THE DUMBER, THE BETTER

Want to stand out in a crowded market? The founder of ridiculous (and ridiculously successful) canned-water brand Liquid Death has a suggestion: Embrace crazy ideas.

- MARGOT BOYER-DRY

Water is the basis of life: It grows plants, it constitutes up to 60% of the adult human body, and we can't go longer than about three days without drinking it. So Liquid Death is probably the last thing you'd think to name a water brand.

That's exactly why former marketing creative director Mike Cessario founded the canned-water company Liquid Death in 2017. He abides by a habit of asking, “What's the dumbest idea you can think of right now?” That practice sparked an idea for packaging water differently than anyone else: in a can with a skull on it, emblazoned with the punk slogan “Murder your thirst." Cessario's contrarian branding has earned flustered press, a deep degree of street cred, and a lot of social followers more than half a million on Instagram and more than a million on TikTok. It has also led the company to become a top-selling water at Whole Foods and Walmart in just a few short years.

Liquid Death may be an extreme example of nonconformity, but in Cessario's view, any company can take advantage of the "dumbest idea" principle. Here's how.