WIP Suicide Pool

Shane Reilly is a 22 year old college student who works part time doing promotional work for Red Bull.  Red Bull is an energy drink – but it also has become a symbol for extreme sports. Red Bull has a very aggressive promotional strategy.  The big funding is poured into commercials on major networks and sponsorship at major events.  But a huge part of their campaign is run by employing students, like Shane, to hand out free drinks, work events, and promote on social media forums.

I sat down with Shane to get a better idea of what he does, and here are some of his responses:

How long have you been working for Red Bull?

I started when I was a sophomore, so its been about 2 years.

How has your role changed since starting 2 years ago?

Well, I had a friend who had been working with Red Bull, they needed some manpower for events, so he let me know.  Originally, I was doing a lot of things like handing out flyers, free cans, and moving different equipment around.  I thought it was cool to be doing work for Red Bull, and others did too; but it was really pretty basic.  Eventually it got a little more involved.

So, what are some things you have done for Red Bull since?

A big part of my job now is promoting different events or specials.  I operate a twitter account for Red Bull as well as a personal account, and I use both to notify followers when we have events or specials.  We do specials at bars pretty frequently for example.  I just try to create some interest, and it often is pretty easy with Red Bull’s name behind it.

Anything else?

Yeah definitely.  Theres some random smaller things, but one of the more involved things we started doing more last year was sponsoring parties.  For example, if a friend of mine is hosting a party, we can often supply the party with free cases of Red Bull, and also Red Bull branded cups, tables, and a bar.  Its a win-win really.  The party gets a bunch of cool free stuff (the tables and bar get returned after) and we get some free promotion.  I usually show up at the party, take some pictures, and then later post them on Twitter or Facebook.

So you’ve been doing this for 2 years now; does it ever get old or boring?

I can see how it would, depending on the person, but for me its not like that.  Its the perfect job for me as a college student.  I guess its not terribly involved, and theres tons of other people doing the same thing.  But I’m going through college, not really looking for an involved job where I can make a difference or anything like that.  My hours are flexible really, since I can do my work from my couch.  The only real times I’m required to have certain hours in certain places is if I am working an event or going to a party – and thats not so bad at all.