Red Bull Vs.

Monster
A Comparison of Social Media Strategies
White Paper
Nathalie Yacoub - March 6, 2016

RED BULL VS. MONSTER - WHITE PAPER

Executive Summary
Social Media Marketing has recently become an essential element to establish brand recognition
amongst a large audience. Using social media as a marketing tool has given brands the opportunity to
create their own content and voice that can be easily accessed by users. Brands who use social media
handles to engage with their customers enjoy a higher level of loyalty from their customers. Marketing
in the Digital Age means that every post is an opportunity to interact with customers on a personal
level. While some may argue that social media is merely a fad, it has been noted that social media
marketing has given brands the competitive edge they need to stay ahead of the curve. Since the
integration of social media as a marketing strategy emerged, companies were tasked with the challenge
of incorporating this informal, but effective marketing tool into their campaigns. Since social media
has generated such a large audience, companies are faced with several questions regarding how to
effectively use social media to launch campaigns, how to use social media against other competitors,
and how to build relationships with customers through social media. Most recognizable brands and
even small businesses have hopped on the bandwagon of using social media as a marketing tool. Now
competitors are in a constant battle of who can make a larger presence or campaign that make their
product/brand more desirable. Social media campaigns have produced thousands of dollars in revenue
and contributed to the growth of the brand itself making it essential for a company to come up with
creative ideas that will further develop their brand. Throughout the course of this white paper, we will
compare the social media strategies of two of the largest energy drink companies in the world: Red
Bull and Monster. Given that energy drinks are a rather new and unfamiliar concept to people, it is
essential that both Red Bull and Monster have effective marketing techniques. Both companies market
their energy drink product in unique ways in which they try to sell the brand behind the product using
social media outlets.

Introduction
Energy drinks were first introduced into the beverage market in 1960. The first energy drink ever
created, Lipvitan-D, was made by the Japanese and unfortunately did not have a substantial impact on
the beverage market and eventually, fell off. Red Bull was created in 1987 and is credited for
introducing the energy drink category into the beverage market. Following in Red Bulls footsteps,
Monster was introduced in 2002 and is now Red Bulls biggest competitor in the newly established
energy drink category. As the energy drink business flourished, 5-hour Energy, Rockstar and Four
Lokos were born. Since energy drinks are relatively new to consumers, it is essential that the

RED BULL VS. MONSTER - WHITE PAPER

companys marketing strategies are properly promoting the product, interacting with consumers, and
developing a recognizable brand image. In order to remain a top competitor, Red Bull and Monster
must build loyal brand consumers.
One of the most significant differences between the two leading energy drink companies is that
Red Bull has remained its own energy drink company, while Monster was bought out by Coca-Cola in
2014. In turn, the companies have experienced the pros/cons of 1. being their own energy drink entity
or 2. partnering with the leading drink company in the world. Being its own company has given Red
Bull the freedom to run their business on their terms and conditions, which has clearly benefited the
company given that it has become the worlds most recognizable and profitable energy drink. On the
other hand, the partnership between Monster and Coca-Cola has opened doors to international
distribution opportunities with the worlds largest beverage company. Since Red Bull is its own entity,
the biggest obstacle the company faces is drink contracts. Most large businesses, universities, and
theme parks have beverage contracts with top beverage companies like Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Since
Coca-Cola owns Monster and Pepsi owns Rockstar, these energy drinks are distributed in some of the
largest business such as Disney World or the NFL where Red Bull is not.
Each of these competitors have unique marketing strategies that keep their product in high
demand. Both Monster and Red Bull uses social media handles like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
several times a day as an essential part of their efforts to connect with their consumers on a personal
level.
How Monster Uses Social Media Handles:
As social media becomes a more prominent marketing tool, it can be challenging for big-time
competitors to take their social media handles to the next level. Since Monster and Red Bull are similar
products, it is vital that the brands work to appear superior over the other.
Monsters social media plan consists of using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and even
Pinterest to reach the largest possible audience. Monsters Facebook page is filled with photos and
videos of their extreme sports athletes and events sponsored by Monster Energy. Monster gives
recognition to all of their sponsored athletes and even advertise for smaller energy drink companies.
Monster is in up-to-date with the trends given that they are frequent tweeters. Monster uses its official
Twitter handle to highlight[ing] the achievements, wins and general bad-assery of its plethora of
sponsored athletes (Monster Energy: Social Media Breakdown). Monster uses Twitter on a personal
level with everyday fans by retweeting tweets and responding to questions or mentions. One of the
most unique ways Monster uses social media to interact with users is through their special Promotions
page on Facebook. On this page, users are informed and updated about how they can collect the tabs
from the Monster cans and redeem them for Monster shirts, backpacks, and hoodies. Monster is
constantly creating opportunities to give back to fans through social media contests. Monster goes as
far as giving users the chance to be chosen to win a trip to Monsters signature superiors event, Monster
Cup (Monster Energy: Social Media Breakdown).
Audience Engagement:
Monster has incredibly loyal followers on all of their social media handles. Monsters official
Facebook page has a whopping 23 million likes. Monsters Instagram has over 426 thousand

