Sports
2017
Red Bull Rampage 2017
Giving Rampage’s dedicated fans more from their mountain bike pilgrimage through richer access, thoughtful hospitality and a more valuable ticket experience.
Credit: Red Bull North America | Paris Gore
Credit: Red Bull North America | Lee Cohen
Credit: Red Bull North America | Garth Milan
Credit: Red Bull North America | Lee Cohen
Credit: Red Bull North America | ninabianca
Credit: Red Bull North America | Lee Cohen
Credit: Red Bull North America | Lee Cohen
Credit: Red Bull North America | Garth Milan
Client
Red Bull
scope
Event Strategy · Project Leadership · Integrated Marketing · Production Oversight
year
2017
duration
February–October
role
RBNA Project Lead – Sports Marketing Manager, Rockies Region
team
Red Bull West Business Unit
partners
H5 Events — Event and competition production
Freeride Entertainment — Broadcast production
Boombox Group — Live broadcast production
Red Bull Media House — Media, programming and distribution
Red Bull Distribution Company — Regional retail sales execution
Overview
The brief.
Red Bull Rampage brings the world’s best freeride mountain bikers to the Utah desert to push the sport forward. For the fans who make the trip, it is a pilgrimage. I had supported the event in different roles since 2011, including the 2015 brand refresh. When I took over as project lead in 2017, our team saw an opportunity to give the onsite guest experience more focus within the overall event direction.
The Challenge
Over the years, spectators had been fitted into an event plan built around the riders, terrain and broadcast. The opportunity was to think more deliberately about their experience within that plan. We needed to make the trip more rewarding while respecting the competition and the limits of a remote desert venue. For Red Bull, the experience on the ground for consumers needed to live up to the competition on the hill for athletes.
the solution
New ticket tiers gave fans more choice in how they experienced Rampage. The Rampage Experience opened up practice-day access and guided course tours, bringing guests closer to the terrain and the work behind each run. Social experiences, like a giant bike chair, drop-in photo booth and wood-branding station, gave spectators more to do and something personal to take home. Earlier check-in, clearer communication and an event guide improved the practical side of the visit. A free Blood Road movie screening with Rebecca Rusch added another reason to gather beyond competition day in the town of Springdale.
Approach
We spent more time as a core event team and Rockies team discussing what consumers in our market would want from the trip. Anecdotal feedback, forums, articles and blogs helped inform those conversations. I made guest experience a focal point of the kickoff so each department could contribute ideas and work through how to deliver them. That meant connecting ticketing, access, staffing, production and partner discussions early enough for the additions to fit without a headache.
Outcome
Every ticket tier sold out, and ticket-linked giving raised money for Red Bull’s charity, Wings for Life, and the Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association local to the area. The practice-day tour stood out, while demand for the spectator activities exceeded guest and sponsor expectations. Beyond the venue, Rampage’s first live preview show and wider broadcast distribution helped bring more of the event to fans at home, generating the most live views for any Red Bull event at the time. The guest-experience work gave us a foundation to refine and expand in the years to come.
Related work: Red Bull Rampage Rebranding
