Red Bull teamed up with Rickie Fowler, the PGA Rookie of the Year, to create an incredible "Red Bull Capital Drive" PR stunt during the days leading up to the 2011 U.S. Open, played at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD. As part of the stunt, Red Bull designed a 106-yard manmade hole in the heart of Washington DC's Historic Georgetown Waterfront and brought in Fowler to test whether he could make a hole-in-one in a populated urban setting.
With the Potomac River as a serene backdrop, Fowler successfully made a blind hole-in-one shot between two (2) five-story buildings and around one (1) fountain hazard after just a few attempts. Fowler relied on his precise accuracy to make the shot, despite swirling wind conditions and hundreds of spectators making the stunt that much more difficult.
To generate publicity for the event, Red Bull teamed up with Activ8Social to create a social media scavenger hunt in the streets of Washington D.C. that allowed golf fans a chance to "check in" at specified Foursquare locations across the city to win autographed limited edition golf balls and more. The social scavenger hunt event attracted 50+ participants
Check out a recap of Red Bull's Capital Drive event below:
Red Bull Hit the Streets to Energize Residents of JapanRed Bull Racing recently held a tremendous F1 event in Japan in an effort to help re-energize the country following the devastating tsunami events in March 2011.
On June 4th-5th, Red Bull Racing teamed up with driver Sebastien Buemi to host an unforgettable showcar appearance in the streets of Japan and complemented the event by raising funds for earthquake relief efforts by selling limited edition t-shirts that generated proceeds for devastated areas.
The unique Red Bull Racing events attracted a crowd of 25,000 spectators and media outlets to the Big Beach Music Festival Makuhari to see Buemi steering his powerful Formula 1 vehicle through a crowded marketplace. The event marked the first time that an F1 vehicle had been driven through the streets of Japan.
The following day, Sebastien Buemi and the Red Bull Racing team put on a thrilling display at the Yokohama Motomachi Shopping Street, where 11,000 fans witnessed a series of burnouts, turning donuts, and straightline runs first-hand. Red Bull's F1 stunt generated notable coverage throughout the country and was picked up on a number of major media outlets.
Check out two videos that capture the events below:
A special thanks to Yuki Suzuki of Japan for her insights and contributions to this column!
As Red Bull continues to revolutionize the extreme sports space, it recently launched a tremendous event in St. Petersburg, Russia that could have some promising implications in the United States.
Red Bull unveiled a pond skimming competition that featured 120+ costumed snowboarders riding down a sloped hill and launching themselves into a pool of icy water. The contest proved to be a hit with onlookers and would likely be a great addition to an X-Games or Dew Tour event in the United States.
As brands look for new ways to activate outside the box, the opportunities are endless in the extreme sports space - a notion that Red Bull and Nike continue to prove on a regular basis.
Check out the captivating Red Bull Pond Skimming event below:
Over the past few years, Red Bull has done an absolutely remarkable job revolutionizing the sports space that we live and work in. All across the globe, Red Bull mesmerizes consumers with unconventional sports events and marketing practices that generate consumer interest in non-traditional and emerging sports.
In the past week alone, Red Bull released four (4) extremely interesting videos showcasing how the brand continues to bring sports to life in new ways and create new fan perspectives. Check out the four (4) videos below, especially the floating BMX park in Florida, which is downright unbelievable.
Red Bull Bargespin Floating BMX Park - Florida Intercoastal Waterways
Red Bull created a five-day event on the waterways of Florida that featured the world's best BMX riders performing tricks and skills on a floating BMX park.
Red Bull - A Day with Reggie Bush at Super Bowl XLV
Red Bull leveraged its partnership with Reggie Bush by profiling his time and activities at Super Bowl XLV weekend in Dallas. Red Bull provided fans with a behind-the-scenes look at how NFL players spend their time while in town for The Big Game. The viral served as a great way to support Red Bull's endorsement and drive some value during the off-season.
Red Bull-Travis Pastrana NASCAR PR Launch Event - Staples Center
Red Bull celebrated its partnership with Travis Pastrana, the newest driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, by featuring a special NASCAR PR Launch event outside Staples Center in Los Angeles. Red Bull then gave fans a behind-the-scenes peak at Pastrana Waltrip Racing... expect much more to come from this relationship in the NASCAR Space
Red Bull Crashed Ice - Valkenburg, Netherlands
The Valkenburg Red Bull Crashed Ice consisted of speed skaters racing down a 385-meter long ice track in front of 25,000 spectators.
Brands looking for new ways to make an impactful impression on consumers without spending a significant amount of money on team/league partnerships should closely monitor Red Bull's activation and spending in the sports space.
The energy drink provider is leveraging core partnerships to create a collection of unbelievable, "ownable" sports, consumer facing initiatives, and activation tactics.
Red Bull recently unveiled three amazing initiatives in basketball, snowboarding, and racing. Check them out below:
Red Bull King of the Rock Finals - 1v1 Basketball Competition on Alcatrez (featuring Rondo)
Red Bull held a "King of the Rock" 1-on-1 basketball tournament in The Yard on Alcatrez on September 18th. Red Bull brought in 64 contestants to compete in the first official sporting event ever held on Alcatrez, marking the first time basketball had been played there since inmates left the island 50+ years ago. The contestants competed in an all-out competition for the right to be crowned "King of the Rock" and collect a $10,000 prize. The Red Bull King of the Rock Finals was covered on Fox Sports West, Fox Sports Arizona, and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.
