About this episode
Liquid Death didn’t happen by accident. Mike Cessario went from skateboards and punk bands to building a beverage brand that treats marketing like entertainment, not homework, and he’s brutally honest about what actually moves the needle. With Jay Schwedelson , he breaks down packaging as the real moat, why they tested the brand before the product, and how to stay interesting when AI makes content cheap. ㅤ Grab Liquid Death at your local store or online at www.liquiddeath.com , check out their sparkling lineup, and catch Mike at the upcoming Guru Conference for a deeper dive into their marketing playbook. ㅤ Best Moments: (02:45) From punk bands and agency life to launching a product so he could finally be the client (05:04) Why water was the wedge - biggest category, boring brands, plastic everywhere, then a portfolio beyond plain water (06:55) Most products are commodities - brand and aesthetics win hearts, not tiny functional differences (08:40) The Facebook fakeout - 3M views and 80k followers before a single can existed, then used to raise money (11:50) Entertainment first and small bets - nothing over 150k, in-house beats a 650k “at cost” bid (13:40) Full-funnel media done right - broad awareness feeding precise mid-funnel and conversion work (16:10) AI as cost saver, not taste maker - youth backlash is real and craft still matters ㅤ Check out Jay’s YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelson Check out Jay’s TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelson Check Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/