FIJI WATER: IT'S NOT JUST WATER. IT'S FIJI WATER

Morning!

I just got back from my first-ever rodeo. The craziest shit I've ever seen - by far. I thought trying to ride bucking horses was only in films... turns out it's real and people are crazy enough to do it.

Anyway, to reset my cultural compass and get me back to normal society, I'm gonna talk about some boujee water. I find nothing cooler than marketing behind water companies. Like is that not crazy to you? Hundreds of brands shilling (virtually) the exact same product. Yet, some charge £7 and others charge £1. For the EXACT SAME THING. It's bonkers to me.

If I ever went into corporate marketing, I'd 100% join a water brand. Less about me though, let's get into it!⏳ Est. Read Time: 3 minutes

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Breaking Down The Strategy

I've drank a lot of water in my time. Volvic. Dasani. Evian. Pure Life. Smart Water. Buxton. Voss.And you know what they all have in common? They all taste the exact same.

If you're a water brand cult follower and you're sat there acting like your favourite water brand "tastes different" well... I hate to break it to you, but unless you've got superhuman taste buds - there's absolutely 0 difference.

But if someone asked you what the best water brand was... we'd all say one brand.

For me, that brand is Fiji.

Why? Because they made me think so.

I mean just look at the price of a 1.5L bottle of Volvi compared with a 1L bottle of Fiji. Less water, 4X the price.

Even though Fiji charges an extortionate amount for their water they still sold $43 million worth last year.

Here's why they are able to charge so much and yet still sell millions of bottles:1. They position themselves as premium

If you look premium, you are premium. And Fiji does just that:- They charge a premium price- Limit distribution to mainly premium stores- Put bottles in the hands of premium peopleYou know when I first came across Fiji? It was when I saw a bottle in Frank Lampard's hand back in 2016.

(And yes, I did dig 6 years through Frank's Instagram to find this specific photo)

I had no idea what Fiji water was or whether it was good, but I instantly wanted to try some.

Unfortunately, my tight-pocketed father (sorry Dad) refused to pay the 4X premium, so I had to wait years to actually taste it. But that falls right into their strategy, they want the premium feel, and they want the exclusivity.

That goes for the customers as well as the brand.You think Frank Lampard wants to be drinking the same water as us peasants? Absolutely not. He wants a premium product, and if Fiji water cost £1, he wouldn't buy it.

He doesn't want cheap water, he wants premium water. Which is why Fiji's pricing plays such a pivotal role in their positioning strategy.

2. They say they're boujee

Sometimes the easiest way to look premium is just to say you're premium. And boy did the Fiji marketing team get this memo. All their marketing is littered with "We're premium" messaging: Even their website has the headline "Earth's Finest Water".

The truth is... it isn't earth's finest water. Like what does that even mean anyway? And who the hell is judging the fine water competition?

Answer: NobodyIt's just some copy they made up in a marketing meeting. But it works.They say they're the finest -> So we all think they're the finest.

3. They look different

If you don't want to be a peasant, step one is to not look like a peasant. Because no matter how much money you have... if you look rough as rats, people will think you're as rough as rats. The same goes for Fiji water.

They don't want to be seen as "common" water, so their main focus is simply on being different. Price point, bottle shape, branding, size, type, marketing, distribution. It's all different, and that's for a reason.

But the big one is the bottle shape. Name another water brand with a square bottle - I'm not sure there is one.

To be premium you don't always need to be better, you just need to be different.

4. They are different

Last but not least, Fiji genuinely gets their water in a way no other brand does. It's the only natural artesian water brand on the planet - because we're all dying for artesian water!!! No one even knows what artesian water is. I Googled it for this article and I still don't know.

It seems like water spurts out the ground???

So essentially it's the only water brand that collects water that spurted out of the ground. Ironically though, that's good enough.

It's from Fiji, and it is genuinely different water, and that's all they need. They need to be different. Because that's what they are selling:Different water. Their whole marketing strategy can be perfectly summed up by their landing page headline:

It's not just water. It's Fiji water.

And THAT my friend, is why people pay a 4X premium for it.

How can your brand have the same premium feel as Fiji does?

Simple:

- Look different Whatever the brands look like in your space, put a tiny twist on your brand so you don't fit in. "Fitting in" would be the death of the Fiji brand.

- Say you're boujeeDon't be "A PR agency". Be "The UK's No.1 PR agency". If you're not the UK's No.1 agency, then narrow your scope until you are No.1.

- Position yourself as premium You can't act like you're a company fit for the Queen (***King - Jesus, I'm still not used to that) and then send your prices and they're all under £1000. If King Charles himself wanted to use your company, he wants to pay a premium price for a premium service.

Add more value, up your prices.

- Be premiumMost importantly, if you want to be premium - be premium. Go above and beyond for your clients, and treat them like Kings. No matter how bad your marketing is, if you give a premium service, you'll be a premium brand. And that's all for today!God, do I love marketing strategies for water brands. So fucking interesting.

Anyway, I'll see you next week. — Niall

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This has been a breakdown of FIJI's marketing strategy. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!

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