Video: CNBC’s Darren Rovell Discusses Red Bull’s Sports Marketing Strategy at BevNET Live

Focusing on lessons that beverage entrepreneurs could take from Red Bull and its marketing techniques, CNBC reporter Darren Rovell dazzled BevNET Live attendees with his talk on the intersection of sports, marketing, and beverages. Rovell, who has covered the sports business beat for CNBC since 2006, called Red Bull’s promotions, endorsement deals, and advertising campaigns, “an active case study” in innovative marketing. Rovell pointed to Red Bull’s approach to athlete endorsements as truly authentic and reciprocal relationships, as opposed to brands that simply pay athletes to endorse their products. He noted that in its work with skier Lindsey Vonn, Red Bull supplies a therapist and personal trainer to travel with her.

“Do you think she ever forgets to mention Red Bull when thinking about her sponsors,” Rovell asked. “A true reciprocal relationship should be the goal.”

Rovell also posited that beverage companies should align themselves with athletes who similar cultural values and interests, as well as those who could add an innovative twist to traditional marketing. And in what appeared to be a thinly veiled swipe at Vita Coco’s endorsement deals with several Major League Baseball players, which include Alex Rodriguez and Josh Hamilton, Rovell asked the audience, “As a coconut water, should we hire a [Major League Baseball] player or an extreme climber to pick coconuts at rapid speed?”

Watch Rovell’s speech in full in this video, and check out several other videos of talks and panels from BevNET Live at BeverageSchool.com, BevNET’s on-demand video learning site.