In a crowded and cluttered packaged water category where every brand is struggling to make a mark in the market and minds, Liquid Death not only managed to capture consumers’ attention but also were able to scale up significantly. And quickly.  

Founded by adman Mike Cessario just a year before the pandemic,  Liquid Death, the canned mountain spring water brand, is now valued at over $700 mn. 

So, what’s the brand’s, rather Mike’s, recipe of success? 

The man’s deep understanding on the fundamentals of marketing, his unwavering belief that creativity is the evergreen formula to build brand and businesses and having the balls to bring offbeat ideas to life.

Everything about this brand is so distinct, if not unique. 

Provocative name, distinct logo, catchy tagline, metalhead motif, novel narrative and a powerful packaging that’s inspired by the brand belief/purpose*. All of this aid in a strong brand recall.

In fact, the brand name itself leads to conversation. Their advertising- promos make you sit up and take notice, the packaging provokes and persuades you to give it a shot…Nahi?

People say Mike created the brand’s Facebook page and released a sort of launch film for the brand much before launching the product as he wanted to test the water before bringing his idea to life.

Mike wanted to test the water before consumers could taste the water

Call it a dark or edgy or a badass brand inspired by heavy metal band and punk rock culture, Liquid Death is largely targeted at youth who like humor, dark humor actually and prefer everything offbeat. The brand soon found its tribe on social media . Youngsters are driven towards sustainable lifestyles, but at the same time they expect the brands to appeal to their sense of humour and togetherness culture.

People don’t buy Liquid Death because it’s a quality product – they purchase it because they want to be a part of the tribe.

Being a disruptor brand is a high risk business. Being profoundly different increases the risk of failure. And when you do something radically different going against the norms/category code, chances of getting troll and criticism are high. However, smart marketers know how to deal with criticism and trolls. And turn them into opportunity for the brand. While most of the brands try to address (read supress) negative comments through their ORM/PR agencies, Liquid Death unapologetically turned social media hate comments into lyrics and composed fun songs to dance to! (Greatest Hates: https://open.spotify.com/album/2mlRoR7OFIJWiYf30M4OnY)

Look at the work they are churning out day in and day out. Across platforms. The positioning largely remains intact and hardly gets diluted. And the brand’s essence clearly reflects in whatever they do, across touchpoints. 

Like it or hate it but you can’t afford to ignore it. For sure. 

BTW, remember Dasani UK fiasco?