2. Event Marketing in Red Bull GmbH.

2.1 Red Bull GmbH: facts and history.

Red Bull GmbH is an Austrian company which sells the Red Bull energy drink. The company is also known for its sponsorship of a range of sporting events. In 2011, a total of 4.631 billion cans were sold in over 161 countries. 8,294 employees generated €4.25 billion in revenue. The headquarters of Red Bull GmbH are located in Fuschl am See, Austria.

Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz and Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya founded Red Bull GmbH in 1984. While working for German manufacturer Blendax (later acquired by Procter & Gamble) in 1982, Mateschitz traveled to Thailand and met Chaleo, owner of TC Pharmaceutical. He found that the energy drink Krating Daeng, developed by Chaleo's company during the 1970s, helped to ease his jet lag. After seeing market potential in the drink, he partnered with Chaleo in bringing it to Europe. Under their agreement, the partners invested $500,000 each into founding Red Bull GmbH. In return, they would each receive a 49% stake in the company, with the remaining 2% stake going to Chaleo's son Chalerm. They also agreed that Mateschitz would run the company.

Between 1984 and 1987, Red Bull GmbH modified the formula for Krating Daeng to better match European tastes by carbonating the beverage and making it less sweet. In 1987, the company introduced their adapted energy drink into Austria under the name Red Bull. It found huge success there by marketing to young professionals. The brand expanded throughout Europe during the early 1990s, exploding into the United States market during 1997, grabbing 75% of the market within a year. The wealth of Red Bull's founders grew with the company's success, and by March 2012, both Chaleo and Mateschitz had estimated net worths of over $5.3 billion each. Today, Red Bull GmbH operates in 164 countries and employs over 8,000 people. Its signature product, Red Bull, remains the world's most-consumed energy drink with 5.2 billion cans sold in 2012.⁴

2.2 Red Bull GmbH events.

• Red Bull Stratos was a space diving project involving Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner. On 14 October 2012, Baumgartner flew approximately 39 kilometers (24 mi) into the stratosphere over New Mexico, United States, in a helium balloon before free falling in a pressure suit and then parachuting to Earth. The total jump, from leaving the capsule to landing on the ground, lasted approximately ten minutes. While the free fall was initially expected to last between five and six minutes, Baumgartner deployed his parachute after 4 minutes and 19 seconds.

• Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, established in 2009 and created by Red Bull, is an annual international series of cliff diving events in which a limited number of competitors determine the Cliff Diving World Series winner. Divers jump from a platform at a height ranging from 26–28 m (85-92ft). Competitions are held in a limited number of venues around the globe.

• Red Bull Rampage is an invite-only freeride mountain bike competition held near Zion National Park in Virgin, Utah, USA, just to the north of Gooseberry Mesa. Previously it was held off the Kolob Terrace Road, on the western boundary of Zion National Park. The competition was held from 2001–2004 and then canceled due to the increasing risk competitors were taking. The Rampage however was re-introduced for the 2008 season. In 2010, the event was held October 1–3.Since then Red Bull rampage has become one of the biggest mountain biking events of the year. The event is similar to freestyle skiing and snowboarding, where competitors are judged on their choice of lines down the course, their technical ability and the complexity of tricks. For the 2008 event wooden features have been introduced to what has previously been a 'Natural' only course.

• Red Bull Road Rage is an extreme downhill on-road bike competition. The competition was first held in 2005 as a pro-invite only event, but since 2008 Red Bull has opened it up to amateur and professional racers alike. Red Bull Road Rage has seen editions held once in each Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Latvia, Israel, Poland and Bosnia & Herzegovina and twice in Switzerland and the USA. The event is similar to Four-cross mountain biking. An initial individual time trial ITT qualifying and seeding run is held, followed by the top 32 competitors racing four at a time in knock-out heats, with the two fastest progressing to the next round.

• Red Bull King of the Rock Tournament is a one-on-one street ball (basketball) tournament sponsored by Red Bull. It occurred annually at “The Yard” of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay from 2010 to 2013. Initially, the tournament was open solely to the top 64 players from the West Coast of the United States. In 2013, however, qualifiers for the event were held in 20 U.S. cities, as well as in 23 other countries, to find the top 64 players worldwide.

• Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye, or "The Red Bull Romaniacs", is an extremeenduro off-road motorcycle race run annually in Romania since 2004. Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres said the race is "up there with the top three" hard enduro rallies.

• Crashed Ice (Red Bull Crashed Ice) is a world tour in the winter extreme sporting event, ice cross downhill (or downhill ice cross), which involves downhill skating in an urban environment, on a track which includes steep turns and high vertical drops. The series was created and is managed by energy drinks company Red Bull. It is similar to ski cross and snowboard cross, except with ice skates on an ice track, instead of skis or snowboards on a snow track. Competitors, having advanced from one of the tryouts in the prior months, race in heats of four skaters, with the top two advancing from each heat. Racers, typically ice hockey players, outfitted as such, speed down the course’s turns and jumps.

