From my thread about REDLINE and the issues of warning labels it made me stop and do research at the store yesterday.
I picked up a Monster, Full Throttle,Coolah, Sobe Adrenaline Rush, Mtn De Amp,Red Bull,Tab Energy, Arizona's Caution, and a RockStar.
All of the above had a warning label somewhere, and not exactly conspicous, on the can except one. The warning label read: Not intended for children, pregnant women, or those susceptible to caffeine. Maybe not exactly in those exact words but pretty darn close.
Furthemore they reffered to themselves as an Energy drink, again , except one.
Red Bull did not have the warning nor did it label itself as an energy drink. It made reference to energy, alertness, feeling of well being and so forth but did not exactly say I AM AN ENERGY DRINK.
Perhaps the marketing genius is still at work and we the consumer are still making our own labels and definition of what a Red Bull is therefore perpetuating their success. They present us with an idea and we mold it into our lives as we see fit and create a personal relationship with it instead of them telling us what it is and then we decide if we want to conform to that model of behavior or mindset.

just a thought.......

I guess that was YOUR moment of Zen !

Originally posted by SumPoosieCat:
I guess that was YOUR moment of Zen !

Everythings ZEN!!!

Words of enlightenment. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Greg, Here is my post from last Wednesday. Out here in California, We have gone round and round with store owners and Field Consultants asking this question. If you are going to I.D. the Redline user because of the 18 and over recommendation, why don't you do the same for all Energy Drinks. No one has really came up with a valid answer. As always, it is all about the "All Mighty" Dollar.

AllProDist wrote on 2-15-07:
Rockstar, Monster and Redbull all clearly state on the side of their cans "not recommended for children" In California, a child is anyone under 18 years of age. But every day, thousands of "children" in California are guzzling down 24oz Rockstars or Monsters or grabbing 2 or 3 Red Bulls to get a buzz. At least Redline and other drinks in that category are labeling exactly who their product is for. Out here in California, 7-11 stores are not allowed to sell Redline to anyone under 18. Why doesn't the same thing apply to all the other ED's who have bascially the same warning on the can. If that happend, Monster, Rockstar and Red Bull would see their sales drop at least 30 to 40% Teenagers are a big part of ED's core business. I would rather have a 17 year old drink 1/2 a Redline than guzzling down a 24oz Rockstar or Monster. All that HFCS and cheap raw ingredients just to get a buzz......please!

Teenagers today have STD's, Aids, Predators on the Internet, Drugs, and now you want to add Caffeine to the list... give me a break!

Teenagers have enough to worry about... there are many things that can harm them Caffeine is way down on the list.

I once read an article about read bull's marketing strategy that referred it as "MURKETING".

The term refers to the fact that all of their marketing is extremely non traditional and usually extremely subtle. Often times is so subtle you may not even know for sure if Red bull is sponsoring the event/ad etc (Flutag/Airace etc).

I also think it's interseting that you will never see a piece of clothing/merchandise with the red bull name and logo on it UNLESS it is being worn by an approved athlete or entertainer etc.

The fact that they don't even call themselves an energy drink on the can is just an extension of their ambigous nature.

You have to give them credit, love or hate them, their strategy has kept the brand hip,edgy and fresh for almost 15 years. It's easier for small brands to maintain their edge but much more difficult for succesful brands such as red Bull to maintain this over time.

Does anyone on the board know if there has ever been a case study or book written on the history/strategy of the brand (RB)? If not someone should get on it, certainly would be interesting. That's IF Red Bull would even give an author the access he would need to write an accurate account of the inside players/strategy makers at RB.

I think they have been too busy writing books about Brands like Coke, Ford, and GE. Brands that have been around for more than 100 years.

Red Sox Fan,
It is my understanding, garnered by reading the "Murketing" article you mentioned, that RB's founder is very secretive and does not talk much in or if at all in public about RB. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that RB is a collective corporation Think Tank amalgamation. They have said that Deitrich Mateschitz is a figure head in spirit only and that the whole company is run as a controlled marketing machine by many.
Their secret to their success is exactly that, a secret.
In the article the woman who is responding chuckles or giggles everytime his name is mentioned and she goes on to say that only a select few have even met the man.
So My point is I don't think any great books about marketing or the rise of RB is going to be out soon.
BTW, the article was written in 2002.

http://robwalker.net/html_docs/redbull.html

I don't get it. on every can of RB it says ENERGY DRINK on every ice ben, coolor, can, so on not on their TV ad, it says gives you wings. I just don't see where you are coming from Greg? I do know their marketing is good and it shows in their sales but they DO call them self an ENERGY DRINK.