Red Bull - "Off the Planet" Snowboarding Initiative
Red Bull teamed up with ENESS, a group of Melbourne-based installation artists, to bring a new perspective to snowboarding and action sports. Red Bull called on a team of snowboarders and skiers, including Russell Henshaw and Simon Dumont, to perform stunts and tricks in the air. While the action sports enthusiasts did their thing, ENESS filmed the spectacle with an infrared camera and mapped in 3D visuals and a 21' inflatable sphere to make it appear to viewers that the snowboarders were flying sky high over the world. It's hard to explain - you just have to see it for yourself... Red Bull is leveraging interactve projection art and technology to give action sports a whole new look.
Red Bull Presents the 2010 Kimi Raikkonen Challenge
Red Bull recently allowed fans a chance to test the skills of Kimi Raikkonen, a former Formula 1 driver who is described as "the fastest driver on the planet", in a time trial racing competition through the Lera Chitose Outlet, an indoor Japanese shopping center. The event, backed by several sponsors, encouraged consumers 20+ to come out and test their go kart manuevering skills to see if they could top Raikkonen's time while traveling at speeds up to 130 kilometer per hour. Red Bull allowed 100 consumers to participate, with the top (10) performers earning a chance to compete in the finals against the former champion.
The stunt attracted thousands of onlookers and could serve as a benchmark for NASCAR and Indy Car teams looking for new ways to engage fans at retail. Check out Raikkonen's run at the indoor shopping center below:
Are you looking for new ways to drive global awareness and leverage key holidays? Are you looking for ways to break the traditional mold of sports marketing?
Red Bull is kicking off the Year 2010 and a new decade of excitement with a New Years Bang that will surely generate watercooler discussion on Monday. Red Bull's "New Year. No Limits." campaign will feature stunt artist Travis Pastrana testing the laws of physics by attempting a 171-foot long distance jump in a rally car.
The stunt, set to take place at the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach, California, will be featured live on ESPN on New Years Eve at 11pm. The stunt will grab the attention of millions of consumers who are turning on their television (or watching at a local bar/establishment where ESPN is always being shown) for some quality New years entertainment.
Red Bull's "New Year. No Limits." festivities demonstrate how a brand can "own" a holiday with a captivating moment in sports, despite a tremendous amount of clutter (traditional New Years Eve coverage, bowl games, anticipation for the NHL Winter Classic, NFL/NBA/NHL, etc.).
ESPN is supporting coverage of the event with mobile text updates for those consumers who will be situated away from the television. To drive anticipation for the event, Red Bull created an incredible microsite (as shown below) that features viral content, live Twitter feed integration, details about the stunt/party information/locale, and additional press.
Check out the microsite and some of the viral pieces below:
Are you looking for new ways to leverage winter sports athlete endorsers? Are you looking to create an unconventional viral campaign?
Over the past year, there was a buzz in the action sports space that Red Bull built a secret half pipe hidden in the mountains of Colorado for Olympian Gold Medalist Shaun White. With no pictures, stories, or first-person accounts, all of the buzz was just speculation... until now.
Red Bull recently unveiled the details behind the project - Project X - through an exclusive site (www.redbullprojectx.com) that provides an insightful look into Shaun White's secret winter experience in the world of Red Bull. The site includes a collection of images, videos, and special tricks that White learned while toying with his own half-pipe in Silverton, Colorado. Not only did Red Bull venture out to build the world's first on-mountain snowboarding foam pit, they captured it all on film for consumers to enjoy. The site features a collection of videos detailing the project, etc. and will continue to drive buzz and interest by releasing Shaun White tricks videos throughout the year (beginning November 3rd).
Red Bull's Project X further demonstrates how the company is "changing the game" when it comes to investing its marketing dollars. While some brands are investing millions of dollars in signage and presenting sponsorships, Red Bull is radically changing, owning, and creating sports properties and unique concepts of its own.
Through the Project X campaign, Red Bull takes athlete partnerships/endorsements to an incredible next level. Both brands (Red Bull, Shaun White) will clearly benefit from the level of intrigue and the "coolness factor" of Project X - something that will help Red Bull score significant exposure leading into the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Red Bull surely invested a large sum of dollars to create Project X, but how much so in comparison to the perceived brand value/buzz they will generate leading into the Olympic Games? For those interested, here are a few details behind what it took to build the secret snowboard getaway:
300 man hours were required to build the foam pit
250,000 cubic yards of snow were moved to build the secret half-pipe
7200 foam blocks were needed to fill the foam pit
Check out the tremendous video Red Bull created for Project X:
Are you looking for ways to revolutionize a sport? Is your brand looking to create an ownable sports platform?
Red Bull is changing the game when it comes to building customized, ownable sports platforms. The brand's success is highlighted by its ownership of Red Bull Street Style, the world's ultimate soccer freestyle battle.
In just two years, Red Bull has built a globally recognized soccer platform that is driving a significant amount of buzz among soccer enthusiasts everywhere. The Red Bull Street Style enables competitors in 45 markets worldwide to compete in a three (3) minute head-to-head battle against one another.
The best performers from each round will advance to the regional stage and then on to the finals to represent their country. The performers are judged based on their technical skill, ball control, and creativity. The 2010 Street Style finals competition will serve as a precedent to the World Cup - taking place in Cape Town, South Africa in April.
Here is a quick look at the 2009 Amsterdam Red Bull Street Style finals:
Here is a quick look at the inaugural Red Bull Street Style world finals, which took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2008:
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 12:18AM 
Red Bull teamed up with Rickie Fowler, the PGA Rookie of the Year, to create an incredible "Red Bull Capital Drive" PR stunt during the days leading up to the 2011 U.S. Open, played at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD. As part of the stunt, Red Bull designed a 106-yard manmade hole in the heart of Washington DC's Historic Georgetown Waterfront and brought in Fowler to test whether he could make a hole-in-one in a populated urban setting.
