Distinctiveness only gets you halfway

“It’s official! Liquid Death, the darling of marketing pundits around the world in 2024, has finally hit Australian shelves. Now you might be wondering, do we need another commentator chiming in with an opinion on Liquid Death? And indeed, it might seem there’s not too much more to say. There have been plenty of casual and formal observers on LinkedIn, on conference stages, and in the marketing press admiring how ‘water-in-a-can’ could make as much impact or as much money as Liquid Death has.

But, given that it is so top of mind, and that it’s so illustrative of the power an amorphous thing like ‘brand’ can have in the quest for financial return, in this special ‘Brand Strategy Unpacked’ mini-book, Kantar Australia Head of Brand Strategy Ryan France reveals how one brand disrupted a category with its perceived relative difference – and why it matters, including: why:

• Liquid Death is both Distinctive AND Different, and these two things are not the same.

And some important follow-up points:

• The distinction between these two concepts sounds trivial, but to a marketer this really is important (if you want your brand to make money).
• You should aim for both.