Why does Red Bull own sporting teams?
By Jack Scalora
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Imagine being track-side for the opening of the Formula 1 season. You can hear the enormous roar of those incredible V6 engines and the heat pulsating off the track. If you look at the cars lining up on the start, there are three colours I guarantee will be there in pole position: red, blue, and silver.
Imagine being behind the goal with the away support as Leipzig take part in the Champions League coming up against the best in the world – real Madrid or even Manchester United. The team will be wearing those same colours.
Imagine being inside that cockpit soaring through the clouds up above then spiralling down over the alps nearly touching the top of the Rocky Mountains. You get out of the jet and have this sensation that you have wings then you see the same 3 colours and logo on the side of the roaring supersonic jet. Red. Silver. Blue
If you still don’t know what company I’m alluding to, its RED BULL! Red Bull is the leading powerhouse in the action sports industry and a major up and comer in other sports industries.
Red Bull was founded in April 1987 by Austrian Scientist, Dietrich Mateschitz. He had been on a business trip to East Asia where he tried a special Asian brand of energy drinks, unlike anything he had ever tasted. He loved the taste and the idea of them inspired him to create his own brand of drinks, and Red Bull was born.
The first couple of years the Red Bull brand wasn’t very popular worldwide until the 1996 release in the USA where they blew up! To furthermore promote the drink, they partnered with ‘cool’ university students. And so, it became known as the drink that cool people drank.
Why did Red Bull get into sport?
You may be thinking how did Red Bull get into sports? The story starts in the late 1980s to early 1990s. The first ever event was a brutal challenge which tested even the world’s best athletes! Teams of 4 paired up on a course which included a mountain runner, a paraglider, a mountain biker, and a Whitewater kayaker. It was gruelling challenge which lasted 4 plus hours only the very best survived, the literal motto was “When suffering is fun”.
From the very start Red Bull evidently put out the image that actions sports is where they wanted to be. Red Bull was the drink that “gives you wings” and action was known as the sports for crazy people, this meant they were a match made in heaven.
The next big investment only a year later was signing on their first ever athlete. This athlete was 10-time Formula 1 race winner Gerhard Berger! Berger’s winning personality made him an instant success which helped promote the company. With such a big investment early it shown they were bound for success.
Over the years Red Bulls has become a global powerhouse in the world of sports. They currently own 15 sports teams across 11 different sports, these sports range from the world of football to the fast world of Formula 1. Red Bull is now the major force in the world of extreme action sports like snowboarding, ice skating on courses with jumps, mountain bike riding, cliff diving and many more.
Why did Red Bull get into F1?
Whenever you turn on the sports TV channel on an F1 weekend you will almost be guaranteed to see and hear about Red Bull. Since there inclusion into the sport, they have become a world championship contester.
Owner of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz wanted to enter the fast world of F1. Very early Red Bull sponsored Austrian F1 driver Gerhard Berger, who become a very successful race winner. They first came in as a sponsor for Sauber at the start of the 1995 season, the Red Bull ‘bull’ featured on the side on the car which helped with marketing. This long-term sponsorship lasted until 2004. At the start of the 2005 season Red Bull brought out Jaguar Team who was falling into liquidation. They acquired Jaguars headquarters in UK town Milton Keynes. Since entering the sport, they have come a constant title contender, always contending for victories.
When Red Bull Racing first entered the sport, they were right at the bottom, their many questions around if they were going to survive the challenging sport. Over the years Red Bull Racing invested millions of dollars and hired some of the greatest motorsport influences to help them to get to where they are today.
Red Bull Racing also started a development program to help bring young drivers up to the top level. This has been a very successful program with many of today’s drivers at the top level coming through this system.
Red Bull Racing consecutively won from 2010-2013, 4 World Constructors titles and 4 World Drivers Championships. Since then, they have always contested for wins and recently through the successful of young Dutch driver Max Verstappen they have picked up another 2 World Drivers Championships.
My Personal Thoughts
In conclusion, Red Bull has become the leading powerhouse in world sports due to their innovative marketing and sponsoring strategies. By sponsoring extreme sports events and athletes, Red Bull has created a unique brand image which has become ubiquitous in sport worldwide. But is it a good thing for sport with Red Bull having such a huge influence? Many critics believe Red Bull’s impact on sport has destroyed the sports industry and now everything must be about them. But for Red Bull it is amazing they are bringing in massive amounts of money each year simply because of their investment in sports. Overall, Red Bull has created a product and a brand which has taken over the world, if you were to ask a stranger about Red Bull its almost guaranteed they will know. In my opinion Red Bull has been a great success in the sports industry. They gave brought some action sports from the bottom all the way up to the top. Without Red Bull we wouldn’t see a lot of these sports, and we wouldn’t see such success in athletes.
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