• Red Bull X-Fighters are freestyle motocross (FMX) motorbike stunt competitions contested in bullrings and similar venues. Alongside the X Games, they are the most prestigious and most challenging freestyle motocross competitions. Red Bull X-Fighters are invitation tournaments where the best FMX riders in the world come face to face. The competitions' particular flair comes on the one hand from the relatively restricted space in the bullfighting arenas (and therefore the close proximity of the crowd to the sporting spectacle) and, on the other hand, from the replication of a number of rituals from a typical "corrida": for example, the riders are greeted by drum rolls and trumpet fanfares, and the public audience may honor the riders' performances by waving white rags.

• Red Bull X-Alps is one of the world's toughest adventure races in which athletes must hike or fly 1,000 km across the Alps. It first launched in 2003 and has since taken place every other year. Around 30 athletes take part and must navigate their way via a predetermined set of turn points that vary in each installment. Every kilometer must be covered either on foot or by paraglide. Teams consist of one athlete and one official supporter, whose role providing technical advice, mental and nutritional support is almost as demanding. The route traditionally covers the Alpine regions of Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France before ending in Monaco. The exact route is normally unveiled in the spring before the race start. It's a formidable undertaking in one of the most breathtaking and unforgiving environments. It requires expert paragliding and mountaineering experience and a high level of endurance fitness — it's not uncommon for athletes to hike up to 100 km in a day.

• Red Bull Air Race, established in 2003 and created by Red Bull, is an international series of air races in which competitors have to navigate a challenging obstacle course in the fastest time. Pilots fly individually against the clock and have to complete tight turns through a slalom course consisting of pylons, known as "Air Gates". The races are held mainly over water near cities, but are also held at airfields or natural wonders. They are accompanied by a supporting program of show flights. Races are usually flown on weekends with the first day for qualification then knockout finals the day after. The events attract large crowds and are broadcast, both live and taped, in many nations. At each venue, the top nine places earn World Championship points. The air racer with the most points at the end of the Championship becomes Red Bull Air Race World Champion. The 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 series were won respectively by the pilots Mike Mangold, Kirby Chambliss, Hannes Arch and Paul Bonhomme. Four new pilots from four countries joined the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in 2009: Canada's Pete McLeod, Japan's Yoshihide Muroya, Australia's Matt Hall and Germany's Matthias Dolderer. The 2010 rookies were Martin Sonka of the Czech Republic, and Adilson Kindlemann of Brazil. After a three-year hiatus for safety improvements and reorganisation, the Air Race resumed in 2014.

• Red Bull Flugtag is an event organized by Red Bull in which competitors attempt to fly home-made, size- and weight-limited, human-powered flying machines (max 10m/30 ft, 150 kg/330 lbs). The flying machines are usually launched off a pier about 30 feet (9.1 m) high into the sea (or suitably sized reservoir of water). Most competitors enter for the entertainment value, and the flying machines rarely fly at all.

• The Red Bull Cape Fear is a surfing competition held at a local Sydney break called Cape Fear, on the southern side of the Botany Bay at Cape Solander. Known locally as 'Ours', it became the site of a Red Bull big wave surfing competition in August 2014 called Red Bull Cape Fear. Richie Vaculik competed against fellow local Evan Faulks and Mark Mathews (surfer)and fellow professional surfer Ryan Hipwood organized the Red Bull Cape Fear event in August 2014.

• Red Bull Paper Wings is a world paper airplane championship which is held by Red Bull under the rules developed by the Paper Aircraft Association (PAA). The competition was first held in 2006. Contestants from 86 countries from around the world qualified for the 2009 competition. The third Red Bull Paper Wings world finals took place on May 4–5, 2012. The final round of the competition takes place in Red Bull's Hangar 7 in Salzburg, Austria, and is monitored by Guinness Book of World Records officials. The competition crowns champions in three categories: distance, hang time, and aerobatics. The two time defending champion of the Paper Wings Distance competition is Jovica Kozlica from Split, Croatia. Historically, the representatives from the United States do poorly despite having fifteen representatives relative to the three from every other country. This trend has been questioned for the 2012 competition as John Hart was the 7th ceded player in the distance competition.

• Red Bull Art of Motion is competition labeled as a free running competition held in various countries, including England, Kuwait the US and Sweden. Judging of the event is based on several criteria including creativity, flow, execution, and difficulty. The latest Art of Motion was held in Santorini, Greece on 14 September 2013; Cory DeMeyers took first place, Alexander Baiturin took second place, and Jesse La Flair took third place and best trick for the Lunar Eclipse.