RED BULL VS. MONSTER - WHITE PAPER

subscribers and over nine hundred photos. Monster Energys YouTube channel is rather impressive
with over 206 thousand subscribers and approximately 49 million views. Monsters Pinterest only has
one board and ten pins, but surprisingly, has over 1400 followers (Monster Energy: Social Media
Breakdown).
Innovative Ideas:
In terms of innovation, Monster has come up with some creative ways to connect with users in a
relatable way. The Monster Outbreak College tour visits ten different college campuses featuring
Monster-sponsored performers for almost every genre. The photos/videos taken at these legendary
college events are then used as social media content to add to the hype and report the highlights of the
event. Surprisingly, Monster even uses social media to recruit and make sponsorship partnerships with
potential athletes via Monster Army. By creating their own private social media network, Monster
Army, the company has given fans the opportunity to develop their own profile filled with clips of their
personal extreme sports footage. The site even filters in recent posts from their national Twitter and
Facebook handles to keep fans engaged at all times. Fan pages with the highest ranks are reward
consideration for a potential Monster Energy scholarship and invitations to Monsters extreme sports
competitions (Monster Energy: Social Media Breakdown).
Its All About the Hype:
Monster Energy uses their extreme sports athletes to generate exciting videos that catch fans
attention on social media. For instance, Monster has recently sent athletes to the 2013 X-Games in
Barcelona, where they continuously updated fans about their journey through their social media
handles. Monster uses feminine thrill by posting pictures/videos of their Monster Girls on all their
social media networks.
How Red Bull Uses Social Media Handles:
Red Bulls brand is built almost entirely through social media outlets. They are recognized world-wide
as an icon for having some of the best marketing strategies. Red Bull is known for having multiple
social media outlets, but almost never posting about the can itself. Within their social media handles,
Red Bull creates another pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that promote large events in
individual markets such as Red Bull Air Race or Red Bull Orlando market account. Instead, Red Bull
advertises their athletes pushing the boundaries and the journey with wiiiiings! The Red Bull slogan
#givesyouwiiings promotes the Red Bull lifestyle of taking risks and living life in high-speed, instead
of a simple, caffeinated drink.
Facebook:
Red Bull utilizes their national Facebook page to focus on advertising the Red Bull lifestyle by posting
photos/videos of their extreme sports athletes about twice a day. The national Red Bull Facebook page

RED BULL VS. MONSTER - WHITE PAPER

has approximately 36 millions likes. Their attention-capturing posts average tens of thousands of likes
and comments per post, which surpasses most brands Facebook pages. Red Bull leads in comparison to
Monster and Rockstar when it comes to video post engagement. Red Bull posts just as many videos as
photos which sets them apart from other energy drink companies. See chart below.

(Social Media Lessons From Monster, Rock Star & Red Bull).
Surprisingly, the Red Bull Facebook page does not use this outlet as a way to interact with consumers
about their product. Most of the comments are geared around admiring the latest extraordinary
adventure Red Bull has embarked on.
Red Bull stays ahead of the competition by recently launching their new app called Red Bull TV. Red
Bull TV can be accessed on all smart phones, Apple TV, and even through online streaming. The entire
TV channel is devoted to highlighting the stories of their professional athletes. Red Bull does an
impeccable job of using social media to reveal the brand behind the can.
Twitter:
The national Red Bull Twitter account has just over 900,000 followers. The account typically tweets
photo/video links about their sponsored athletes twice a day Aside from the national Red Bull Twitter
account, Red Bull creates specific pages for events or markets that update fans about that particular
topic. The Red Bull Twitter account is the main outlet Red Bull uses to converse with consumers.
Although small in comparison with other brands, Red Bull is certainly better at responding to users on
Twitter than on Facebook, but it still only replies to between 10 and 40 tweets per day (How Red Bull
uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google). Red Bull stays competitive in the social media market
by consistently using their hashtag #givesyouwiiiings. To keep up with the growing trend, Red Bull has
developed new hashtags to go with their social media campaigns such as #WingsAtWork,

