J.O.B, one of many who capitalizes on both Red Bull and GoPro… and in the process, Red Bull and GoPro capitalize off him. Image: Red Bull Media
In the world of action sports, two companies reign supreme: Red Bull and GoPro. And they’ve just officially joined forces in a deal spanning multiple years and multiple countries.
Although the two giants have been working closely with each other for a long time, this is the first time they’ve made it official–and in doing so, have probably cornered a market that has more than a few competitors looking to edge in on a very lucrative market. The deal gives Red Bull an unspecified amount of equity in GoPro and ensures that GoPro will become “Red Bull’s exclusive provider of point-of-view imaging technology for capturing immersive footage of Red Bull’s media productions and events.” That means, of course, that everything you see from anything Red Bull–from contests to internet clips–will be on a GoPro. Yeah, that was already pretty much happening, but now it’s official, and competitors are shit out of luck.
On top of the equity for Red Bull and footage for GoPro, both companies will help each other with cross-promotion and product innovation. “GoPro’s product and brand will have access to more than 1800 Red Bull events across more than 100 countries,” reads the press release. “The companies will share content rights on co-productions, and related content will be distributed across both Red Bull and GoPro’s digital distribution networks, including The GoPro Channel, Red Bull TV, Red Bull.com and in the Red Bull Content Pool, Red Bull’s media service platform.”
It’s a smart deal for both Red Bull and GoPro. Although both of them already enjoyed full-on domination over any and all competitors, this ensures that it’ll stay that way for a long time. “Red Bull’s global scale and execution is something to be admired,” said Nicholas Woodman, founder and CEO of GoPro. “This partnership is very strategic for GoPro. We share the same vision…to inspire the world to live a bigger life.” And, one would imagine, to make a shitload of (more) money.
When Red Bull made the strange transition from an energy drink to an action sports company, they did so in a unique way. By focussing on first-person perspectives of their athletes, Red Bull created a batch of not just talented individuals, but talented individuals that the average Joe could connect with. GoPro’s mostly first-person perspective cameras played into that perfectly. “First person perspectives, breathtaking images and cutting edge cinematography are the hallmarks of every story told within Red Bull’s portfolio of productions and live broadcasts,” said Dietrich Mateschitz, founder and CEO of Red Bull. “As partners, Red Bull and GoPro will amplify our collective international reach, the power of our content and ability to fascinate.”
