Rarely are extreme sports events as wild as they are marketed to be. Red Bull Ride is a credible event because it is a genuinely dangerous challenge. Head injuries and crapped pants are two possible outcomes. Unfortunately, the specialist media are bombarded with exaggerated promotional images of 'hard core' sport. We felt they would respond best to a demonstration of the nasty terrain involved – so we sent them a sample of what competitors would be eating.

Red Bull 'sealed' events avoid the hype of public sports displays. They are designed to show athletes the grassroots support the brand offers them. While the broader public was invited to access website results (through magazine inserts), the media were given exclusive treatment. The result was unprecedented online accessing of results and updates during the competition. Prior to our activity, the site was accessed 200 times a day. Access leapt to 1500 impressions after the campaign. This resulted in wide support for the event in credible, relevant media.