How Liquid Death made $100k in its first month

 

Hey guys,

Welcome back!

Today’s case study is about a popular DTC brand called Liquid Death. Their growth has been unprecedented and it’s got everyone talking.

Liquid Death’s marketing is irreverent and all about humour, something entirely different from traditional bottled water brands. They leverage this emotional connection by focusing on entertainment, which has opened them up to a much wider market, steering away from being limited to a single niche. Think Red Bull — they have built their brand with the motor and extreme sports niche over the years. Complete opposite of what Liquid Death is trying to do.

This is what I’m covering in today’s case study:

  • Unpacking their most viral social campaign: “Deadliest Stuff on Earth”, helped them make $100k in its first month and attracted initial investment before even having a product. I’ll break down why it worked.

  • Breaking down their DTC funnel: What and how they execute at each stage of their entire funnel. Plus, what content they produce and examples.

FEATURE CASE STUDY
The Start of Liquid Death

Liquid Death was founded in 2017 by Mike Cessario, a former creative director in advertising. The brand was born to make water "cool" and appeal to a younger, edgier audience. Inspired by the success of extreme energy drinks, Cessario created Liquid Death with a rebellious, anti-establishment identity, packaging mountain water in beer-like cans and using dark humour in its branding. The brand quickly gained attention for its unconventional marketing, including viral videos and partnerships with musicians and extreme sports athletes, leading to rapid growth and a cult following.

CAMPAIGN BREAKDOWN
Deadliest Stuff on Earth

Strategy

This campaign stands out by breaking away from the usual water ads. Instead of sticking to boring, traditional marketing, they went all in on being entertaining. The idea was to make content that got people curious and excited. Liquid Death made sure their videos were so interesting that people wanted to watch and share them with friends and family—whether it was because they found them funny, relatable, or just different. By going for an edgy and irreverent vibe, they set themselves apart from the usual ad crowd.

The campaign also helped to tap into key consumer psychology principles that are worth noting:

  • Cognitive dissonance → The campaign challenged viewers' perceptions of water, creating intrigue and memorability.

  • Humour and surprise → The unexpected portrayal of water as deadly created a humorous contrast that resonated with viewers.

  • Authenticity → The low-budget, irreverent approach felt genuine to younger audiences tired of polished corporate messaging.

  • Social proof → As the video gained traction, sharing and discussing it became a way for viewers to signal their alignment with the brand's values.

How they executed

  • Produced for just $1,500, with an additional $3,500 spent on Facebook ads.

  • A 2-minute video featuring quick cuts between actors, action shots, and stock footage to retain viewer attention.

  • Used a "professional actor" to deliver shocking statistics and profanity-laced commentary with deadpan humour.

  • The video intertwined the actor's journey with informational narration about water's deadly potential.

  • The video campaign was distributed organically on YouTube and Facebook first. A social-led approach to get faster feedback and virality as viewers could share it. Which they did!

The outcomes:

  • They made over $100k in the first month of selling online to consumers.

  • The video generated 3 million organic views over four months.

  • Liquid Death gained 80,000 Facebook followers at the time.

  • The campaign generated inbound inquiries from smaller retailers wanting to stock the product.

  • The success of this campaign helped Liquid Death secure funding for a production run of 250,000 cans.

TOP OF FUNNEL
Using Unconventional Content

Strategy

To create viral and entertaining content that captures attention, encouraging people to share across their socials.

How they executed

Shocking and funny social content: This helped them stand out in a noisy market. Your social newsfeeds are more packed than ever. This strategy disrupts the patterns of browsing and gets people to take notice of the ad. It’s compelling and often contains sarcastic humour.

Viral video campaigns: They create a buzz that snowballs, with each wave of excitement fueling the algorithm gods to push their content to millions at a fraction of the cost of a traditional, bland corporate video ad. A prime example is their video titled "Kids Hydrating at a Party," which racked up 2.5 million views. In this hilarious and shareable clip, kids are portrayed acting like adults at a wild party—but instead of downing alcohol, they’re staying hydrated with Liquid Death 🤷‍♂️.

