Red Bull Mobile, a partnership between Cell C and Red Bull, has come out of a two-and-a-half year dormancy with the launch of a prepaid product positioned by the operator as a "data-intensive" offering for the youth market.
The Red Bull branded product, a data and voice SIM, gives customers 200MB of data per month for a year for a once-off promotional fee of R99. After 60 days the fee goes up to R149.
The product, which goes on sale tomorrow across 6 000 Cell C and selected retail outlets, allows customers to recharge using Cell C airtime and is subject to the operator's usual call and data tariffs.
This means on-net calls will cost 99c per minute (on per-second billing), while off-net calls will cost R1.50 per minute. International calls will be billed as per Cell C's international call rates. Data bundles are available at the standard in- and out-of-bundle rates of 15c per MB.
Cell C chief commercial officer Jose Dos Santos says the product comes after exhaustive market research, which has shown the target market - 19 to 33-year-olds - is after a product that offers "fun" perks.
"It took us time to understand that segment of the market, which is after music, parties and sporting events."
Customers who subscribe to the Red Bull Mobile product will also receive two Red Bull Studio CDs mixed by DJ Thibo Tazz an DJ Niskerone, and unlimited access to Red Bull's library of ringtones, wallpapers, games, music and videos.
Alexander Koppel, chief commercial officer or sales at Red Bull Media House, says the company has combined its lifestyle portfolio with the mobile product, giving customers exclusive access to events, competitions and "secret" Red Bull parties.
Brand revival
Dos Santos notes that, since the launch of Red Bull Mobile in February 2011, the brand has "lost its way" in SA.
"A key reason for this was a lack of distribution. The fundamentals of the [latest Red Bull Mobile] product were two-fold. First of all, we had to build the product; and secondly we had to get the major retailers to buy into it, and to stock the product."
To this end, says Dos Santos, Cell C managed to get on board a number of well-known retailers, including Shoprite, Pep (selected stores), CNA, Pick 'n Pay, Jet and Game.
He notes that, while the product is not unique in what it offers, it leverages the success of an internationally-renowned brand - which he believes will ultimately be the consumer hook.
"Red Bull is a phenomenal brand, which - against all odds - has seen growth of 17% year-on-year in an era where people are health-conscious and energy drinks are declining [in popularity]."
Dos Santos says Cell C will be introducing more Red Bull Mobile products in coming months, and hints at a post-paid offering being on the horizon.
The commercial chief says he believes the product will serve to revive and grow Red Bull Mobile's marginal customer base of 120 000 customers. Cell C currently has about 11.5 million subscribers - a number CEO Alan Knott-Craig says he wants to see reach 14 million by the end of 2014.
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