The marketing genius of Liquid Death

How they stood out in a boring market to grow to $700M

In 2018, former Netflix director Mike Cessario started the canned-water brand with a tagline - "murder your thirst.”

It’s now valued at $700M.

But before the water was even available, Mike produced their first commercial for $1500 & spent $3000 on Facebook ads to see if there was any demand.

4 months later, the video has 3 million views and their facebook gained 100,000 more followers, putting it ahead of Aquafina.

“We’re not going to have Coca-Cola or Pepsi-like budgets to spend. We don’t have $300 million to throw at something, so every piece of marketing that we make has to be interesting or entertaining so people organically spread it.”

Give a boring product awesome branding

All the most interesting ads are for junk food, alcohol, and energy drinks, but healthy stuff is generally marketed to yoga moms.

Most water brands just talk about boring, hippy stuff like quality, nature, purity, blah blah blah.

But that’s not going to get people to drink more water!

What’s going to change their drinking habits is making it fun and cool. Cessario knew the power of branding & positioning from day one, so he came out with water that looks like an energy drink or beer can that you would see at a college party.

When coming up with marketing ideas, the team asks themselves “what would be the dumbest thing we can do for this?”

Because they don’t do normal.

From turning the hate comments they received online into a ‘greatest hates’ album to casting p*rn stars for commercials, Liquid Death did things a legacy water brand wouldn't even think of doing.

Their marketing makes up for the lack of any special ingredients in their water. There’s no secret formula or pH balance they put to try and convince you it’s healthier than other brands.

Selling more than just water

At first, people thought the brand was a gimmick of expensive water for punk kids, skateboarders, and heavy metal rockers to pay a premium just because it comes in a tall can with a skull on it.

But Liquid Death wants to create a “human brand” that people can relate to and laugh with.

“I like to think of our brand as a professional wrestler…no one thinks The Undertaker is real…we’re just playing a character.”

Like most cult brands, they’re selling more than a product. They’re selling a new idea, which is making hydration cool and sustainability punk.

Key takeaways for your brand

Find gaps in the market

Every industry has big players that seem like they have all the market share, but they often overlook something that you can take advantage of.

This could be ignoring certain demographics or not putting in highly requested features.

In Liquid Death’s case, it was the absence of branding and culture that Cessario capitalized on. Every other water brand had nothing that separated them from the rest, but Liquid Death doesn’t even look like a water brand at a first glance.

Create for people like you

“If you build for yourself, you’ll always have product-market fit.” - Naval

Cessario created Liquid Death for people like himself. A heavy metal rocker might seem like a small demographic to cater to, but they’re a passionate group that’s big enough to get them to $700M.

When you build for yourself, it’s easier to build, market, and validate everything because you’re satisfying your own itch. You’ll know exactly what to build, how to create the message, and see if it measures up to your own standards.

“If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”

- Henry Ford

Sell more than just a product

The top brands sell a purpose beyond profit.

For Liquid Death, it’s making hydration cool and promoting sustainability through #deathtoplastic.

These beliefs give Liquid Death a more distinct personality that separates them from the boring brands who only talk about the features of their water.

And as you know, selling a product is boring.

Liquid Death sells new ideas, edginess, and coolness through their water.

You know… the things that actually make people buy

So don’t be boring, make ordinary products cool again.