Marketing the Macabre Liquid Death’s Daring Ascent At first glance, not much about 42-year-old Mike Cessario stands out. Like many in his generation, he’s heavily tattooed and likes to wear band T-shirts. Depending on your age or sensibilities, you’re likely to either pass him on the street without giving him much thought or walk to the other side to avoid him. Either way, your preconceptions would be wrong — dead wrong. Cessario’s the man behind Liquid Death, a name you’ve likely seen on your supermarket shelves. Although you’d expect someone with his aesthetics to fill his company’s aluminum cans with alcohol, he’s made a fortune by selling good old-fashioned … water ?! MURDERING THIRST — AND THE MARKETPLACE Cessario revolutionized the beverage industry by adhering to the philosophy that the best way to someone’s wallet is through their eyes. With its provocative, skull-emblazoned cans and promise to “murder your thirst,” Liquid Death has exceeded expectations of what a water company could achieve. It has grown from a cheeky concept to a $1.4 billion business in just five years , proving that just about anything will sell if given the right spin. THE BRAIN BEHIND THE BRAND Liquid Death’s leader had already mastered the art of millennial- focused marketing long before his brand dominated the field. In addition to collaborating with influencers Steve-O (“Jackass”) and Travis Barker (Blink-182), Cessario’s viral promotion skills helped drive the success of the Netflix shows “House of Cards” and “Stranger Things.” Now at the helm of an outrageously successful company, he readily admits his upward climb has resulted mainly from choosing what he describes as “the dumbest possible name” for a safe and healthy beverage. As he told CNBC, “If someone I knew saw [one of our cans] in a store, I’m pretty sure they’re going to have to pick that up and be like, ‘What is this?’ And once someone picks something up, you’ve basically won.”
Wild flavor and food pairings have never been more popular. Fueled by social media and foodies’ passion for culinary adventures, chefs of all stripes are combining unlikely flavors and textures. Fast food restaurants are a perfect setting to field-test these novelty foods. Research shows diners are more open to unfamiliar foods if they are prepared in ways similar to foods they enjoy, and also if they resemble their favorite foods. That sense of familiarity no doubt fueled the success of some innovative fast-food offerings, such as McDonald’s Egg McMuffin and Taco Bell’s Breakfast Crunchwrap. Fast-food chains have hopped on the wild-flavor trend. When Burger King offered a $1 million prize in a competition to create the most popular new Whopper offering, finalists in the fray submitted a Fried Pickle Ranch Whopper drenched in pickle ranch dressing, a Maple Bourbon BBQ Whopper topped with (you guessed it) maple bourbon BBQ sauce, and a Mexican Street Corn Whopper buried in a corn spread and crunchy tortilla chips. Burger King is no newcomer to startling flavor combos. In 2012, the chain briefly offered a bacon sundae: Picture a bowl of soft- serve drizzled with chocolate and caramel, then topped with real bacon crumbles. One public radio critic wondered whether to call the dish “brilliant or tragic.” Another memorable example is Tim Horton’s Buffalo latte. The Canadian chain briefly offered this odd combo in Buffalo, New York, in 2017, blending fresh brewed espresso, steamed milk, mocha, and buffalo wing sauce. Pizza Hut’s Hot Dog Bites Pizza debuted in Asia before reaching the U.S. in 2015. This odd-looking entree sports a border wall of mini-pigs-in-a-blanket around a pepperoni pizza, served with a mustard dipping sauce. The item was discontinued in the U.S. in 2016. In another peculiar-looking item that lasted about a year, Taco Bell launched the Waffle Taco in 2014, a taco-shaped waffle packed with eggs and meat. The boldest flyer of all may have been Sonic’s Pickle Juice Slush. Moving well beyond familiar flavors, this beverage combined the “flavor of a salty dill pickle with a sweet slush ... that tastes like you’re sipping it right out of the pickle jar,” the chain said. Sipping pickle juice right out of the jar? More people might enjoy that than you think. After offering it briefly in 2018, Sonic re- introduced Pickle Juice Slush for an encore in 2022. Pickle Juice Slush, Anyone? Fast-Food Fliers
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