Focus Made a Monster

At 46-years-old, I’ve aged out of the core audience for stadium supercross, and my taste for carbonated beverages has shifted from sugary sodas to sparkling mineral water. Still, I dig AMA Supercross events almost as much as I love riding my own dirtbike. And, with the drop of the gate at the Supercross opener for the last several seasons I’ve been amazed by the display of talent. I’m not talking about the racers. Their skills do all the talking for them. No, I’m referring to the incredible talent behindMonster Energy’s guerrilla marketing effort. I’d encourage any marketer to take in a Supercross event just to experience the marketing magic of Monster Energy.

I’ve never seen a TV or radio spot for Monster Energy. I don’t know what their tagline is (or isn’t), nor could I swear to seeing a banner ad, pop-up, or otherwise digitized image of the brand. But, due entirely to my interest in a single extreme sport, I know what the Monster Energy brand stands for – and what it stands against – and who chugs the stuff on a regular basis. It’s not the drink of choice for me, but it is for just about every18-to-34 year-old male motohead with a penchant for pushing the limits. As a start-up brand less than a decade old, Monster Energy has charged toward the head of the fiercely competitive energy drink pack with a relentless focus on “being big somewhere” – one of my favorite challenger brand strategies. The company’s effort offers a great lesson in the effectiveness of tight targeting, excellent execution, and calculated consistency. It may sound like common sense marketing, but examples like this one are altogether uncommon.