Red Bull GmbH

Infobox Company
company_name = Red Bull GmbH
picture_of_product =
company_
company_type = Private
slogan = Red Bull Gives You Wiiings.
No Red Bull. No Wings.
foundation = 1984
founder = Dietrich Mateschitz
Chaleo Yoovidhya
location = Fuschl am See, Austria
area_served = Worldwide
key_people = Dietrich Mateschitz
industry = Drink
products = Red Bull
Energy drinks
revenue = profit €2,6 billion (2006)
operating_income = profit €1.3 billion (2006)
net_income = profit €650 million (2006)
num_employees = 3,903 (2006)
parent =
subsid = Red Bull Racing
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Team Red Bull
Red Bull New York
Red Bull Salzburg
homepage = [http://redbull.com/ Redbull.com]
footnotes =

Red Bull GmbH is the Austrian Company selling the Red Bull Energy Drink. In 2006, more than 3 billion cans were sold in over 130 countries. 3,903 employees generated 2.6 billion euros in turnover. [Rekord bei Red Bull, ORF online (Austrian national television), 2006 [http://oesterreich.orf.at/salzburg/stories/170088/] ] The headquarters of Red Bull GmbH are located in Fuschl am See, Austria.

The Founder of the company is Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian entrepreneur. Mateschitz was international marketing director for Blendax, a German toothpaste company, when he visited Thailand in 1982 and discovered that Krating Daeng, a Thai Energy Drink that originated in Japan, helped to cure his jet lag. [Selling Energy, Economist, May 9 2002 [http://www.economist.com/people/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1120373] ] Between 1984 and 1987, Mateschitz worked with TC Pharmaceutical (a Blendax licensee) to adapt Krating Daeng for European audiences. At the same time Mateschitz and Chaleo, the owner of Krating Daeng, founded Red Bull GmbH; each investing $500,000 of savings and taking a 49% stake in the new company. They gave the remaining 2% to Chaleo's son Chalerm, but it was agreed that Mateschitz would run the company. [Soda with a buzz, Forbes, 28 March 2005, [http://www.forbes.com/global/2005/0328/028_print.html] ] That left the Thais as silent partners. Red Bull GmbH launched the “Austrian” version of Red Bull in 1987, which is carbonated and not as sweet as the original Thai recipe. It is the Austrian formula that has taken almost half of the U.S. market for energy drinks, and up to 80% of the market in some other countries.

In 2006, Forbes Magazine listed Chaleo as being the 292nd richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of over $2.5 billion [Billionaires, #292 Chaleo Yoovidhya, Forbes , 2006 [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/13B6.html] ] while Mateschitz was listed at number 317. [Billionaires, #317 Dietrich Mateschitz, Forbes , 2006 [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/DGAD.html] ]

Red Bull distribution

The Red Bull company also distributes and markets a number of other drinks including Simply Cola, the Carpe Diem range of herbal soft beverages and the Sabai Wine Spritzer (the latter in association with the Thai Siam Winery in Thailand)

Marketing

s through various sports and entertainment based advertising campaigns. The current mottoes, "Red Bull Gives You Wings," and "No Red Bull, No Wings" are direct plays on the proposed stimulate properties of the beverage.

ports sponsorship

Since the initial viral campaign, Red Bull's efforts have included sponsoring extreme sport events including cliff diving, BMX, skiing, flying and skateboarding. In the 1990s, Red Bull sponsored the rower Xeno Müller, who won an Olympic gold medal in the single sculls in 1996 [http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/storydetail.cfm?ID=1731] . Today, Red Bull sponsors skier Tanner Hall, who won the X Games gold in half-pipe skiing. Red Bull also owns and conducts the Flugtag ("flight day" in German), a competition where entrants launch themselves off a 30-foot ramp in homemade "flying machines" into a body of water (reminiscent of the Birdman Rally); its own version of the soapbox derby called the Red Bull Soap Box Race which was recently held in Cincinnati, Ohio; the Red Bull Art of the Can Competition, an international art competition in which artists are asked to create works using the Red Bull can; and the Red Bull BC One individual breakdance competition.

Red Bull has had a sponsorship presence in a number of sports for some time, especially in the world of motor sport, with the company having a presence in the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) especially the Abt Audi team, Dakar Rally sponsoring the VW Race Touareg Team, KTM Factory Motocross Team, Moto GP, British Superbike's (BSB) Red Bull Honda and HM Plant Red Bull Honda teams, World Rally Championship with the Skoda team run by Armin Schwarz, The SEAT team in the World Touring Car Championship, in Champ Car with Neel Jani and PKV Racing, Rhys Millen's Pontiac in Formula D, sponsoring the GP2 Series team owner by Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner, Arden International. The team previously sponsored the Sauber and Arrows Formula One teams, the Red Bull Cheever Racing Team in the IRL, and since 2007 Team Red Bull has competed in the NASCAR Nextel Cup. Also Red Bull is now sponsoring the Cyberathlete Professional League and its own air racing event called the Red Bull Air Race. Red Bull does not pay their athletes to wear or promote their logo.The 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, a competition for driverless cars, was won by a student team from Stanford. The Team's robotically driven Volkswagen Touareg "Stanley", was sponsored by Red Bull.

