Zac (Arieh) Goldman’s Post

A large part of marketing is setting the consumers' expectations and perceptions of your brand. Celsius is a textbook case of how strategic branding can turn a near-bankrupt company into the hottest drink on the market. 🔍 Founded in 2004 by Steve and Janice Haley, Celsius positioned itself as a health supplement that could help you burn calories and reduce fat. Celsius spent money on studies, proving that it has thermogenic properties which help boost metabolism.  With Carl DeSantis as their lead investor, the company went public on the NASDAQ in 2008. The company invested heavily in marketing their product, but it wasn’t working. Celsius, which went public at $16 dollars in 2008, was a penny stock by 2011. The problem? Their branding was centered around weight loss, and Celsius wasn’t the magical obesity cure they were depicting. Celsius’s original cans boasted the benefits of “burn calories, reduce body fat, build lean muscle, lasting energy”. Notice how “lasting energy was listed last in potential benefits. Without a clear brand identity, they were delisted from the stock exchange in 2011 and were on the verge of collapse. In 2012, Celsius underwent an internal restructuring, bringing in DeSantis’s dream team. They sought advice from Jack Trout, a renowned marketing expert, who confirmed that their positioning in the market was lacking. The company pivoted from weight loss to energy and fitness. They recognized that consumers could more readily perceive and appreciate an energy boost to get them through their day, rather than a minimal boost to their metabolism. By targeting the fitness community and differentiating themselves from the dark, masculine image of other energy drinks, Celsius rebranded as a health-conscious energy drink.  This strategic repositioning paid off. In 2017, they went public again, and the Celsius took off. Sales reached $300 million in 2021, doubled to over $600 million in 2022, and surpassed $1 billion in 2023. Celsius’s success highlights the power of clear, strategic branding. By shifting the consumer's focus to the energy benefits and aligning with the health-conscious consumer, they created a loyal customer base and positioned themselves for explosive growth. Celsius is a prime example of how defining and refining your brand perception can lead to incredible growth. 🚀 #Marketing #Branding #SuccessStory #Celsius #EnergyDrink #BusinessTransformation #NadaEssentials

Stories from the frontline of a fundraise and a man deep in thought 🤓 During a pitch last week an investor asked me "Do you have a hero product and do you think you need a hero product? It's a good question and here is my take: The upside: A hero product can be useful in helping your brand gain rapid popularity (physical distribution, PR etc.) that your whole range can't. This can be particularly helpful in the early days of establishing the brand. Brands like BrewDog with Punk IPA springs to mind. The downside: Your brand identity becomes too closely aligned to the hero product and so it becomes hard to launch into other sectors or for your brand to stand for anything else other than the hero product. Brands like Oatly could be at risk of this. What happens if the Oat milk trend dies? 😲 So... What's the golden egg? It's best for your brand to stand for something that can transcend categories where every launch further supports your purpose. So... who does this well and is laughing all the way to the bank? - Dyson: innovate with 'all things air' - Trip: 'Find Your Calm' - innovation can transcend across all categories CBD and 'calming related' - Beyond Meat: I'm not mansplaining that one 🤣 Keen to hear from some industry and non industry folk that I find inspiring so James, Vini, Mark, and Morgan and anyone else, what do you think?

People aren't just buying products; they're investing in experiences, emotions, and identities. ✅ Let's explore the reality: we don't buy features, we often buy how they make us feel. From trust to joy, brands that resonate on an emotional level win hearts, minds, and wallets. #branding #marketing

People buy brand benefits, not products. It’s not water It’s Liquid Death. Only Liquid Death is Liquid Death. Some ideas that stuck with me from this article: 1️⃣ Brand Over Product: Despite the lack of innovation in the product itself, Liquid Death's success is attributed to its strong brand identity and marketing strategy. The brand resonates with consumers through unconventional imagery, humor, and environmental consciousness, rather than emphasizing the product's inherent qualities. 2️⃣ Rapid Growth and Valuation: Liquid Death has achieved a billion-dollar valuation, significantly increasing its market value to $1.4 billion, partly due to a successful $67 million funding round. This growth is underscored by a substantial increase in retail sales revenue, which jumped over 100% from $110 million in 2022 to $263 million in 2023. 3️⃣ Cultural Significance and Consumer Behavior: Liquid Death's approach illustrates the power of branding in influencing consumer behavior and creating value. By embedding meaning into its brand and aligning with cultural shifts towards health, sustainability, and authenticity, Liquid Death has managed to stand out in a crowded market and command a premium for its products. , Do you sell products? Or market brands? I talk about brands in my newsletter. #marketing #branding #management #mentoring

Only 15% of #brand assets are distinctive. That's a #powerful opportunity to boost your brand perception and #CustomerInteraction. Learn how Ipsos can help your brand stand out and shape consumers' expectations so only your band can meet them. #marketing #IpsosBrandSuccess #IpsosIndia #ESG #Sustainability

