Red Bull: Worst Kept Secret
by Beth Wallach
As a brand leader in energy drinks, Red Bull was understandably keen to pack a mean punch with the launch of their new miniature offering - The Red Bull Energy Shot, which contains all the rocket-fuel of a full-size can crammed into a tiny 60ml bottle.
The Challenge
Amplify was approached to launch this micro-beast to Red Bull's 400 journalists and staff. The aim of getting the company and its key voices excited and informed of the benefits of the new product. Up until now rumours had been spreading in the marketing press about the new product, all fiercely denied by Red Bull!
Amplify's Approach
Amplify evolved the concept of The Red Bull Energy Shot being "The Worst Kept Secret" into a spy-themed spoof expose of the product scripted and delivered by a team of actors.
Breaking the story
To generate excitement prior to the event Amplify created a video email invite in the style of a self-destruct computer transmission featuring a secret agent on the run (Agent R), who breathlessly instructs the viewer (Agent B) on how to infiltrate "Project Compact", ending with the time and place of the event.
Exposing the truth
To make the overall experience seamless Amplify ensured that our Secret Agent R from the video viral greeted guests at the door.
On entry guests were ushered into The Red Bull Energy Shot Bar, which was set up with games including golf putting, Wii Sports games and a driving simulator to communicate the message that you can down a shot whilst on the move.
Once all guests had arrived they were taken through to the main "We Are Red Bull" room, where they were given a presentation about the history of Red Bull and the launch of Red Bull Shots launch whilst surrounded by Red Bull paraphernalia.
The Red Bull Energy Shot Experience
Following this guests were taken through three small rooms in small groups - the Red Bull Energy Shot Lab, The Marketing Mix and The Perfect Store. Guests were entertained by a character in each room including an Austrian scientist who demonstrated the benefits of shrinking Red Bull to a "portable convenient" size, a statistician who dramatised the marketing strategy and a shopkeeper who showed guests around the perfect store.
The Results
Feedback about the campaign from the client, staff and journalists was overwhelming - Red Bull described it as "the best launch they had ever held". The accompanying video footage of the email invite and event itself was also a major talking point and was used to showcase the launch to HQ in Austria.
