What a show!
The world watched in astonishment as the Red Bull Stratos space diving project saw the energy drink and media brand partner with daredevil Felix Baumgartner to successfully complete a skydive and parachute from the stratosphere back to earth.
On 14 October 2012, Austrian Baumgartner climbed in to a helium balloon and flew approximately 39 kilometres (24 mi) into the stratosphere (over New Mexico, USA) and then jumped out wearing a pressure suit before parachuting to Earth.
Baumgartner broke numerous world records, such as the break through the sound barrier with 1342 km/h (834 mi/h) – becoming the first human to do so. It was also the highest jump from a platform at 39,045 meters (128.100 feet). The total jump, from leaving the capsule to landing on the ground, lasted 10 minutes with the free fall itself lasting 4 minutes and 19 seconds.
This unique event is reported to have cost by Red Bull around €50m ($65m) and was logistically supported by the NASA and the US Air Force.
The marketing world seems split over how best to describe the phenomena. Some call it a PR stunt, others call it content marketing, while some claim it is just a turbo-charged sponsorship.
What is agreed upon by all parties is that the whole mission also succeeded in the social web by creating a really big echo. Indeed, the results are astonishing.
The mission was watched live online by around 9m, while the official highlights webfilm on YouTube has received 30m views to date, while the official Red Bull Stratos channel has nearly 471m views in total and boasts around 1m subscribers.
Red Bull’s Facebook page now has 33m Likes and the official Twitter feed has more than 250,000 followers for the live event.
Comment:
So, what does the astonishing Red Bull Stratos stunt men for the sponsorship industry?
Well, for a start those who are spending their time arguing about whether this kind of brand-created event is content marketing and not sponsorship at all are wasting time. It doesn‘t matter whether Red Bull Stratos is “sponsorship” or not – it is happening.
Furthermore, these amazing events are competing for attention, for eyeballs and for budget with more traditional sponsorship platforms.
We all know that the traditional definitions of sponsorship are rapidly evolving – so don’t get left behind arguing over categories definitions and meanings.
Stratos sponsors – such as 3G, Cypress 2, FlightLine, Flight Performance, Micar, Riedel, Qinetiq, Zenith – all understood this.
It is also worth noting that for brands like Red Bull, content doesn‘t help market its products – it is its product. Brands are becoming event creators, producers and distributors and this is something the sponsorship industry needs to accept and adapt to.
The key thing is that the sponsorship industry needs to think about what Red Bull Stratos teaches it and learn from those teachings by incorporating them into its own work.
If traditional cash-for-rights deals are not the future – the sponsorship marketers (both those at rights owners, agencies and brands, must seek innovative alternatives. In many circumstances, offering traditional one-dimensional, off–the-shelf packages may not be enough any more. Strive to be more original and innovative.
Treat Red Bull Stratos as a challenge and a source of idea generation and inspiration.
Consider which aspects and elements of Stratos made it such as a success and apply them, where appropriate, to your own projects and client.
In today’s landscape, it is vital to understand that brands can (and in many cases, must) be great stories, connect with content that creates genuine emotional impact.
Quality of content materials is key to this, as is peer-to-peer and pan-media sharing and scalability – all are becoming increasingly vital. And don’t forget offering enhanced access for those who opting-in to drive data collation and understanding.
Remember that the most admired companies can astonish and inspire consumers, success often comes to those driven by ambitious purpose, commitment and dedication – and not just by ROI.
Be supersonic!
Links:
Website
www.redbullstratos.com
Twitter
https://twitter.com/RedBullStratos
Facebook
www.facebook.com/redbullstratos
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