Sponsorship reaches for the skies

As Felix Baumgartner teetered in the doorway of a balloon capsule 24 miles above the earth, a planet of people peered back up, hearts in mouths - and many with fingers on keyboards.

The footage segued between Felix in his Red Bull branded suit, and 'mission control' with Red Bull branded background, all watched through around 8 million concurrent streams on YouTube. As he landed, Red Bull published a photo of 'Fearless Felix' on his knees via Facebook, which was shared 29,000 times within 40 minutes, with 216,000 'likes' and over 10,000 comments. Meanwhile Red Bull solicited questions via both Facebook and Twitter, promising to ask three from followers in Felix's first press conference after landing.

Every 'like', comment, and shared link, every moment of news coverage and every photo in every magazine sears Red Bull into our minds, but remember they have spent millions of dollars sponsoring this jump. So, in terms of ROI...who knows? Forbes estimates that for every dollar spent Red Bull have received perhaps $20 worth of coverage, but in terms of credibility and brand image the impact is immeasurable.

In the popular psyche 'Fearless Felix' stands for bravery, pushing the boundaries and not a little bit of madness - qualities Red Bull happily associate with their brand, while Red Bull increasingly stand for extreme sport, drive and, much like Felix, a touch of madness. A match made in heaven - or at least the edge of space...