Latest / The Marketing Funnel Podcast with Fexingo: Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action Stages / How Liquid Death Turned Canned Water Into a Marketing Funnel
Transcript
- Lucas: So, a can of water. Plain, still, sourced from the Austrian Alps. Priced at about two dollars — four times what you'd pay for a bottle of Dasani. And yet, by 2025, Liquid Death was pushing well over a hundred million dollars in annual revenue. That's not a beverage story. That's a marketing funnel story. Luna: And a pretty aggressive one, too. I mean, the brand literally calls itself a 'murder your thirst' company. But how do you get people to pay a premium for something they can get for free from a tap? Lucas: Exactly. And that's the funnel question. At the top of the funnel — awareness — Liquid Death didn't rely on traditional advertising. Instead, they leaned into shock value and shareability. Think about it: a tallboy can that looks like a beer, with a skull and crossbones, sold at rock concerts and through irreverent social media posts. Their early growth came almost entirely from organic virality. Luna: Right. They did stuff like selling a limited-edition can that just said 'Deceased' on it, or releasing a 'funeral' edition for expired cans. It's absurd, but it gets people talking. Lucas: And that's the key insight. In a category as boring as bottled water, you have to give people a reason to care. Liquid Death's founder, Mike Cesaratto, used to say that water is the most commoditized product on earth. So they built a brand around everything but the water: the aesthetic, the humor, the anti-corporate vibe. Luna: It's almost like they're selling rebellion, not hydration. And that hooks people at the interest stage. Lucas: If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your own work, that's exactly the kind of signal that keeps us going. We deliberately keep the show ad-free — no sponsor breaks, no mid-roll interruptions. If you want to support that choice, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Totally optional, but it helps us stay independent. Luna: Yeah, and honestly, it's because of listeners like that we can dig into weird cases like this without worrying about pleasing an advertiser. So — back to Liquid Death. How do they move people from 'that's funny' to 'I want to buy that'? Lucas: The interest stage is where they double down on the brand personality. Their social media is essentially a continuous bit — they post memes, fake news headlines, and mock their own product. One of my favorite examples: they ran a campaign where they claimed the cans were made from 'murdered' water — as in, the water was killed and canned. It's ridiculous, but it creates a sense of inside-joke community. Luna: And that community becomes the engine for the decision stage. Because once you're in on the joke, buying a case feels like a statement. It's not just water — it's a badge of belonging. Lucas: Exactly. And they reinforce that with scarcity. Limited-edition flavors — like 'Severed Lime' or 'Mango Murder' — that sell out in hours. Or artist collaborations with bands like Slayer and Guns N' Roses. You can't just walk into a store and find those anytime. You have to act fast. Luna: So the decision stage is partly FOMO. But also, they make purchasing easy through a subscription model. You can sign up for recurring deliveries, and they offer bulk discounts for 'funeral' packages — like, buy 24 cans and get a free coffin-shaped cooler. Lucas: Yeah, the subscription is a smart move because it converts one-time buyers into repeat customers. And the data backs that up: Liquid Death reported a 30% repeat purchase rate in their first few years, which is strong for a beverage. Compare that to typical bottled water brands that see maybe 10%. Luna: And then for action — the bottom of the funnel — they don't just want a sale. They want evangelists. So they host events like Deathstock, a music festival with metal bands and — you guessed it — free Liquid Death. Lucas: But it goes deeper. They also have a user-generated content play. Fans send in videos of themselves 'murdering' a can in creative ways — crushing it, shooting it, whatever. The brand reposts the best ones. That turns customers into promoters. It's a closed loop: awareness feeds interest, interest feeds decision, decision feeds action, and action generates more awareness. Luna: You know, I think there's a lesson here for any marketer in a boring category. If you can't differentiate on the product, differentiate on the story. Lucas: 100%. And Liquid Death's story is so strong that they've expanded beyond water. They now sell iced tea and sparkling water under the same brand umbrella, with the same irreverent tone. The funnel becomes a platform. Luna: But there's a risk, right? Once you're known as the funny water company, you can't suddenly go serious. That brand consistency is both a strength and a constraint. Lucas: Absolutely. And they've navigated it well so far. They even leaned into the pandemic — when people were stressed, they launched a 'Quarantine' edition and donated proceeds to mental health. That's staying true to the voice while doing good. Luna: So what's the one concrete takeaway for our listeners? If you're building a funnel from scratch, where do you start? Lucas: I'd say start with the hook. Liquid Death's hook is the can design and the humor. Everything else — the social media, the events, the subscriptions — flows from that. Without a compelling reason for someone to stop scrolling, you have no top of funnel. And without a top, nothing else matters. Luna: And maybe also: don't be afraid to be polarizing. Liquid Death turns some people off, but the people it attracts are fanatical. Lucas: Exactly. A bland funnel gets bland results. So if you take one thing from this episode, think about what your brand's 'murdered water' moment could be — the one thing that makes a commodity feel like a movement. Luna: Good place to leave it. Until next time.