When Red Bull first launched, their marketing wasn’t flashy. It was scrappy.

To fake popularity, their team filled trash bins across London with empty Red Bull cans, outside clubs, campuses, and nightlife hotspots.

They gave the illusion that everyone was already drinking it.

People saw those bins, assumed Red Bull was what everyone else was reaching for, and followed the crowd.

It was perception hacking in the highest regard.

Today, Red Bull owns 43% of the global energy drink market.

Not bad for a brand that started in the garbage.