Mud Water. Sound appealing? No but its memorable. This is just one of the marketing tactics that Shane Heath used to grow Mud/WTR.
Idea to Product
Shane Heath cofounded MUD/WTR after realizing his caffeine addiction was negatively impacting his health and creativity. He took a leave of absence from work and went to India for an arts residency.
Heath reduced his caffeine consumption by switching to chai tea instead of coffee, which he acquired a taste for while in India. He gradually started adding components to the mixture that he thought would help his health-focused way of life. One of these ingredients was Mud, a.k.a. functional mushrooms. Heath specifically added lion’s mane mushrooms for focus, chaga and reishi mushrooms for immune support, and cordyceps for physical performance. He also added turmeric for recovery, cinnamon to curb sugar cravings and support glycemic index, and cacao to round out the flavor profile.
Initially, the new biochemist Heath brewed this mixture just for himself, but his coworkers interest led him to brew bigger batches and share. This was Heath’s “aha” moment. MUD/WTR was officially born in 2018. Within eight months, he managed to secure seed funding, bring on cofounder Paul DeJoe, and quit his job to focus on MUD/WTR full-time.
Now onto the marketing
MUD\WTR on Facebook (Top of the Funnel)
Word choice is important, but copy is frequently just an afterthought. Terms, such as freedom, independence, power, and choice, are used to identify with Mud Water’s target market to get the viewer to align with the brand, Stop scrolling and pay attention.
The website (Middle of the Funnel)
Once they’ve got someone’s attention and prompted the next step, a click. What will the user get in return for doing this? A fantastic landing page with a product demo and clear language that helps the user visually see and understand the product.
The Call to Action (CTA) is to Try it instead of Buy it or Shop now as many other sites use. Why? Mud Water is aware that switching has a price for customers. The challenge now is to lower risk aversion through the flow by simplifying things and giving them more confidence in their decision.
The Product Page (Bottom of the Funnel)
After clicking the CTA “try it” you then get taken to a single product page. Which is the next step and designed to instil confidence in the users decision and reduce decision fatigue. The product offered is a starter-kit instead of the full range of products. Soon as you land on the page you are hit with 2 messages.
- Its Healthy
- This page uses words like “100% Organic”, “Sugar Free”, “Low Calorie” which their target audience already understands and believes in. This helps the user identity with the brand. For users who want to dig deeper there is a Nutrition Facts table with the breakdown of all the ingredients.
- It’s a Great Product
- This page uses many types of social proof. Like Video Reviews, Influencer Review Quotes, Well-Known publications where Mudwater has been featured on, A star rating of 4.4 and for users who really want to go deep. They list over 17 thousand reviews that they can look through.
This page acts like their 24/7 sales person to make the final conversion.
But the marketing doesn’t stop there.
After the Purchase Email
The follow-up email builds on the order confirmation brand identity. Even a small amount of altercasting is added for the buyer as they are already committed to starting the new morning routine.
The Product Arrives
The outer shipping box
Notice Mud Water continues the same style of messaging the user received right from the facebook ad they clicked on to the website about how Mud Water is different. Using words like – hut, vessel, shepherd, etc.
Once you open the box
You’re hit with more messaging. Using provactive wording like F*ck your coffee to really drive the concept home of being an alternative and to make it memorable.
As you can see Mud Water doesn’t miss any step in the customer journey to send a memorable message and help the user identify with the brand. With a good product proven by over 17 thousand reviews and good marketing. You can see why it didn’t take long for mud water to get to 16 million in just a few years.
