Insight into Red Bull marketing

Felix Baumgartner

With the sponsorship of Felix Baumgartner's recent supersonic skydive, Red Bull marketing really can't go any higher.

According to Red Bull Event Marketing Manager Lou Galasso, Red Bull is exploring all other appropriate avenues and has become a 360 degree media business. The brand has expanded into music, film and more.

Galasso was in St. Paul Jan. 8 to talk about Red Bull Crashed Ice marketing and brand strategies to Minnesota Public Relations Society of America members.

While the first Crashed Ice events were held in Europe, they have become increasingly popular in the United States. In Minnesota, Crashed Ice started out as a stunt in Duluth.

The event returns to St. Paul on Jan. 26. There is so much buzz about the St. Paul Crashed Ice event that there already are 15 million media impressions nationwide about the event.

"We hope that Crashed Ice is in the X Games or Olympics someday," said Galasso.

Galasso said that athletes are one of the main ways that the Red Bull story is told. The brand also has a grassroots focus on college campuses with 300 student brand managers who know how to share Red Bull with the "in" crowd.

What about all of the alcoholic drinks made with Red Bull? "Bartenders have concocted those, but we don't sponsor them," said Galasso.

From promoting BMX to floating a skate park all the way down the Mississippi River in 32 days, one thing is sure:  Red Bull will be part of the next "big thing."