“Red Bull gives wings to people who want to be mentally and physically active and have a zest for life.”

To say that Felix Baumgartner is an extreme athlete that has a “zest for life” is an understatement. This 43-year-old Austrian skydiving expert recently broke three world records, becoming the first person to break the speed of sound barrier in a freefall. More than 8 million people watched his livestream on YouTube and the jump was shown by more than 40 TV stations and 130 digital outlets, making it not only a huge success for Felix but more importantly for the company that was able to push the limits of traditional marketing: Red Bull.

While Red Bull is already known for sponsoring extreme athletes and events, the exposure and hype built up about the Red Bull Stratos was unprecedented. Not only was the online community going crazy over it (I mean come on, half of the worldwide trending topics on Twitter were related to it), but as a future marketer I was too.

216,000 likes, 10,000 comments, and 29,000 shares all within 40 minutes, well that is pretty darn impressive. But in my opinion, what is more impressive is how incredibly strategic this was for Red Bull as a brand. This stunt was not only completely authentic to their brand personality, but was also a literal manifestation of their brand message “Red Bull gives you wings”, not to mention was a testament to their creativity and ability to push boundaries.

In a world with so much advertising clutter (especially online), this was certainly a lesson to be learned on how to stand out and create extraordinary buzz. All it really takes is an engaging story and the courage to take a risk and to take a stand for what your company believes in. If you’re still not sold, well just take a look at this and be prepared to be blown away.

Reference: Red Bull Stratos May Change Future of Marketing,    Big Risk, Big Reward: Felix Baumgartner and Red Bull Deserve All The Marketing Buzz They Get