This Pulse was written by Melissa Im and Megan Sweat

On Sunday, a man risked his life as he fell 24 miles from the edge of space to accomplish the highest free-fall ever jumped by man. Behind the years of training, testing and all other preparation was Red Bull, the brand that “gives you wings.” 8 million people watched as Felix Baumgartner successfully broke the speed of sound and set multiple world records. The stunt generated more than 2.6 million social media impressions on Sunday alone. Today, journalists and industry leaders are saying this might be the “greatest marketing stunt of all time.”

While we think this was pretty authentic to the Red Bull brand, we couldn’t help but wonder what today’s everyday consumer thought about the stunt and whether or not it would result in sales for the energy drink company. So, DGC hit the street to find out and here’s what we uncovered:

Additional sound bytes include:

“It was better than an ad.”

“It does make me question the brand’s intentions. However, the stunt did put Red Bull top of my mind and I would be more likely to buy it.”

“Had a brand I was unaware of done it, it may have stimulated my interest in trying it.”

“It makes me question the intentions.”

From our interviews, it seems that Red Bull Stratos put the brand at the top of consumers’ minds, even if it didn’t make them open their wallets to buy.

As we can see from the beat on the street, Stunt PR is no easy feat. It takes time and strategic thinking about what makes sense for a brand and there is always the risk that consumers won’t bite. But you can take notes from some of the best like Richard Branson or even Oprah Winfrey to see just how effective a well-thought out stunt can be.

We’ve worked closely with many brands to develop Stunt PR best practices that can give that big idea more punch.