My Letter to Red Bull

Just over a week ago during a bit of downtime I had the crazy idea of sending an email off to Red Bull marketing with a request for sponsorship. I started typing the thing up as a bit of a joke in all honesty, that I would then post on our forums, but in the end decided to send it anyway.

Dear Energy Drink Overlords,


First of all let me just finish my silver and blue can of liquid well-being and power-boosting-energy-goodness. Ah that tasted good. Now I'm ready to take on the world and fly towards my goals! Ahem, sorry, got a little carried away there.

My name is Miura Bull. Who is Miura Bull (?!?) you might be saying. A fair question, let me introduce myself.

I am a pilot in the mmorpg universe of EVE online.

http://www.eveonline.com/

http://evewho.com/pilot/Miura+Bull

In simple terms I play a highly-competitive online game versus hundreds of thousands of other online gamers in a virtual world.

I am writing to you today in the hope that I can persuade you to accept me under the prestigious Red Bull sponsorship scheme.

Here is what I have to offer.

My name ingame is Miura Bull. The Bull is a magnificent creature of great strength, as too is the Red Bull brand. We share this majestic creature in our titles and I for one do not take this lightly, every day I strive towards greater strength. This can only be a good thing.

As part of my sponsorship package I would be willing to re-brand myself as Miura 'Red' Bull.

I am the author of a weblog based on my activities in the world of EVE online. This weblog attracts over 10,000 readers each month who read various stories, guides and the latest goings on in eve online life. It has a gross viewing figure of close to 250,000 individual page views. My readers stretch all corners of this wonderful planet. It is very much a global enterprise and I would be willing to expand this further via advertising and innovative content. I feel the Red Bull brand would help me achieve these goals.

http://brutorbullfighter.blogspot.co.uk/

I am the founder of the successful eve online corporation the Black Rebel Rifter Club. An exciting pvp (player-versus-player) focused entity that prides itself on its much-liked reputation within eve online. A focused and diverse management team currently operate the corporation for close to 150 worldwide members. 

As part of my proposed sponsorship package I would be willing to negotiate a possible new formation of the Black Rebel Rifter Club under the guise of something along the lines of Red Bull Rifter Club, Red Bull Frigate Club, Red Bull Fight Club... etc, etc. Exact naming rights to be discussed at a later date.

As an individual I pride myself on my current rank among the top 250 current pilots of New Eden. With the backing of such a powerhouse global brand I would like to push myself to the top 10 and also the re-branded Red Bull Rifter Club to number one.

Further, the Red Bull Rifter Club would be willing to enter every single player-v-player tournament that is run in the eve online community. Currently there is an annual alliance tournament that attracts excellent web coverage. Red Bull Rifter Club would be willing to enter a team of the best pilots into this event, and we would also look to win this tournament each and every year. Other tournaments have also been scheduled including the New Eden Open, a 10,000 dollar pvp tournament. We would look to enter this tournament too. And win it.

I am also currently looking to release a set of regular pvp videos. These videos show the pilot in action and are very popular within the eve online community. The possibilities for brand exposure and sponsorship potential are astronomical. Viewing figures and downloads for popular pvp videos are very high.

This is something I would put all my time into between tournament commitments. I would hope to release at the very least four 30-minute videos each calendar year.

I can currently commit to 23/7 gaming all year round. Minus a few hours for sleeping periods I would be flying the flag for the Red Bull brand at every opportunity. Whether through tournaments, pvp videos, blog features, sponsorship, et all.

As part of the Red Bull brand I would be available for worldwide sponsorship events, gaming conventions etc. I have very limited commitments right now and would be willing to travel to wherever is needed to further the Red Bull brand and expand our enterprise at the drop of a hat. Such is my dedication.

I am also looking into a potential fashion line. With the correct backing and networking this could be a global enterprise worth millions. The chic gamer kids would flock to my (currently private) designs.

I also have a few other ideas too that would probably be better saved for our meet in person. 

The only thing I ask as part of our sponsorship package is the necessary funding via ingame currency (ISK) to help drive this machine forward. More details can be discussed in private. But the rewards and potential would far outweigh the initial investment in this venture. 

I hope that I have grabbed your attention with my proposal and I look forward to hearing from you in due course.


To the fridge!

Miura Bull.

Red Bull drinker.



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Today I received a reply.





Hi Miura,

Thank you for your email and getting in touch. Unfortunately we do not provide sponsorship for any gaming organisation. The reason for this is twofold; at Red Bull we have chosen not to sponsor 'organisations' or 'team' and instead choose to sponsor individual athletes. We do this as our sponsorship programme operates on the principle of helping individuals achieve their goals and we prefer to work with them on a personal level to this end. An example of this would be one of our athlete projects where, in collaboration with one of our athletes, we work to create something that they have always wanted to achieve. In the case of Robbie Maddison, one of our Freestyle MX riders, this was to back flip over tower bridge in London. In any instance where our name/logo is associated with a team, it is because we actually own the team, and not because we sponsor them (for example the football club, Red Bull Salzburg).

Secondly, our only current involvement in computer gaming is to create games, rather than sponsor them. An example of this is the Red Bull X Fighters app you can download for Iphone, or the Red Bull Air Race game for PC that you can also download. This way we maintain creative control over the content, and can ensure that it is a true Brand fit.

Please allow me to wish you and your team, the Black Rebel Rifter Club, every success in the future, sorry we could not give you a more positive response.

Regards,

Red Bull




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I thought that was pretty cool!



MB.