The following appeared in the Nov. 19 issue of Marketing
How to weigh the risks and leverage the success of a brand on the edge
There are special perks in being an extreme brand, such as breaking astronomical records. The world watched as Red Bull sent Felix Baumgartner into the stratosphere to become the first human to break the speed of sound in the highest freefall ever. The logistics involved in planning and executing such an endeavour are mind boggling.
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The same can be said from a communications perspective. Yes, Red Bull’s Stratos mission was an unmitigated success, but let’s face it: a lot could have gone wrong and a mountain of communications contingencies would’ve been considered. But while the degree of difficulty seemed particularly outrageous with this stunt, Red Bull has successfully built its brand around extreme activities—its Formula One team, the Red Bull Air Race and Crashed Ice to name a few – so it knows a thing or two about risk and how to maximize the spectacle to benefit the brand.
Red Bull declined to comment for this story, so Marketing asked other communications experts how Red Bull gets it so right so often.
In terms of developing a communications plan for all scenarios, Kenneth Evans, senior vice-president of Toronto-based PR agency Apex Communications, says the first step is to create a clear overview of your event infrastructure by auditing the precautions taken.
“You need to get a clear sense of all the preparations, investments and all the assets that have gone into ensuring that the event is as safe as possible,” says Evans
The next step is to start contingency planning by tapping into the expertise available in all key areas of the event. By understanding all the pieces in play (like Baumgartner’s suit, the capsule and equipment, for example) and their weakest points, you can assess the range of possible scenarios, from best to worst case.
At that point, you start to think about how the brand and communications team will respond in the event of a tragedy.
“Whatever happens, you understand that if something does go wrong you can identify where and why, and get out ahead of that narrative so you can articulate it,” says Evans
Of course, if something did go wrong, a slew of media-facing communications tactics – via the mainstream press and social media – would be employed to, first and foremost, acknowledge the tragedy. A brand priority would also be showing unwavering support to the family and personnel involved.
Next, says Evans, you would have to start articulating why and how the tragic event happened, answering questions about whether it was a fluke or part of the calculated risk.
“The number one overarching element about something like this is transparency,” says Evans. “Number two is speed. You don’t want to leave any questions and room for undue speculation.”
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Thankfully, Red Bull Stratos was an overwhelming success and one that, in its meticulous planning, preparation and execution, was documented step-by-step with masses of “extreme” content across a number of channels. Now, the question is how the brand leverages it—another logistical communications conundrum.
“That’s the real challenge in this modern day and age, creating a story thread that has a past, present and future,” says Justin Kingsley, the head of Sid Lee’s PR division.
Kingsley has had his fair share of Red Bull experience, with Sid Lee having the brand on its client roster and involved in helping it design its Amsterdam office, though it was not involved with Stratos in any way. His approach would be to branch out and leverage the content by taking the story in new directions.
“One part of your story could target space nerds and another part speed freaks and extreme adventurers,” says Kingsley. “Another part of your story could target people that speak about inspiration. You
find different ways of telling the bigger story based on the audience you’re targeting.”
Ron Tite, CEO of The Tite Group, a Toronto-based content marketing agency, agrees that a new approach would be the best, with Red Bull finding ways to spin the event out into multiple forms of fresh content delivered across multiple platforms.
“The challenge is like a video game,” says Tite. “Once consumers have beat level one it’s really boring to go back. They’re always looking for new and unique experiences. You’d better deliver on level two or they’ll turn off the game. Another way to spin this would be for Red Bull to put [Stratos] back on the consumer in a safe and responsible way—this is how Red Bull gave Felix wings, how does it give you wings? What are the things you want to accomplish in your life that you feel you just need a kick in the ass for?”
Whichever way it happens, one thing’s for sure: given the undeniable success of Red Bull’s risk-rich Stratos mission, consumers have not heard the end of Baumgartner’s space jump. His exploits are likely to be seeded through media channels for some time to come. The question is how and to whom.
