Red Bull's marketing success is not the classic brand-meets-consumer love story.

Indeed, it all begins with hate.

"We go out and we find the 'haters': the people who hate corporations being involved in their scene," Ian Trombetta Red Bull's head/brand marketing, told delegates at The Content Marketing Summit, an event held by NewsCred in New York during September 2014.

"And we talk to them. We sit down with them, and we find out ways we can actually build value with what they're doing. And, once we do that, we're able to build relevant content in those scenes, whether it be within music, action sports, mainstream sports, etc."

The iconic energy drink epitomises a generation of consumers that are constantly on the go and prefer seeing and doing to accumulating material possessions. In reflection of this fact, the firm sold 5.3 billion units of Red Bull in 2013, up 3.1% from 2012, at the same time as looking after a slate of assets including four soccer teams, Formula One racing cars and a music studio.

"We know that consumers live for experiences. So, knowing this, we've gone out and created playgrounds: playgrounds in music, and dance, and art, and action sports. In sports alone, we're involved in over 167 different sports," said Trombetta. "Our brand is really all about experiences. And with that, those experiences turn consumers into brand lovers. And those brand lovers engage."

In fostering this engagement, Red Bull has largely eschewed big-ticket affiliations like the Olympic Games or World Cup in favour of constructing properties such as the Red Bull BC One breakdancing competition, the Red Bull X-Fighters freestyle motorcross tour, the Red Bull Air Race flying contest, the Red Bull Soapbox Race and Red Bull Crashed Ice, a new form of downhill racing on ice skates.