturated world, it’s a stronger way to reach audiences and create an impact.
At Hatch we are a fan of Red Bull’s extreme sports sponsorship including the Red Bull X-Fighters and the recently aired Cliff Diving – further great examples of brand partnerships at work. It’s these types of partnerships that really work for Red Bull as they are ingrained in the company’s culture, they fit the product and brand, allowing them to really focus and monopolise these types of sports. It hasn’t come without hard work however, as the company have been chipping away at this area of sponsorship for around 20 years, but Red Bull has made clever use of the internet and the ease of self publishing content to great effect.
These crazy stunts saw Red Bull showcase another incredible sponsorship and marketing campaign which places the drinks brand nicely in the forefront of extreme sports, outrageous world record attempts and most importantly, a worldwide audience!
