Differentiation in a saturated market is the key to standout.
Liquid Death is the perfect example of this.
In just seven years, it has gone from an idea to a $1.7 billion brand in the most commoditised category of all: water.
I’ve been listening to Liquid Death’s founder, Mike Cessario, talk about how they did it and the purposeful way they branded and marketed the product is a lesson for all marketeers.
"Brands will say, 'Our brand is differentiated because we have this ingredient in it that's new, and nobody has it'. That can differentiate for a few moments, but the minute you succeed, any brand will copy your formula.
Our brains work on autopilot, so most brands simply copy what has worked in the past. Most new things are just copies of existing things with a fresh spin that makes them culturally relevant. As in Liquid Death’s case, you often have to think of a controversial idea to think of something different.
In terms of Liquid Death, they got some traction on the concept before even working out how to produce it. Promoting the brand on social media, AKA ‘the real world’ before putting their hard-earned dollars into production. They then found a producer in Austria and shipped it across to the States once they had proof that the brand had an audience.
A smart play that challenger brands could learn a big lesson from: don’t just focus on production and supply. Focus all your energies on seeing if there is a demand for the idea in the first place. If not you are screwed from the outset.
I’ve sat in far too many challenger brand meetings and have been left dumbfounded by the lack of insight into whether anyone wants to buy the product or brand on offer. We are then left to pick up the pieces and make sense of the madness.
What are your thoughts? Has there been a more impactful differentiated brand than Liquid Death in the last decade? Which commodity category is next? Which brand is on your radar to breakthrough next?
We'd love to hear from you lovely lot, so please drop me an email or LinkedIn message with your thoughts.