In 2023, Vietnam’s sports scene witnessed a remarkable transformation – a university-level football tournament becoming one of the most talked-about events on social media, rivaling even international leagues like the Premier League. How did Red Bull, a leading energy drink brand, make this happen?
BACKGROUND
For three consecutive years, football has served as a key platform for Red Bull to connect with potential consumers. The brand’s collaboration with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) marks a significant milestone in TCP Vietnam and Red Bull’s journey to “energize” young football talents and support the growth of Vietnamese football. In early 2023, Red Bull officially became a partner of VFF, emerging as one of the leading sponsors for Vietnam’s national football teams. Driven by the goal of inspiring belief and passion through positive energy, Red Bull proudly became a co-sponsor of the first-ever National Student Football Championship, organized by Thanh Niên Newspaper, to reach and engage university students nationwide.
CHALLENGES
February 2023 was a fierce and competitive period for football fans, with major tournaments like the Premier League, Champions League, V-League, and Asian Cup all taking place simultaneously.
Moreover, Red Bull was not the only sponsor of the student football tournament. The brand had to stand out among many other co-sponsors.
Thus, the core challenge was: How could Red Bull differentiate itself and stand out while still delivering a positive message and reinforcing its brand identity among football fans, especially university students?
OBJECTIVES
- Deliver the brand message: “Positive Energy – Charge Through Challenges.”
- Position the Vietnam Student Football Tournament among the Top 10 most talked-about sports events on social media.
STRATEGY
To achieve these objectives, Mango Digital leveraged both the agency’s creative strengths and Red Bull’s brand power to generate buzz and engagement, thereby boosting overall awareness of this major sports event.
The strategy unfolded through four key steps:
- Step 1: Apply Mango Digital’s exclusive “Trendvertising” methodology and measure effectiveness using YouNet Media’s SocialTrend dashboard. To make the biggest impact, Mango Digital strategically selected the Qualifying Round (Feb 22 – Mar 8, 2023) as the campaign’s peak activation period.
- Step 2: Capitalize on Red Bull’s status as an official sponsor of Vietnam’s national football team. As Red Bull’s social agency, Mango Digital helped the brand stand out by creating unique engagement opportunities, such as meet-and-greet sessions between the championship team and professional football stars.
- Step 3: Design a targeted social media strategy aligned with the insights and interests of young, football-loving university students.
- Step 4: Measure brand performance post-campaign using key Campaign Performance Metrics (Engagement Rate, Reach, Engagement Volume, etc.).
EXECUTION
Becoming a co-sponsor of the Vietnam National Student Football Championship gave Red Bull a golden opportunity to connect directly with its core target group – university students, a primary consumer base for energy drinks. The campaign successfully combined the excitement of live football matches with viral social media engagement, amplified through local pages, university communities, sports forums, and content creators throughout the tournament journey.
Together with Red Bull, Mango Digital developed a social media communication roadmap tailored to each stage of the tournament to maximize interest and participation among young football enthusiasts.
The campaign was executed in three key phases:
The Qualifying Round took place from February 22 to March 8, with 44 university teams participating nationwide. The Final Round was held from March 11 to March 26, featuring 12 teams that advanced from regional qualifiers across five regions. The campaign concluded with a special awarding ceremony for the champions.
Qualifying Round
- Well-known KOLs (Truc Nhan, commentator Ta Bien Cuong, etc.), who were alumni of some of the 44 participating universities, were invited to participate. With their passion for student activities during their university years, these KOLs used their influence to spread the excitement of the Vietnam Youth & Student Football Tournament sponsored by Red Bull. Notably, Red Bull offered the winning team a valuable opportunity to meet and interact with Vietnam’s top national players.
- To further amplify the tournament’s reach, the brand collaborated with local media pages, university communities, and sports fan pages to share the latest updates on this dynamic event.
- Leverage the popularity of university Confession pages and student communities to share natural, engaging match content, celebrating the spirit of school pride while highlighting Red Bull’s role as a co-sponsor of the tournament.
Final Round:
To ensure the most engaging and timely updates, football content creators across both Facebook and TikTok attended the event to immerse themselves in the atmosphere and capture the most exciting moments from the high-stakes matches between the top teams. A series of videos and photos from KOLs appeared widely across social media platforms, generating high views and interactions, and creating a strong impression for the Vietnam Youth & Student Football Tournament.
Award Ceremony – “Unleash Your Energy – Honor the Champion”
After thrilling matches among universities from the North, Central, and South regions, the championship title officially belonged to Hue University. The celebration event, “Unleash Your Energy – Honor the Champion”, organized by Red Bull, made Hue’s football scene more vibrant than ever as national players Que Ngoc Hai and Nguyen Tien Linh joined the champions for a friendly match at Tu Do Stadium (Hue City) to show appreciation to the fans.
Following the match, spectators had the opportunity to meet Vietnam National Team stars, enjoy a dynamic music concert with Truc Nhan, Phuong Ly, GreyD, and DJ Trang Moon, and witness Red Bull awarding 20 scholarships to underprivileged Hue University students. In addition, young fans had a chance to win 2 of 32 tickets to Cambodia to support the Vietnam U22 men’s team and Vietnam women’s team at the 32nd SEA Games.
“Unleash Your Energy – Honor the Champion” Ceremony
As the social agency, Mango Digital was proud to help spread the inspiring moments of the ceremony and highlight the vibrant spirit of Hue University students, enhancing Red Bull’s brand image and visibility far beyond other sponsors.
RESULTS
Throughout the two-week qualifying round (February 20 – March 5), Red Bull achieved remarkable outcomes:
- Top 5 on the SocialTrend ranking (Sports category) – Week 9 (Feb 20–26, 2023)
- Top 8 on the SocialTrend ranking (Sports category) – Week 10 (Feb 27–Mar 5, 2023)
- Total Buzz Volume: Over 100,000 discussions about the Vietnam Youth & Student Football Tournament with Red Bull as co-sponsor.
- Red Bull fan growth: Increased by 346% compared to the three months prior to the tournament.
- Total Engagement: Nearly 2 million interactions, reflecting the campaign’s strong appeal among students and its viral impact across social media.
With these impressive results, Mango Digital successfully fulfilled its role as Social Agency, demonstrating the effectiveness of leveraging Red Bull’s sponsorship of the Vietnam National Team, choosing the right timing, and applying distinctive strategies and tactics across social channels.
This resounding success helped Red Bull get closer to young audiences, continuing its mission to deliver “Positive Energy – Conquer Challenges”, while supporting the passion for football and contributing to the sustainable growth of Vietnam’s sports industry.
Credit:
Client: Red Bull Vietnam
Social Agency: Mango Digital
Event Agency: IOB
Media Agency: Spark
PR Agency: T&A Ogilvy