• Red Bull BC One is an annual international B-Boy competition organized by the energy drink company Red Bull. It is an individual B-Boy competition, notable for being the only one of the major international breaking championships to not include a crew event. The main event is a knockout tournament featuring sixteen B-Boys, chosen for exceptional skills in the dance and good character, competing in one-on-one battles decided by a panel of five judges. The inaugural BC One was held in Biel, Switzerland in 2004. An official Red Bull BC One DVD was released for the 2004 and 2005 events. The production of the DVDs has been criticized due to musical rights, as the live music played during the competition had to be dubbed over. From 2006 and on, Red Bull stopped releasing DVDs and made the videos available online for free. In 2007, Alastair Siddon directed a film about the Red Bull BC One 2007 competition. The film was released in March 2010 under the title, "Turn it Loose." Since 2014, Red Bull BC One partnered up with The World B-Boy Series and helped create Undisputed, an event to crown the solo world b-boy champion.

• Red Bull Dolomitenmann is billed by its organizers as "the world's toughest team relay race". The race is held yearly in September in the East Tyrolean, or Dolomite Mountains of Austria, near the city of Lienz. The founder and organizer is Werner Grissmann, a former World Cup skier and self-proclaimed "tough guy". 110 teams typically start the race each year. Each team consists of a mountain runner, a paraglider, a whitewater kayaker, and a mountain biker, racing in that order. The course varies slightly each year according to weather conditions and the mountain runner typically runs and climbs a few thousand feet from a start line that is already far above sea level. The actual running distance is usually around 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), but that is far less challenging than the change in elevation. When the runner makes the hand-off to the team’s paraglider, he must also run, this time with his whole equipment to the first take-off point. After descending by air to Moosalm, the paraglider runs to a second take-off point, descending to Leisach where the kayaker is ready and waiting. The teams kayaker swims across the river Drau where his boat is stationed. His first maneuver is an "alpine-start", or a drop off a 7 metres (23 ft) ramp to the river. After the jump the kayaker must navigate a difficult white water track on the river Isel before handing off to the mountain biker. The mountain biker typically climbs 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) or more, over a distance of about 27 kilometres (17 mi). After the climb, the mountain biker must ride a downhill track to the finish. The winning team collected 15,000 Euros in 2002. The Dolomitenmann relay race has been run yearly since 1988. In recent years the race has been sponsored by the manufacturers of Red Bull energy drink and is now known as Red Bull Dolomitenmann.

• Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a 125 cc class of KTM motorcycles ridden by up and coming motorcycle riders that have not had experience in a Motorcycle Grand Prix previously. The class was founded in 2007, and since then a number of the rookies have progressed through to the 125/Moto3 championship in Moto GP. These include 2008 runner-up Luis Salom, 2009 champion Jakub Kornfeil 2010 runner-up Danny Kent and 2011 runner-up Arthur Sissis. In 2012, ex Rookies Kent and Sissis rode for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Motorsport Team in the Moto3 World Championship with Kent winning GPs in Japan and Valencia and Sissis finishing 3rd in the Australian GP. Ex Rookie Salom finished 2nd in the 2012 championship following wins in Indianapolis and Aragon and a total of 8 rostrum places for the season. 2013 sees a change of machinery to the 4-stroke Moto3 specification KTM 250 RBR. Florian Alt, the 2012 Rookies Cup champion, moves up to the Moto3 class for 2013 with fellow alumnae Philipp Öttl (4th), Livio Loi (11th) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Cup winner in 2011 and 8th in 2012).

• Indianapolis Grand Prix is a motorcycling event held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States as part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. Its first edition took place on September 14, 2008 and was sponsored by Red Bull. The race was held again on August 30, 2009 and was sponsored by Red Bull again. The layout is similar to the setup used for the Formula One United States Grand Prix between 2000 and 2007, but not identical. It has been reversed to a counterclockwise layout, with a new complex of corners just after the start-finish line, the Snake Pit section, known as such because of its location in the section where notorious revelry took place during the oval races in the 1970s. This means that the bikes do not use any of the banked oval corners. The double-hairpin at the Hulman Straight was replaced with the traditional eases. Furthermore, the motorcycles use the acceleration lanes in the South Chutes (between oval Turn 1 and 2) for the short straight between the Snake Pit and the Museum curves that enter into the infield. The circuit was reprofiled in 2014, with three new motorcycle-only sections—one in the Snake Pit (which has become a prime overtaking spot), a more open entrance to Hulman Straight, and the final eases leading to the pit straight was changed to be more open and flowing.

• Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals, founded in 1998. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festival of concerts, art installations, club nights and lectures by influential figures in contemporary music. The other part of the program is by invitation only, held in a building which has been custom-fitted with a large recording studio, a lecture hall, a radio booth and between eight to twelve bedroom-sized studios. There, 60 up and coming producers, singers, sound artists, DJs and musicians from around the world learn from and collaborate with top industry professionals. Year-round, the Red Bull Music Academy maintains an online magazine, radio station (RBMA Radio) and lecture video archive. The Academy hosts additional music workshops and club nights and curates stages at festivals in around 60 countries worldwide.⁵