Celebrity endorsements and social influencers: No classic DTC breakdown is complete without mentioning influencers—a proven tactic that delivers results whenever executed correctly. Liquid Death knew this and aimed to tap into existing audiences while adding credibility to the viral momentum they were already generating. These collaborations not only helped them reach new demographics but also reinforced their edgy brand image. Beyond their high-profile celebrity endorsements, they strategically partnered with smaller TikTok influencers to keep the brand’s organic growth thriving.

MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL
Keeping Attention and Engagement

Strategy

They use a mix of entertaining content, community engagement and humour to maintain the attention they capture from the top of the funnel.


How they executed

User-generated content campaigns: They focus on community engagement and social proof. It’s a surefire way to turn customers into brand advocates, which magically extends the word of mouth of the brand. They typically, repost fan art, tattoos of their logo or other Liquid Death-inspired content. Smart move. By sharing fan content, they are encouraging them to keep making content.

Social feedback: Using polls and quizzes they keep their audience involved. This helps with planning future marketing efforts, leading with customer feedback. You’ll often see them posting polls and quizzes on their Instagram stories, which maintains invaluable two-way conversations with their audience.

It’s not a surprise they are now the 8th most followed brand on social media.

Limited edition drops: Scarcity marketing is powerful. It creates a fear of missing out (FOMO) among fans who eagerly await these releases and rush to get their hands on the exclusive items before they sell out. For Liquid Death, these are great engagement drivers and create more exclusivity for their raving fans.

Example — They partnered up with musician Travis Barker to drop ‘Enema of State’ for his fans. As expected their launch copy read something like this: (😂)

BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL
Turning Attention into Purchases and Sign-Ups

Strategy

The focus shifts from brand building and capturing awareness to direct response. Especially re-engaging people from TOF and MOF. The goal is to remain at the forefront of the potential customer’s mind that get them buying by making it as easy as possible for them to pull the trigger.

How they execute

Retargeting ads: It’s become quite a buzzword but it works and it’s critical for driving sales. Liquid Death leverages retargeting ads across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Often the ads include compelling offers like discounts and limited edition products to motivate people to buy.

Retargeting ads can increase conversion rates up to 150% in general but Liquid Death’s use of humour and edgy content has been instrumental in converting hesitant buyers.

Offer driven remarketing ad

Testimonial-driven remarketing ad

Email marketing: Their email campaigns are packed with edgy, funny content that matches their brand vibe, plus personalized product picks and special offers. They write these emails to make sure you open them before all the others sitting in your inbox. Most brands probably couldn’t pull off this kind of extreme copy, but the lesson here is to put something bold and thought-provoking in your subject line to increase open rates. The first step to more sales is getting people to see your offer. Starting with a killer subject line, and then hitting them with great content and a strong call-to-action is always the move.

Wrapping Up — Let’s bring it home

Here are the practical takeaways that other ecom brands can apply:

  • Create super shareable content, like funny videos or edgy collaborations with influencers, to grab attention and get people talking.

  • Keep the vibe going with user-generated content, interactive stuff like polls, and exclusive drops that make people excited to stick around. Figure out ways to keep your best customers coming back -— simple surveys always help to know what to do here.

  • Apply direct response principles for bottom-of-funnel campaigns and content.

  • Get the most out of retargeting ads offering discounts and special products to bring back those almost-customers.

  • Stand out in crowded inboxes with engaging, personalized emails that turn interest into action with killer offers and content. Investing in copywriting will compound.

RESOURCES
The Rabbithole

SIGN-OFF
Final Words

Liquid Death is a prime example of why creative and consumer-facing content is equally, if not, more important than all the fancy media buying. That’s what gets attention. Your funnel then keeps that attention and converts it.

I’ve just shared some examples, you should check out their YouTube channel and watch all the ads they’ve produced. They have a pretty irreverent brand that isn’t relatable to 95% of online brands, but there are so many micro things to take away, tweak and add to your campaigns.

Thanks for reading 🙂 

That’s all for today! Let me know what you think of this edition by emailing me back.

Dev✌️

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Reply

or to participate.