🚀 Unlock the Power of Personal Branding with Your Own Energy Drink! Hey LinkedIn community! 👋 I'm thrilled to share a game-changing opportunity in the beverage industry: creating your own energy drink with a personalized label. Imagine having a drink that not only boosts energy but also elevates your brand. 🌟 Why go for a custom energy drink? Brand Identity: Your label, your story. Tailor the design, name, and ingredients to reflect the unique essence of your brand. Market Differentiation: Stand out in a crowded market. Offer something unique that speaks directly to your target audience. Engagement: Create a buzz. Use your drink as a creative marketing tool at events, promotions, and as part of your corporate wellness program. Control: You decide the ingredients. Cater to health-conscious consumers by opting for natural flavors, less sugar, and added vitamins. Networking: What better conversation starter than your own branded energy drink? It's a fantastic way to make a memorable impression. We've seen a surge in personalized products, and it's time your brand rides this wave with its very own energy drink. 🌊 Interested in learning more? Drop a comment or DM me! Let's energize your brand together. 💥 #BrandBuilding #EnergyDrink #PersonalizedProducts #MarketingStrategy #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #whitelabel #whitelabelsolution

I have a lot of conversations about investing in and growing brands and they often lead to the same place - “how do I know if it’s working?” The reality is that most of us don’t have the tools in place to effectively track our brand health. That’s why along with Coke Zero and Charli XCX, Tracksuit has become one of my favourite things. It’s simple to use and draw insight from, so you can see that you’re effectively moving the needle for your brand. If you’re investing in your brand (you should), start with a clear strategy (subtle nudge) and then invest just a touch more to measure your results - beyond where that last delicious click is coming from. This isn’t an ad, I just genuinely think they’re epic. #brandstrategy #marketingtips #marketing

To capture people’s imagination, you must capture their attention. 👀 Reputation is incredibly valuable. 💸 People notice when something is different, I have spoken about the importance of contrast in design but how about branding? My post yesterday about BRLO x CalvinKlein showed how contrast and humour can work, and how disruption sparks advocates. How can you stand out in a world of water? ▶ VOSS Water made it bouji, ▶ Volvic just made it taste horrible. ▶ Liquid Death made it a brand - one that was more important than the product. Most people would say water is indistinguishable (unless it the tastes as bad as Volvic). The branding is the same, good looking people, mountains, clear bottle, pastel colours and a soft tone of voice. Liquid death took inspiration from the polar opposite - beer and energy drinks, flipping the market on its head. It’s lead with its beer style can, energy drink - punk style art direction and using a marketing formula that has been proven to work in those industries. They also tapped into modern culture. It has its own map in Fortnite, teamed up with Jackass and is seen all over the influencer world giving it the ‘cool factor’ which is a strong feat in the world of H20. On the flip side there is a commitment to sustainability, #deathtoplastic with their cans being better for the environment than the majority of plastic bottled alternatives. Sustainability is cool. Contrast + relevance + reputation = top tier branding. Clearly working for the disrupter… From $3M sales in 2019, to hitting a value of $700 million in 2023. Liquid Death isn’t a great product. It’s water in a can. It is however, a killer brand.

A white-hot trend, sustainability is one of the defining qualities of a brand in 2023. Younger audience especially look forward to positive social contributions made by a brand before pouring emotional investment into them. Novus Insights helps you map out your brand’s journey to sustainability, from gauging the market to formulating a strategy. Reach out to contactus@novusinsights.com to know more. #NovusInsights #MarketResearch #Strategy #Sustainibility #Branding #PositiveChange

Sustainability. Engagement driver or an overused and ineffective message? Here's my take. Determining your messaging pillars is key to effective marketing but is also a constant moving target. Sustainability is and has been a pillar of importance for consumers. Depending on the product category, sustainability has varying weight when it comes to driving brand authenticity and attracting consumers. No matter how impressive the sustainability of a food product is, if it tastes like crap, people won't buy it. But how effective is it, really? When should you use it and when does it have a negative impact on your brand and your growth? When you use a sustainability message in the right way, it can amplify the success of your marketing message. In a recent study by Edelman, when sustainability messaging is tailored to speak to the end benefit for the consumer, their family, and their community it increased consumer purchase intent by 74%. This is why I help my clients find their authentic voice and focus on how they impact their consumers. Marketing isn't about telling your story and proving what makes you different. It's about finding ways your brand can help enrich and add positive impact to the lives of your consumers. If sustainability is important to your business, start talking about how the sustainability of your product improves the lives of your consumers. If you need help building your brand and growing your business, let's chat. #creativity, #marketing, #digitalmarketing, #authenticity