Red Bull also has sponsored various racing drivers including NASCAR driver Robby Gordon and Formula One drivers Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed. Red Bull is also sponsor to young Canadian racing prodigy Robert Wickens and teammate John Michael Edwards in the Champ Car Atlantic Series, as well as Moto GP riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa, American Superbike (AMA) riders Eric Bostrom, Ben Bostrom and Jake Zemke and British Superbike (BSB) riders Jonathan Rea, Eugene Laverty and Ryuchi Kiyonari. Red Bull is sponsoring two new NASCAR teams under 2007; racing under the new Toyota Camry label. Aside from that, its Thai unit and its Philippine partner has been responsible in forming, licensing, and funding the Red Bull Barako basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association since 2000. It has become one of the most successful sports teams in the Philippines.

Ownership/Rebranding of sports teams

Red Bull has also extended its presence to purchasing and entirely re-branding a number of sports teams. These teams include the Red Bull Racing (previously Jaguar) [Red Bull snaps up Jaguar F1 team [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4012381.stm article] ] and Scuderia Toro Rosso (Italian for "Red Bull Team") (previously Minardi) [Red Bull swoop for Minardi deal [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4227936.stm article] ] Formula One teams. On April 6, 2005, Red Bull also bought the Austrian football club SV Austria Salzburg and renamed it to Red Bull Salzburg, a move which has been heavily criticised by supporter groups within Austria and across Europe. Salzburg's pro ice hockey team is named "The Red Bulls", and so is its farm team.

In 2005, Red Bull purchased the MetroStars, a soccer team in the United States league Major League Soccer based in New Jersey, from Anschutz Entertainment Group and renamed the franchise Red Bull New York.

In 2007, Red Bull established Red Bull Brasil, a soccer team based in Sao Paulo.

In 2006, Team Red Bull debuted in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The team, with Bill Elliott, failed to qualify for the race and the team didn't qualify for the two subsequent races they attempted with A.J. Allmendinger. The Red Bull-owned 2-car operation debuted on the full-time circuit in 2007 under the Toyota banner. Both cars, Allmendinger in the #84 and Brian Vickers in the #83, failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. Vickers, however, qualified for the race in California Speedway and posted the team's, and Toyota's, first top-10 in Nextel Cup competition.

Promotional cars

In addition to sports sponsorships, Red Bull has developed the MET (Mobile Energy Team) program. The teams consist of mostly college students, who drive specially designed Red Bull "Racers". The racers are detailed with the Red Bull logo, and most carry an oversized can of Red Bull on their chassis (Suzuki Vitara, MiniCooper, SportTrac, etc.). The METs complete daily missions that include sporting events, businesses, colleges, shopping centers, etc. The Mobile Energy Team is trained to know the properties of the energy drink thoroughly and present them to consumers.

Promotional Aircraft

The company uses numerous historic fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft [ [http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?&airlinesearch=Red%20Bull Red Bull Aircraft (airliners photo collection)] ] in their promotions including:

* Chance-Vought F4U-4 96995 (OE-EAS)

* Lockheed P-38L-5LO 44-53254 (N25Y)

* North American B-25J-30NC "44-86893" (N6123C)

References

External links

* [http://www.redbull.com Red Bull Home]
* [http://www.redbullusa.com/ Red Bull America]
* [http://www.redbullartofthecan.com/ Red Bull Art of The Can] (Red Bull International Art Competition)
* [http://www.redbullmet.com Red Bull Mobile Energy Team]
* [http://www.redbullflugtagusa.com/Game/ Red Bull Flugtag Online Game (American Version)]
* [http://www.redbulldragsterday.com/game/ Red Bull Dragsterday Online Game]
* [http://www.redbullrockcrawlers.com/ Red Bull RockCrawlers] (Red Bull Sponsored extreme off-road competition team)
* [http://www.eventsvillage.com/Search/1159847490_-_22143497/?p=1 Upcoming Red Bull Events]
* [http://bullseye.redbull.com/ Bull's Eye Magazine] (Web TV, presentation of Red Bull events and activities)
* [http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/index.php?newsid=5753 French ban on Red Bull upheld by European Court] Medical News Today (Feb 2004)
* [http://www.curia.europa.eu/en/actu/communiques/cp04/aff/cp040012en.htm Press release of the European Court inf the French case]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/redbull/index.html Raging Bull Investigation] CBC Marketplace (Feb 2005)
* [http://pintday.org/archive/20050322 Science vs. the Bull] Rebuttal to the CBC Marketplace article above (Mar 2005)
* [http://www.snopes.com/toxins/redbull.htm Bull Marketed] Urban legends pertaining to Red Bull (Oct 2004)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4826920.stm Red Bull 'masks alcoholic effect'] BBC News (Mar 2006)
* [http://www.facesforcharity.com/ Red Bull F1 Fan car fundraising website] a campaign for uploading pictures to a Formula 1 Car to raise money for spinal injury research]
* [http://www.netnewspublisher.com/red-bull-soapbox-race-in-cincinnati-redefines-ohios-pastime/ Red Bull SoapBox Racing]