Good morning to everyone except the people who pronounce it as Data, and not Data ☠️

"#1 Newsletter of the Year" 🏆️ -Andy’s Wife

😱 ANDY REACTS

Amgio, did you hear about Eli Lilly's big announcement? They're slashing the prices of their insulin products by 70%! That's right, it's like the pharmaceutical equivalent of a Black Friday sale.

But you know what's even crazier? The fact that it took a company slashing their prices by 70% to make insulin even somewhat affordable. I mean, I've seen college textbooks with less markup than some of these prescription drugs.

And don't even get me started on the process of getting a prescription filled. It's like trying to crack a secret code just to get a bottle of pills. "Oh, sorry sir, your insurance doesn't cover this brand, this dosage, or this day of the week. But we do have this alternative that's only slightly more expensive and tastes like old socks."

But in all seriousness, it's great to see Eli Lilly taking a step in the right direction. Insulin is a vital medication for millions of people, and no one should have to choose between putting food on the table or affording their medication.

So let's give a round of applause to Eli Lilly for doing the right thing. And to all the other pharmaceutical companies out there, take note: if you want to make your customers happy, sometimes the best prescription is a little empathy and a lot of common sense.

☠️ ANDY’S DEADLY DOODLES

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💀 Issue #97 💀

8 Timeless Marketing Lessons From The Founder Of Liquid Death:

Liquid Death is the fastest-growing beverage of all time.

In 2022:

• Valued at $700 million

• $130 million in revenue

• Sold one product: water in a beer can

The founder, Mike Cessario, recently gave a masterclass on building a brand.

I broke down the 8 timeless marketing lessons for you:

Your brand is your moat.

To truly own something, is hard.

Big companies think they differentiate because of unique ingredients, but those can be easily replicated.

Your brand is your unique tone of voice & marketing style.

It is the thing that other people can't replicate.

Don't be afraid to be different.

Liquid Death is a unique brand that sells water in a beer can, a concept that many early VCs didn't understand.

If there are people who truly love something, there will also be people who truly hate it.

Don't be afraid to polarize your audience

Focus on emotion, not just logic.

Strong brands mean more to people than just the product itself.

Liquid Death gives people a feeling of rebellion, and the brand's marketing is all about entertainment rather than just the functional benefit of hydration.

Creativity is key, but so is execution.

Idea generation is important, but execution is everything.

Liquid Death thinks about its marketing team as being like SNL, with professional writers and comedians that are writing skits.

Embrace criticism and use it to improve.

Take a step back and look at everything in context when faced with criticism.

Most people aren't commenting - only the extremes - so don't put too much stock in the people that disagree.

Marketing is not storytelling.

Marketing is communication.

You want people to have a feeling.

Liquid Death makes fun of marketing, creating parodies, and not taking themselves too seriously.

They want people to have a takeaway that's beyond simply "I should hydrate."

Keep it simple and efficient.

Liquid Death's success is due in part to its simplicity and efficiency.

They sell one product - water in a beer can - and rely on their strong creative team to execute ideas.

They rarely make big bets and can film content with an iPhone.

Know what you're measuring.

Out of 1000 ideas, 998 are bad, but you have to know what you're measuring to know whether an idea is good or not.

They measure their success by their brand's emotional connection to the audience rather than just their product's functional benefits.

That's a wrap!

8 lessons Mike gave in his masterclass:

1. brand = your moat

2. Brands are emotional, not rational

3. Focus on your differentiation

4. Don't please everyone

5. Experiment fearlessly

6. Keep it simple and efficient

7. Create memorable content

8. Criticism is OK

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⚰️ KILLER FINDS

• chatGPT API has been released and is 10X cheaper (link)

• YouTube’s new leader teases AI tools that can virtually swap creators’ outfits and locations (link)

• Elon Musk reveals “Master Plan 3” at Tesla Investor Day (link)

🍪 DEADLY DELIGHTS (free resource)

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That’s a wrap for today amigos. Eat your tacos and see you tomorrow! If you want more, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@andymewborn) or LinkedIn.

What did you think of today’s edition? (anonymous)

• 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ So f**cking fuego

• 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Meh, keep digging

• 🌶️ Snoozefest

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