3 Brands That Cracked the Content Code: HubSpot, Red Bull, and Salt Foundry
What does great content actually look like in practice?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:Three examples show the four content types at work in the real world. Red Bull turned a record-breaking space jump into branded entertainment that reached eight million live viewers and drove $500 million in additional sales. HubSpot built a durable growth engine on education, earning 93% of its website traffic through direct visits and organic search rather than paid ads. And a fractional CMO consultancy launched with just two thousand LinkedIn connections found clients by clarifying a confusing concept instead of pitching services. Last week, we covered the four types of content every brand needs: entertain, educate, inspire, and convince. What does each of these content types look like in practice? These three examples that follow come from very different places, but they share one thing. Each one gave the audience something worth their time before asking for anything in return.
A Case Study in Entertaining Content: Red Bull
In October 2012, Red Bull transformed the boundaries of branded content with Red Bull Stratos, an audacious project that sent Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner to the edge of space. Suspended beneath a massive helium balloon above the New Mexico desert, Baumgartner ascended twenty-four miles into the stratosphere, then stepped off the capsule ledge and plummeted back to Earth.
What followed was not just a record-breaking skydive but one of the most iconic brand moments in modern history. Baumgartner reached a supersonic speed of 843.6 miles per hour, becoming the first human to break the sound barrier in free fall. He earned three world records in a single jump: highest balloon flight, highest free fall, and fastest speed in free fall. His descent lasted just over four minutes before he landed safely.
While the mission carried undeniable scientific value, it was, at its core, a piece of branded entertainment. The event embodied Red Bull’s slogan, “Red Bull gives you wings.” Instead of a traditional advertisement, Red Bull created a spectacle so compelling that global news outlets, social media, and everyday conversation revolved around their brand for weeks. Over eight million people watched the event live on YouTube, the largest audience for a live stream at the time, cementing the project as a marketing masterstroke.
The cost of the project is debated, with one estimate placing it at $30 million, yet the returns far outweighed that figure, with reports crediting it for generating an additional $500 million in sales.
Red Bull Stratos was not a commercial. It was an event. By staging a high-drama, visually spectacular moment, Red Bull positioned itself as not just an energy drink company but a cultural force in extreme sports and adventure. Entertainment, rather than product promotion, became the vehicle of persuasion.
This case demonstrates how brands can capture audiences not by pushing a message, but by creating experiences so entertaining and shareable that the audience pulls the message to themselves. Red Bull Stratos wasn’t about a beverage; it was a story of courage, innovation, and human possibility, all of which became inseparably tied to the Red Bull name.
A Case Study in Educational Content: HubSpot
Customer relationship management (CRM) platform HubSpot has become a leader in marketing and sales technology not only because of its product, but also because of its ability to educate. Competing with giants, such as Salesforce, HubSpot built its growth strategy around the principle that being helpful attracts customers more effectively than aggressive selling.
One striking indicator of HubSpot’s educational success is its website traffic profile. A staggering 93% of its traffic comes from direct visits and organic search. That means people either type “HubSpot.com” directly into their browsers or find the company through non-sponsored search results. Unlike brands that rely heavily on paid ads on platforms, such as Google and Meta Ads, HubSpot enjoys a steady, sustainable stream of visitors who come because of the value it consistently provides. In other words, even if HubSpot stopped spending on ads, its traffic would continue to flow.
HubSpot achieves this by putting education at the very heart of its brand experience. In 2025, HubSpot’s main navigation menu featured a Resources section at the same level of prominence as Products, Solutions, and Pricing. In this Resources hub, HubSpot offers:
Blogs covering marketing, sales, and service topics
Free courses and certifications through HubSpot Academy
E-books, guides, and templates to support practitioners
A primer on inbound marketing
A comprehensive knowledge basefor self-service learning
This abundance of free resources ensures that even noncustomers walk away with knowledge that improves their professional lives.
HubSpot’s educational strategy doesn’t stop at its website. The company extends its reach through social media, podcasts, and videos, creating a web of touchpoints where prospective customers can engage, learn, and grow. By offering value first, HubSpot builds trust and positions itself as a go-to authority in the marketing and sales space. The result is a content marketing strategy so strong that industry observers call it unbeatable.
Rather than chasing short-term wins through paid ads, HubSpot built a durable growth engine fueled by trust, authority, and usefulness. Research from Momentum ITSMA shows that 84% of buyers would consume more related content if thought leadership resonated with them. HubSpot proves this principle. By consistently creating valuable educational resources, it not only attracts traffic but also deepens engagement with audiences and keeps them interested in the long run.
A Personal Story on Content Marketing: LinkedIn
In 2024, I launched my consultancy as a fractional chief marketing officer (CMO). A fractional CMO is an experienced marketing leader who works part-time with growing companies, giving them strategic leadership without the cost of a full-time executive. For many businesses in the $1 million-to-$50 million revenue range, this model provides the clarity and direction they need to scale while keeping overhead flexible.
At the time, I did not have a long client roster or massive platform to lean on. But I did have LinkedIn, where I had just over two thousand connections. Compared to established influencers, that was not a large audience. But I wanted to test whether sharing ideas could build awareness and credibility for this new chapter in my career.
I began posting about the role of a fractional CMO: what it is, why it matters for growing businesses, and the challenges it solves. I was not pushing my services or asking for a sale. Instead, I focused on educating and clarifying a relatively new concept that many CEOs and founders found confusing. To my surprise, some of these posts reached thousands of impressions.
This was a clear demonstration of the multiplier effect of educational content. People beyond my immediate circle began to notice, engage, and share. The reach sparked conversations that led to referrals. Soon, I was introduced to CEOs and founders who ultimately became clients.
My approach here was not about pushing for a sale. I focused on being genuinely useful. By putting myself in the shoes of my audience—people trying to make sense of marketing leadership options—I created content that answered their unspoken questions.
Wrapping it All Up
Red Bull, HubSpot, and my newly launched consultancy operate at very different scales, but the principle holds at every size. Lead with what your audience wants. What is one piece of content you could create this month that would be valuable to your audience even if they never bought anything from you?
Interested in more?
This article’s content was adapted from the book Keeping People Interested: How Leaders Use Marketing to Capture and Sustain Attention, available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook today.