RED BULL VS. MONSTER - WHITE PAPER

#PutACanOnIt, and #ShareYourWings. By uses the same hashtags and slogans throughout their
campaigns, Red Bull adds to their audiences recognition of their brand.
Creating a Competitive Social Media Marketing Plan:
Step One: Understand How People Use Social Media Channels
Each social media outlet is unique in its functions. Therefore, it is important to take the time to
understand how everyday people use these channels to communicate. Red Bulls former Global Head
of Social Media, Tessa Barrera, recommended understanding how 1-3 social media channels work and
then spending all your efforts advancing your brand through those handles (The Secret to Red Bulls
Social Media Success is There is No Secret). Research is essential when advertising a brand.
Understanding your audience and your medium is key to social media success.
Step Two: Develop an Effective Strategy
Focus on developing a good social media strategy, instead of focusing on trying to make it viral. In
order to create a successful social media campaign, a brand must:
Create an objective
Set measurable goals
Number of followers/likes/retweets
Understand their audience
Discover what people are saying about you through the use of hashtags
Pick a social media channel that will best support your objective and audience
Create content that is relevant to your audience, social channel, and objective
Analyze and report the effectiveness of your engagement
Adapt and make changes to improve your social media engagement
Step Three: Be Authentic
Social media was established for relationships, not business proposals. The truth of the matter is people
like people. They rather have personal connections, than feel as though they are nothing but another
sales pitch. There is no need to over complicate things. Keeping it simple and keeping it real will
generate the best results.
Social Media Face Off:
A 2013 case study done by Kate Dunham, compares the social media strategies used by Red Bull vs.
the social media strategies used by Monster Energy. Each energy drink company claims to give you an
extra boost of energy to keep you going, so the question that distinguishes the two brand is which
company has a larger social media presence: #GivesYouWings or #UnleashTheBeast ?

RED BULL VS. MONSTER - WHITE PAPER

Round One: Mentions

Red Bull dominated over Monster in this category by receiving 371,244 mentions, while Monster
Energy received only 20,404 mentions. It is clear that Red Bull is the obvious winner of this round
given that they received 18x more mentions than Monster Energy (Social Media Face Off: Red Bull vs.
Monster Energy).
Round Two: Sentiment
Sentiment is an important aspect of social media analysis because it is important to understand how
people feel about your brand. Not only are the number of mentions important, but the positive or
negative correlation that coincides with the mention is important as well. Monster Energy beat Red
Bull in this round with 29% of its mentions registering as positive, edging out the 25% posted by Red
Bull (Social Media Face Off: Red Bull vs. Monster Energy.).
Round Three: Conversation Mapping
Analyzing what users are actually talking about over social media is important. Both Red Bull and
Monster Energy use extreme sports to market their brand around social media. Red Bulls Formula
One Racing team Bull Rampage generated a large number of mentions. While Monsters Energy
Cup super cross competition also sparked a lot of conversation over social media. Since both brands
have properly used social media to interact with customers about these events, Red Bull and Monster
Energy tie in this round (Social Media Face Off: Red Bull vs. Monster Energy).
Round Four: Engagement
Social Media engagement calculates the number of Likes, Shares, and RTs a brand receives off of their
Facebook and Twitter
platforms. Red Bull
once again, comes
out superior in terms
of social media
engagement (Social
Media Face Off: Red
Bull vs. Monster
Energy).

RED BULL VS. MONSTER - WHITE PAPER

Conclusion:
In order to be recognized as a competitive brand, you must establish a significant presence in the social
media world. Social media campaigns have the potential to go viral and make huge strides for the
company in terms of audience and engagement. Using social media to create relationships with
consumers can take your brand to the next level against competitors. Creating an effective social media
plan can make you stand out against competitors and give your brand the push it needs to rise above
the rest. The marketing industry is revolutionizing, therefore, it is essential that brands adapt to these
trends to stay competitive in the field.

RED BULL VS. MONSTER - WHITE PAPER

References:
Dunham, K. (2013, October 24). Social Media Face Off: Red Bull vs. Monster Energy.
Retrieved March 4, 2016, from http://www.business2community.com/social-media/
social-media-face-red-bull-vs-monster-energy-0658791#4OPm2UcYJUfypqK4.97
How Red Bull uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2016, from
https://econsultancy.com/blog/62178-how-red-bull-uses-facebook-twitter- pinterest-andgoogle/
Monster Energy: Social Media Breakdown. (2013). Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://
www.socialtoaster.com/blog-entry/monster-energy-social-media-breakdown
Social Media Lessons From Monster, Rock Star & Red Bull | Simply Measured. (n.d.).
Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://simplymeasured.com/blog/social-medialessons-from-monster-rock-star-red-bull/#sm.000031m33juohf0czf212r7fjtccr
The Coca-Cola Company and Monster Beverage Corporation Enter into Long-Term Strategic
Partnership. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.cocacolacompany.com/press-center/press-releases/the-coca-cola-company-and-monsterbeverage-corporation-enter-into-long-term-strategic-partnership/
The Secret to Red Bulls Social Media Success is There is No Secret. (n.d.). Retrieved March
06, 2016, from http://rickmulready.com/social-media-success/
The Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://
www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/11/the-top-10-benefits-of-social-mediamarketing/2/#7347adf65232

RED BULL VS. MONSTER - WHITE PAPER