It's all in the dark details: how Liquid Death built a distinctive brand

Bottled water is big business, it's also a large part of an environmental disaster, millions of tons of plastic bottles find their way to the ocean every year. When Mike Cessario founded Liquid Death in 2018, he recognized there was a better way to both sell and market water. Liquid Death's water comes in aluminum cans, which are more recyclable than their plastic counterparts (that said aluminum production and shipping still creates a large carbon footprint). With a background in advertising Cessario knew he had to stand out in the category, he realized that there was space in the for a brand that catered to younger edgier consumers.

The water category is for the most part a sea of sameness, but by taking inspiration from his time in metal and punk bands Cessario hit upon a brand identity and experience that put Liquid Death in a whole other world to its competitors. From it's metal inspired imagery to 'Murder Your Thirst' tagline and unique members club, the joining of which involves amusingly selling your soul to the company - Liquid Death has a consistent tone of voice and experience.

“At the end of the day, we’re really creating an entertainment company and a water company,” said Cessario when the brand he built hit a $700m valuation. “We want to actually entertain people [and] make them laugh in service of a brand. And if you can do that, they’re going to love your brand because you’re giving them something of value. You’re actually making them laugh.”

There's a DNA to the brand that is clear to see and it runs through all aspects of how it comes to life. Liquid Death's VP of Creative outlines the approach they took to bringing the vision to life:

"Our co-founder and CEO [Mike Cessario] was an advertising creative himself, so he saw how everything was marketed from the inside. He had a realization that all the brands that were good for you had boring, stale marketing that only talked to the same group of people. But brands that were bad for you— like beer, soda, candy— were insanely fun and sucked people in. So the idea became, What if we could take something good for you but act like it wasn’t? Then we could make it so fun and compelling, it might actually outdo all the bad-for-you brands. No one had ever thought about it that way."

If you want to build a scalable business you need a brand identity that expands and that you stay true to. Liquid Death's approach runs through all aspects of their ecosystem, if you spend five minutes browsing their instagram you'll see an irreverent provocative dark take that just resonates with their audience. As Pearson explains, we all need a little of that sometimes.

'The world is so serious. It’s nice to bring people from somewhere they least expected it: a random beverage company. And on top of that, we’re using that entertainment to help people feel better about making healthier and more sustainable choices for themselves, their families, and the planet. No matter who you are, that’s something we all want.'

THE TAKEAWAY:

Develop a distinct look and feel that feels right for your business and will resonate with your audience

GO DEEPER:

Read a full interview with Andy Pearson Liquid Death's VP of Creative here.

Watch a video with founder and CEO Mike Cessario on how he launched the brand here