red bull media house
As the head of sports marketing for one of the most ubiquitous brands in the world, Red Bull ’s Sean Eggert experiences the pros and cons of having to be well-versed in nearly every sport imaginable.
His post affords him the opportunity to work with a company that pushes the boundaries in all forms of athletics as it strikes an aspirational tone. It also means staying on top of Red Bull’s participation across more than 65 sports.
“I’ve always had to sort of adapt and learn new playgrounds and consumer interests,” Eggert said. “This has been the ultimate challenge over the last 11 years or so — trying to understand so many different sports playgrounds and trends in sports.”
Eggert has been a key cog in some of Red Bull’s best-known sports marketing adventures, including the globally viral Stratos project that saw stuntman Felix Baumgartner free fall from 128,000 feet in the sky. He also helped shift Red Bull’s endorser strategy in 2016 and works with the company’s 152 brand ambassadors, including the NBA’s Blake Griffin and Anthony Davis, Olympians Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin, and MLB’s Kris Bryant and Evan Longoria.
Eggert said the key to learning how to market to consumers in so many sports is to “get immersed within a sporting community, and what I mean by immersion is really trying to understand from a consumer point of view, ‘What are the true needs of the consumer within that playground?’”
His recent efforts around esports include providing a path to become a professional and making the esports space less fragmented. The result will be a new tournament called Red Bull Conquest, which he described as a fighting game community tournament that will happen in 20 cities around the U.S.
Eggert is also quick to credit his team with helping him stay on top of things.
“I would be remiss to not say that I have such an amazing team,” he said. “But I’d also say it’s been a culmination of many things I’ve done over my career.”
— Adam Stern
Age: Turned 40 on Jan. 25
Where born: Highland Park, Ill.
Education: University of Iowa, Sports Management
Family: Wife, Nicole; children, Tyler (10), Addison (8), Mason (6)
What gets you fired up? Seeing the team experience success through determination and hard work.
What do you wish you could tell yourself 10 years ago? Work hard, play hard.
Profession other than your own you’d most like to attempt: Pilot.
Guilty pleasure: Mountain biking.
Foundation supported: Wings for Life.
Person in the industry you’d most like to meet: Adam Silver.
I am one of the best I know at … : Tackling “honey do’s.”
Ideal day off: Having fun with family.
Most thrilling/adventurous thing I’ve done: Heli snowboard.
Forty Under 40 class members would be surprised to know that I … : Am an excellent BBQ pit master.
