Speaking at last month’s MAD//Fest, Liquid Death’s SVP of Marketing, Dan Murphy, argued that as an industry we “focus too much on the science and not enough on the art”, and that” being creatively led is Liquid Death’s superpower.” 

Speaking at last month’s MAD//Fest, Liquid Death’s SVP of Marketing, Dan Murphy, argued that as an industry we “focus too much on the science and not enough on the art” and that” being creatively led is Liquid Death’s superpower.” 

In a world of sameness, it is clear that Liquid Death uses creativity and boldness to stand out and differentiate themselves from the crowd. However, Murphy stress that this can only happen if that is part of your brand’s DNA. “You can only be as bold or daring as the top person in your organization that can say no. I think in most companies, all these ideas could get shot down!” 

So how does Liquid Death elevate itself from the rest of the crowd?

Entertainment First

Liquid Death is an ‘entertainment first’ brand. As Murphy was keen to stress, it’s not the originator of this strategy, (see Red Bull), but whereas their ‘lane’ is action sports, Liquid Death’s is comedy. 

Now reality used to dictate that brands could put on a mildly amusing advert in a commercial break and it might fly. However, as Murphy pointed out, the world and how we consume media is very different now. Now this might sound counterintuitive but “Your competition is not actually your competitors!”  You are now competing against the feed and the algorithm. You are competing against all the content that is out on the internet. 

Therefore the bar is high. “We honour this high bar! Our strategy is to be the funniest and best thing you see in your feed” Therefore, Liquid Death has a writers room and stand up comedians on its team. Always on the look out to do something different. 

“When we do if we do it right, it then becomes a shareable piece. It isn't flicked away in 400 milliseconds and the algorithm pushes it out to more and more people. Within just five years we're the third most followed beverage brand on the planet.”

Embrace small budgets

When it comes to marketing budgets the bigger the better? Not necessarily, according to Murphy. “Embrace small budgets. It’s what I call ‘budget haiku.’” He argues that when you have a small budget, the key is the idea, the actual thing that is shareable. “You can’t hide behind production!” 

Liquid Death has its ‘small bets approach’- shooting ideas, quickly and cheaply, so they have a portfolio that can all potentially end up with 10 million views on social. Being quick and nimble is the key. “That allows us to save money for bigger things”

“When you have this approach, you wind up with a really interesting kind of flywheel with your marketing. You can put a ton of content out, let the market see what does well let the algorithm tell you what works” 

And the best thing about this approach is that, “it definitely gets you a thank you note from the CFO if you take it seriously.”

Watch all of his brilliant session from MAD//Fest and hear why brands should embrace their haters, why nothing is impossible, how you buy a fighter jet at short notice, and much more. 

All the MAD//Fest 2024 sessions are now on our YouTube channel. Great to watch whilst you’re on the beach, on the train, or at work!  Over the course of the summer and next few months, we'll be summarising and highlighting several of the standout keynotes (like Dan's), so you can have a weekly dose of marketing inspiration!