The 19.2-oz. Red Bull "Racing Fuel" can of the energy drink is a limited edition version available only for a limited time. The promotion and place of this product therefore need to be designed to leverage the special cachet of a limited edition without being so limited by the narrow timeframe as to lose sales.
The promotion of the Racing Fuel limited edition should take into consideration its identification with NASCAR racing, as well as its appeal as an energy drink that provides several hours of energy. As Red Bull North America (2010) points out, NASCAR's 75 million fans are "three times more likely to purchase related merchandise than non-fans," so both promotion and placement should target NASCAR fans as one of its two main target audiences. Placement of the product at NASCAR races, on NASCAR-related web sites, and wherever NASCAR products are sold can be expected to yield high sales volume, as NASCAR fans and collectors will want the product and be willing to buy it. Size variants have shown more than twice as much ability to generate incremental revenue than flavor variants have, so the special 19.2-oz. size is virtually guaranteed to garner extra sales (Red Bull North America, 2010). Moreover, the subset of energy drink fans designated as heavy users make up 21% of its consumer base yet consume 73% of the category's volume of energy drinks, so this particular segment should be a primary focus for promotion (Red Bull North America, 2010). Noted pollster the Nielsen Group states that the greater-than-16-oz. segment of energy drinks is worth $430 million and constitutes 11% of total category sales, so the special edition large-sized can offers an opportunity to grow the segment (Red Bull North America, 2010).
Another aspect of promotion is the emphasis that can be placed on the positive effects of Red Bull Energy Drink on driving performance during prolonged perio
...