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- How a $1.4B Brand Murdered the Beverage Industry
How a $1.4B Brand Murdered the Beverage Industry
A weekly email with the best of marketing, AI, and business.
Marketing in the age of Machines by Castleberry
April 03, 2025
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Welcome to Marketing in the Age of Machines. Each week, we bring you the following:
👉 An innovative marketing strategy that has worked for others.
👉 The 3 most relevant contents in marketing, AI, and business that will help you understand the ever-changing landscape.
👉 3 tools for the Marketer of the Future.
👉 The quote of the week. A simple take on everyday marketing concepts.
Problem
The beverage industry was dominated by unhealthy products with bold, edgy branding, while healthier options like water were marketed predictably. This left a gap for a product that could combine health with disruptive, attention-grabbing marketing.
Solution
Mike Cessario founded Liquid Death, turning water into a cultural phenomenon with outrageous branding ("Murder Your Thirst"), sustainable aluminum cans, and viral marketing tactics.
Lesson
Constraints breed innovation. Instead of outspending competitors, Liquid Death outsmarted them by validating ideas early, embracing unconventional strategies, and making marketing a core product feature.
This is the beverage industry's biggest enemy.
He built a $1.4 Billion brand in 4 years using methods that would get most people fired.
Many consider him the greatest marketer on earth.
Here's his mind-blowing guide to making any business go viral 🧵
— Fernando Cao (@thefernandocz)
10:09 AM • Dec 13, 2024
1/. How to Do Market Research & Better Understand Your Target Customers
Explore how market research transformed ineffective email copy into high-converting messaging by using real customer language and pain points. It covers different research methods and provides actionable steps to gather insights and apply findings to business strategies.
Read the full post here:
Are you using the latest strategies for B2B Lead Generation?
Take our 9-question quiz to gain insights into whether your brand is using the latest B2B Lead Generation strategies.
2/. Do exact match domains have value in 2025?
Exact match domains (EMDs) once ruled SEO now, AI search prioritizes brand authority. While EMDs still help in niches like local SEO, long-term success depends on memorable, brandable domains that build trust
Read the full post here:
3/. Customer lifecycle segmentation: guide & examples (2025)
Not all customers are equal, some are just discovering you, while others are ready to advocate. Customer lifecycle segmentation helps you tailor messages at every stage, boosting retention and revenue. Want to turn one-time buyers into loyal fans?
Read the full post here:
👉 Tools in the Age of Machines:
FloraFauna.ai: AI tool that identifies plants and animals from images, offering detailed information and conservation insights.
SwipeFile: Curates proven marketing examples and templates to inspire campaigns and streamline creative processes.
Blaze.ai: AI-powered platform that generates and optimizes high-converting marketing copy for ads, emails, and websites.
In B2B marketing, the brands that win aren't the loudest, they're the ones that listen hardest and adapt fastest.