Video Summary
How Liquid Death Revolutionized the Beverage Industry
Introduction
Discover how Liquid Death, a quirky and hip new beverage company, has disrupted the market with its unique approach and bold branding.
The Rise of Liquid Death: A Quirky Beverage Brand Taking the Market by Storm
- Majestic mountains liquid Death Mountain Water will murder your thirst… this is Liquid Death, a quirky and hip new beverage company that has become one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in history. It’s currently valued at $700 million, making it 70% of a unicorn status. With early investors like Wiz Khalifa and Tony Hawk, the brand is on track for an annual revenue north of $120 million. Liquid Death is the most followed water brand on TikTok and the second most followed water brand on Instagram. To put it into context, it took Celsius 12 years and Monster four years to reach the same level of retail success that Liquid Death has achieved in just three years. What do they sell exactly? Water in beer cans. That’s literally it. Out of the 231 water brands launched recently, Liquid Death is the number one seller among them all. The idea started with Mark Cesario, a former advertising creative director and the current co-founder and CEO of Liquid Death. His background in playing in punk and heavy metal bands has influenced the branding of Liquid Death. With marketing experience from working with Nestle, Netflix, and Gary Vaynerchuk, Mark saw an opportunity to create a unique brand in the beverage industry. The concept was born out of a need he observed at the 2008 Warped Tour where rock bands were promoting energy drinks but actually drinking water to stay hydrated. This inspired him to create a water brand with a cool spin that musicians and athletes could promote. To validate his idea, Mark shot a commercial for $1,500 and spent $3,000 on paid Facebook ads. Within three months, Liquid Death had more Facebook followers than Pepsi-owned Aquafina and the commercial had 3 million views. This validation helped attract interest from retailers and led to a small round of funding from friends and family to kickstart the brand.
Reimagining Liquid Death: Making Water Cool with Bold Branding
- Fifty thousand dollars always throws me off; I think it’s beer and then I’m like, ‘No, that’s water, right?’ But why the name, and why is it in a can designed to look like a tall boy with heavy metal-inspired branding? Liquid Death’s goal was to make drinking water cool, similar to the strategy of Virgin, who took a boring airline business and made it fun. Liquid Death’s strategy is simple: give a boring product awesome branding. All the funniest and most memorable ad campaigns are usually done for junk food, alcohol, and energy drinks. Healthy foods are rarely marketed with the same enthusiasm and are usually promoted by preaching the health benefits like working out, getting plenty of rest, and eating your green vegetables. Instead of just listing features about their water, Liquid Death wants to create a brand that people can relate to and have a laugh with. The seemingly reckless and irreverent branding is meticulously thought through. When we do branding and positioning for a new product, we often conduct what’s called a white space analysis or brand positioning. Liquid Death’s white space analysis would show where competitors like Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Mountain Dew, 7Up, Gatorade, Lacroix, and Tropicana fall on the axes of healthiness and badassness. Liquid Death’s branding and positioning exist in a unique white space that makes drinking water cool, miles away from other beverage brands in the industry. In a category that typically revolves around health and vitality, Liquid Death instead talks about demons, death, murdering thirst, and killing plastic. While conventional water brands use colors like white and blue, Liquid Death chose black as its primary brand color. In an industry where tranquility and health reign, Liquid Death makes water sound exciting, dangerous, and rather unconventional. In Peter Thiel’s book ‘Zero to One,’ he encourages companies to strive for monopolies to build a better future. Liquid Death has created a monopoly in the industry by introducing a completely fresh perspective on drinking water.
The Art of Brand Positioning: Liquid Death’s Success Story
- Market and positioning their brand based on their identity, the visuals messaging, and personality of the brand was made to attract a certain group of people who were previously not targeted within the same space. Finding points of difference is common practice in marketing. Subway offers healthier meals than other fast-food chains, while Nike leverages professional athletes to endorse its superior athletic shoes. Liquid Death, however, sets itself apart not through product attributes, but through innovative marketing. By tapping into the Von Restorff effect, which highlights the power of standing out, Liquid Death has created a unique brand in the bottled water industry. Over 50% of customers who purchase water through Liquid Death also buy merchandise, indicating strong brand loyalty. The company’s success lies in its ability to create a lifestyle brand that resonates with its audience. Embracing hype and coolness, Liquid Death has smartly incorporated merchandise into its strategy, turning what started as a marketing expense into a revenue driver. With a wide range of merchandise offerings, including unique items like skateboards infused with Tony Hawk’s blood, Liquid Death continues to captivate consumers with its bold approach.
Liquid Death: More Than Just a Beverage Brand
- When it comes to marketing, Liquid Death embraces negativity and uses it to their advantage. While their approach may be funny and playful, the brand is serious about one thing - killing plastic. Instead of plastic bottles, they use aluminum cans, which are more environmentally friendly. Plastic, derived from petroleum or natural gas, is often not recycled and ends up polluting the environment. In contrast, about 70 percent of aluminum cans can be recycled, making them a better option. Liquid Death donates 10 percent of profits towards combating plastic pollution, making them a brand with a cause. However, critics raise concerns about the environmental impact of aluminum can production, as it releases more carbon dioxide than plastic bottles. Another criticism revolves around the brand’s gendered marketing, which some argue reinforces toxic masculinity. Despite these criticisms, Liquid Death has found success by tapping into categories like energy drinks and craft beer with its edgy branding. The question remains: is Liquid Death just a gimmick, or is there more to it?
The Rise of Liquid Death: A Bold Move in the Beverage Industry
- With over one billion dollars in revenue combined, Dasani and Aquafina are often viewed as gimmicks, selling purified tap water in cheap plastic bottles. However, a new player, Liquid Death, is challenging the norms of the beverage industry. Inspired by the success of energy drink brand Red Bull, Liquid Death aims to become a lifestyle brand with a unique twist. By leveraging incredible branding and marketing strategies, the company is making a mark in the market. Venturing into extreme sports like dirt biking and car racing, Liquid Death is not just selling water; it’s selling a culture. Merchandising for Liquid Death is not just about selling products—it’s about testing the waters for future expansion into other categories. While the hype around Liquid Death is currently strong, the brand’s real test will be in sustaining this momentum. Simply having a great brand is not always enough; differentiation is key.
Conclusion
Liquid Death’s rise to success showcases the power of innovative branding and marketing strategies in redefining an industry. By challenging norms and embracing uniqueness, this quirky water brand has made a lasting impact.