A guest post by Phillip Oakley, a brand strategist, energetic speaker, foodie, and proud Dad. Phillip shares his respect for Liquid Death Mountain Water.

Murder Your Thirst. Don’t Be Scared. It’s Just Water.

For a few years, I’ve been singing the praises of one of my favorite brands – Liquid Death Mountain Water. Why? Because they’ve proven how marketing differentiation and a solid brand strategy can make a difference where it counts – sales.

Liquid Death knows its target audience. They also see the buzz created by their messaging, and heavy buyers will generate interest for light buyers, which is vital for sales and growth. The company is currently projecting $130MM in sales for 2022, up from $45MM in 2021.

Since launching in 2017, Liquid Death has become one of the fastest-growing nonalcoholic beverage brands in history. Sold in more than 60,000 retail outlets–including 7-Eleven, Whole Foods, Publix, and Target–it raked in $45 million in 2021, up 300 percent over the previous year. This year, it’s on track to grow almost another 300 percent, to $130 million. The brand has a a current valuation of $700MM, having just raised $70MM.

The founder, Mike Cessario believed that the path to success isn’t a product but creativity. More than 200 brands of water from still, sparkling, flavored and CBD- laced launched since 2019.

Liquid Death has been the number-one seller of water through Amazon off and on during the last two years.

Here are a few reasons why they’re succeeding:

Know the Audience

Early on, the founders recognized something nobody else did – whether you’re hanging out at a bar, a concert, a backyard barbecue, or a company party –– if everyone else is drinking and you’re carrying a plastic water bottle, you don’t fit in. People care about “looking cool.”

Liquid Death packaged their water in aluminum tallboy cans designed with killer graphics and boom – instant cultural fit. And for a growing percentage of the population cutting back on alcohol or staying sober, Liquid Death solves the job of fitting in at a bar.

Understand the Culture

They created a handheld cultural acceptance tool and paid attention to different artistic entry points the brand could infiltrate –– live music concerts, including metal, rock, hip hop, etc. They invested in musician endorsements like Wiz Khalifa and Marc Ribillet and created videos with Amazon’s hit show The Boys and actors like Joe Manganiello.

Have Fun

We could talk about differentiation and archetypes all day, but let’s talk about how they did it – they had fun. They created a mascot *** that throws back to the days of GWAR (a heavy metal band), invited celebrities to create ridiculous videos, and made their email signup/rewards system based on “Selling Your Soul.” The Liquid Death brand voice oozes through their work and borrows heavily from their endorsements. You don’t have to drink the water to see the fun behind their promotions.

Sustainability and Purpose

Buzzword time! Liquid Death didn’t greenwash a message about plastic bottles or tout their why –– they created a brand story and let it do the talking for them, then carried it through in other touchpoints. You can read the short brand story on the can (see photo).

Know the Business

Building a brand isn’t all fun and games. They’ve doubled down on bringing in the right talent, raising funds so they can attack the market quickly, and pushing hard to get the brand into all forms of retail. This includes brick-and-mortar, e-Comm, Amazon, and more. They even brought in an industry vet, Joseph Lee, former SVP over supply chain at Fiji Water, to focus on supply chain and global logistics as the COO.

Andy Pearson, VP of Creative at the water brand Liquid Death, jokes he was given a $0 initial ad budget to launch. He grew up in the south and first got excited about how an idea can change perception.

Andy had a teacher who told the story of how the A1 Steak Sauce brand grew dramatically when they added three words to their bottle: REFRIGERATE AFTER OPENING. Because consumers saw the brand every time they opened the fridge, A1 became top of mind.

Andy’s big takeaway – it isn’t advertising that matters to marketing – but ideas.

That’s the currency of building a brand.

Know the consumer. Know the brand. Don’t be boring.

You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.