In 2023 we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Red Bull X-Alps. The late adventurer Hannes Arch and our CEO, Ulrich Grill founded and embarked on the epic journey in 2003. Back then it was a much more adventure and less race. The first edition had 17 participants who set off into the mountains with stacks of paper maps and packs weighing around 25kg. Now all the navigation is via GPS and the packs weigh closer to 6kg.
In 2023 we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Red Bull X-Alps. Our founder and CEO Ulrich Grill and the late adventurer Hannes Arch embarked on the epic journey in 2003. Back then it was a much more adventure and less race. The first edition had 17 participants who set off into the mountains with stacks of paper maps and packs weighing around 25kg. Now all the navigation is via GPS and the packs weigh closer to 6kg.
The race has evolved nearly beyond recognition, with technology evolving and the athletes becoming more and more professional. Some things remain the same though. The spirit of adventure, where our heroes climb literal mountains and throw themselves off to fly hundreds of kilometers, remains.
Another enduring part of the race is Swiss dominance. Every single edition of Red Bull X-Alps has been won by a Swiss athlete. The past 7 editions have been dominated by the Swiss Christian ‘Chrigel” Maurer. Perhaps the 20-anniversary edition is when the Swiss dominance of X-Alps ends. We wouldn’t bet on it though!
Over 20 years, we too have evolved. At zooom Red Bull X-Alps is our blockbuster event. Everything from concept the delivery and press afterwards is covered by us. We leave no stone unturned when organizing and delivering the event. This level of control also applies to the digital side of the project where we built the website from the ground up.
The website redbullxalps.com isn’t just a hub for information about athletes, rules, and the route – it’s the living, pulsing heart of the entire event. Once the start gun is fired, every movement of every single athlete is tracked live on an interactive map, with multiple layers of information – location, direction of travel, speed, altitude, hiking or flying.
Fans can follow every spiral, lift, and zigzag the athletes make; they can choose how to follow it. The eleventh edition of Red Bull X-Alps has 2D tracking, POV from the athletes, a VR option, as well as the best 3D experience in live tracking ever! Fans can see the race and experience what it’s like to glide 2000m above sea level, all the way through the Alps.
With such sophisticated software and hardware many other firms would outsource the work, not here at zooom though!
Building the Red Bull X-Alps website isn’t as simple as placing some images and text in a pre-made website template – it’s custom built from the ground up, and handles millions and millions of data points every time someone loads up the live tracker. It’s so unique, in fact, that Google did a case study on it – highlighting how we utilized services like Google Cloud to keep information up-to-date and on-point.
The Red Bull X-Alps development requirements are unique: it’s not just servers and databases we’re working with. Data collection within our live tracking system requires real-time, constant connection with up to 150 different people using mobile phones and GPS. This means we have a significant task when it comes to hardware evaluation and management, athlete and crew workshops to train everyone on use, and of course, feeding it all into the Red Bull X-Alps website and app ecosystem.
A race like this needs attitude and identity – and the way we give it that is strong branding and graphic design.
All visual materials and digital touchpoints follow the strict Red Bull X-Alps branding guidelines – from including its catchphrase ‘The world’s toughest adventure race’ wherever possible, to precise rules about sizing and positioning of sponsor logos. It’s a complicated job – but a key part of making an event professional.
The Red Bull X-Alps media blitz is thorough. By providing traditional mainstream media with easily accessible editorial packages, coverage is maximized beyond the typical action and adventure sports audience.
Between the personal and fan pages of each athlete and the official social media outlets of Red Bull X-Alps it’s almost impossible for a fan to catch every bit of news around the race – there’s just too much for one person to see. And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Fans of the Red Bull X-Alps are highly enthusiastic – while the bulk of communication centered around the robust website with live tracking – content went out on every social media channel available, with additional reporting directly from the race route via Facebook Live.
The collective effort of the athletes accumulated over the years is stunning – virtually countless kilometers covered, countless vertical meters ascended in descended.
‘You guys truly embody the projects you are working on! This is what comes to my mind when I think of zooom productions. At events like Red Bull X-Alps you turn the athletes’ breathtaking journey through the Alps into a story that grabs attention around the world. You produce stories and pictures which thrill and inspire hundred of thousands of fans all around the globe. Thus your work is not only worth every cent for your client, but also of incalculable value for SalzburgerLand as an adventurous alpine destination.’
Leo Bauernberger, Managing Director, Salzburg State Board of Tourism
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