It can be hard in the big wide world of food and drink PR to stand out from the crowd.
Brands in an already competitive category can find it hard to balance creativity with product focused content across a variety of marketing channels.
But there are some brands that are willing to take the risk and do things a little bit differently.
This blog will look at the brands that have been causing a stir and breaking the marketing mould.
Liquid Death
Who knew water could be trendy?
Well, it appears this was the canned water company Liquid Death’s mission when they were founded in 2017.
Their clever marketing and rule breaking has seen the company be valued at more than a billion dollars, with global sales reaching $263 million last year (Guardian, 2024).
In Britain, they have now secured deals with retailers Nisa, Co-Op and Tesco.
So, what sets them apart?
Their name and packaging for starters!
Often mistaken for a beer or an energy drink, Liquid Death’s unique tall can packaging, emblazoned with a skull, is nothing like the normal plastic and clear bottles of other water brands.
And the name Liquid Death doesn’t exactly shout refreshing drink! Plus, their slogan is ‘murder your thirst’, so definitely a darker take on drinking water!
But their novel and disruptive marketing tactics stood out and got people talking as younger consumers embraced their rebellious spirit.
On a deeper level, as reported by The Guardian, its founder Mike Cessario ‘wanted to hydrate young people at parties in a unique way’. The can packaging also speaks to Gen Z’s concerns of the climate crisis, as one of their mottos is ‘death to plastic’.
Here are some examples of Liquid Death putting their stamp on the water category, which includes them branching out into flavoured tea and low sugar flavoured drinks:
Their disruptive style has been instrumental in their growing success, but Liquid Death have to be careful that others will not copy their packaging style and try to piggyback on some of their tactics- leaving them to eventually appear less original or unique in an already hard category.
Surreal
Another brand that has been embracing novelty and silliness is the cereal brand Surreal.
Their aim is to make the type of cereal we all loved as children healthier and more nutritious today.
But how are they getting their name out there?
Humour.
A first standout campaign for them was their fake celebrity endorsement billboards in 2023 that made them go viral on social media.
On a limited budget, Surreal decided to find everyday people with the same name as top celebrities such as Dwayne Johnson, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan.
They could then feature these names on their billboards stating they liked their cereal as they asterisked that Dwayne Johnson was a bus driver from London and the rest were also everyday individuals.
This bold campaign went viral on social media.
According to Artwork Flow,
‘In just four days, Surreal’s ‘celebs’ video commercial amassed over 4,130 reactions, outperforming even big-budget brands. The campaign became a hot topic of discussion, inspiring memes, shares, and even debates about the ethics and creativity of the approach.’
Check out this campaign review from memmomarketers on TikTok to see the billboards in action:
More recently in 2024 their budget has obviously increased as they teased a big collaboration with an individual/company with the initials GS.
Brands like GymShark got tongues wagging as they commented on the post on LinkedIn with the looking eyes emoji.
Was the team up with them?
No. Even better. The legend Bary Scott, played by actor Neil Burgess, who iconically led Cillit Bang’s mid 2000s adverts with his loud and shouty character.
But that doesn’t work with the GS initials they teased earlier I hear you cry?
That is because this Surreal advert features apparently a new character ‘Gary Scott’ (probably in order to appeal to copyright infringements).
This scored well with consumers who loved the nostalgia of seeing a childhood icon and the humour of this grittier take as new Gary Scott is not so squeaky clean as his past Barry character.
Check it out here:
This campaign shows a creative and cheeky way to promote the product’s main features whilst making a lasting impression on consumers who are likely to remember this ad for a long time.
Great for brand awareness!
These brands show clear examples of how disruptive marketing tactics can help grow their businesses by making consumers stop and stare for good and bad reasons!
Balancing taking risks, creativity, and consumer needs is all part of the wonderful world of food and drink PR and it is great to reflect on what other brands are doing to keep ahead of the game!
Want more food and drink PR insights? Check out Escapade’s blog post on Influencers and Food and Drink Brands: A New Era of Social Media Marketing!
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Sources
https://www.artworkflowhq.com/resources/surreal-cereals-fake-celebrity-campaign
Blog Cover Photo: Olivier Le Moal/istockphoto.com
