Seventeen years ago, I connected with a group of Red Bull students online who were convinced they’d stumbled into the best job on campus.
They weren't wrong.
The blue and silver can hasn't changed. The engine behind it has.
The Forbidden Interview of 2009
When I published my interview with Sam Bennett in 2009, Red Bull’s corporate office wasn't exactly thrilled. Even though Sam was a perfect brand advocate, Red Bull was and still is obsessive about their mystique. At the time, they were the world champions of manufactured spontaneity. Nobody was talking about the machinery behind the brand because they were masters at making things seem edgy and organic: like a random party that just happens on a weekend.
My interview revealed the blueprint behind the scenes. Because no one else was talking about the calculated strategy driving the brand, the traffic exploded. But For a company built on being the unmarketed choice, that sudden visibility was a direct threat to the illusion. They contacted me multiple times, desperate to edit or remove sections of the conversation. They didn't want the magic explained. They wanted to maintain the mystique of the accidental brand. They wanted the world to believe the energy just happened to be there.
From Red Bull University to Student Marketeers
In 2009, the program was a bit of a Wild West. You had Student Brand Managers (SBMs) doing the cool stuff: the events and the networking. And you had the Wings Team driving the Minis and handing out cans. Today, that line has vanished. Red Bull has professionalized the whole thing into one role: The Student Marketeer. Every student is now expected to be the face, the feet, and the brains of the brand.
What surprised me most in researching the current program is how much the job has shifted from lifestyle to logistics. Back in 2009, Sam talked about handing a friend a cold can as the soul of the work. Now, the mission has moved from simply giving wiiings to actually moving product. These students are essentially on the ground account managers. If a campus cafe doesn't stock the product, it’s the student's job to help the sales team close the deal. They aren't just handing out cans; they’re conducting campus sales audits and opening new business. They have gone from being simple brand advocates to a decentralized sales and talent agency, producing high-fidelity content for a global media machine and using inventory management systems to track stock in real time.
The Science of the Vibe Check
In 2009, getting the job was about having a 4.0 in life and knowing your campus like the back of your hand. Now, the old personality vibe check has been replaced by an algorithm. There’s a 35 minute psychological assessment before you even get an interview. No GPA required.
Instead, Red Bull uses a tool called Wingfinder to map a student's psychological DNA across four areas: Creativity, Thinking, Drive, and Connections. They are looking for the autonomous entrepreneur who can run a micro business on campus without a boss hovering over them. It is a brilliant play for talent. Red Bull is effectively capturing and channeling that raw entrepreneurial drive before these students ever realize they could just be starting their own companies.
Why It Still Works
The more data driven and calculated this program becomes, the more remarkable it is that the brand still feels human at the point of impact. Despite the heavy shift toward data and sales KPIs, Red Bull still lets us fill in the blanks about what the brand means. By hiring the students who don't want the traditional path, they ensure it never feels like a corporate interloper. It still feels like your classmate, the one with the most energy and the coolest projects, is just sharing a bit of that energy with you.
That is the real secret to their longevity. They are playing a long game where the student who handed you a can in 2009 is the executive running the brand today.
