114 - Ahmet Mercan, AlphaTauri (Red Bull)

In Ep. 114 of Earned, Conor sits down with Ahmet Mercan, the CEO of Red Bull’s premium fashion line AlphaTauri. First, we dive into why the beverage brand decided to foray into fashion, and hear how innovation is the throughline across the Red Bull family of brands. Ahmet details his experience building the AlphaTauri brand from the ground up, and shares why he believes the brand has been successful amid a challenging market. Ahmet explains why, despite AlphaTauri’s impressive accomplishments over the last few years, he never lets his team get complacent, and constantly encourages them to push the boundaries of innovation. We then switch gears to the world of F1 racing, and discuss how AlphaTauri’s involvement in F1 helped fast-track the brand’s growth, as well as how AlphaTauri overcame the challenge of being known as a racing brand rather than a fashion brand by hosting memorable brand activations. Next, explore the differences of marketing a luxury brand, before learning how technology plays a major role in AlphaTauri’s product development. To close the show, Ahmet shares the challenges and opportunities that have come with expanding the European brand’s footprint into the U.S. market.

In this episode, you will learn: 

1. The strategies and challenges of launching a premium fashion brand within a well-known beverage company (Red Bull).
2. The differences of marketing a luxury fashion brand compared to brands with lower price points, and the importance of adopting a customer-centric approach.
3. How AlphaTauri prioritizes innovation and leverages technology in its product development.

Resources:

• AlphaTauri - https://alphatauri.com/en-int/

Connect with the Guest:

• Ahmet’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmet-mercan-805301160/

Connect with Conor Begley & CreatorIQ:

• Conor’s LinkedIn - @conormbegley
• CreatorIQ LinkedIn - @creatoriq

Follow us on social:

• CreatorIQ YouTube - @TribeDynamics
• CreatorIQ Instagram - @creatoriq
• CreatorIQ TikTok - @creator.iq
• CreatorIQ Twitter - @CreatorIQ