The international energy drink brand Red Bull, is deploying an intensification strategy in the United States and will help its retail partners by deploying findings from an in-depth behavioural study.

The study aimed to pull together a set of need-based segmentations for retail partners – big and small – to understand how the product’s consumers buy the product and to simplify and enhance shopper marketing, explained Laura-Lynn Freck, Senior Manager, Shopper Insights, Red Bull North America, who was speaking at the Shopper Insights and Retail Activation conference in Amsterdam.

Red Bull surveyed a sample of 1,996 consumers aged between 18-49, and who had purchased a qualifying beverage in the previous 24 hours. It explored four different need states: the pick-me-up, focus, thirsty, or a treat.

Red Bull is an uncommon brand, known more for its marketing than for its drink, “but our can makes all the money,” says Freck. Another quirk of the brand is that Red Bull consumers typically don’t buy ahead – in the single purchase space, Red Bull is the US market leader, selling 2.4 billion cans every year.

Out of 10 need-based segments, Red Bull identified a significant intensification opportunity in two: the functional finders – brand-led buyers who often buy small packs – and quick-stop planners – the largest segment, which buys cold, typically on the way to work.

Understanding these segments and the ways in which they buy has led to simple, user-friendly guidance for retail partners to understand when and where to emphasise convenience, or where to play the brand. The work has now provided a strategic backbone to a 3-5 year roadmap for Red Bull US’s future shopper marketing strategy.

Sourced from WARC