Influencer Advisory™

What makes the Liquid IV marketing strategy different?

The Liquid IV marketing strategy gives celebrities a stake, rebooks creators and boosts their posts. 92% of its sponsored videos came from repeat creators.

Dennis Ksendzov
Dennis KsendzovVerified

Founder · November 10, 2026 · 3 min read

Liquid I.V. markets itself by giving celebrities a stake in the business, paying the same creators again and again, and putting ad money behind what those creators post.

Unilever bought Liquid I.V., which is now in 80,000 retail stores.

How did Liquid IV turn celebrities into owners?

Brandin Cohen, who founded Liquid I.V., said it on Drinkin' Bros Studios in 2020: "What if we could, instead of just doing transactional influencer things, build this team who are actually owners in the business."

In July 2019 a $5 million round added investors like Demi Lovato and Justin Bieber.

Twenty celebrity investors came in during one year, and their activity varied a lot. (Liquid I.V.)

Give each celebrity a stake and a job in the business.

  • Justin Bieber got a flavor named after his single Yummy, matched to a guava hibiscus formula already in development. (Liquid I.V.)
  • Steve Aoki got a strawberry cake flavor, off the cake he throws at his crowds, and the idea came from him. (Liquid I.V.)
  • When athletes or celebrities ask for free product, the standing policy is yes: "I just say yes, and then I send." Cohen counts it as sampling. (Liquid I.V.)

Write down what each name will do before anyone signs.

Why does Liquid IV book the same creators again and again?

Book the same creators again and keep the ask small.

  • Liquid I.V.: 1,143 sponsored YouTube videos, 92% by a creator who made more than one.
  • The creator Liquid I.V. used most, Blessed Jess, made 31.
  • Liquid I.V. only asks its Ambassadors to share brand content twice a month, in return for paid partnerships, event invites, and product restocks.
  • One podcast sponsorship came from the host, who already drank it every day and had his producer reach out, and Liquid I.V. said yes. (Liquid I.V.)

The creators Liquid I.V. pays lead with lifestyle and comedy videos, and cars and books show up too.

Before you book anyone new, list the creators who already posted for you and rebook them first.

How does Liquid IV know its ads are working?

Liquid I.V. paid Kill Tony, number 3 on this list of the biggest creators hydration brands pay, and Kill Tony does not run.

The hydration brands on our shelf have paid 897 creators, who get 385 million views a month between them. 45 of those creators run, and they get 1.2% of those views. The biggest creator we know runs,

Check every big bet with a test of your own.

  • Liquid I.V. ran a geo test of its TikTok ads that counted Amazon, found the real effect was 2.5 times what TikTok reported, and kept investing.
  • TikTok for Business reports that Liquid I.V. used Spark Ads to boost its creators' own posts, and return on ad spend rose 48% from Q2 to Q3 of 2021.
  • Podcast sponsorship gets measured with a how did you hear about us field at checkout plus tagged comments on social. (Liquid I.V.)

Count your marketplace sales in your next test before you cut a channel.

More on this:

Can someone run all of this for my brand?

Stakes, repeat creators and tests all need someone on them every week, and that is the work we take on.

Keep creators posting all year, without a flat fee every time.

If you have some of the steps in place, we audit what's missing in each and how to take it further.