Mark Ritson on the fall of Nike, KitKat’s perfect positioning and Liquid Death's marketing problem

Mark Ritson is back on the podcast for a review of the most read stories this year. We debate if Liquid Death is more than just water in a can, why Nike’s focus on DTC was a mistake and what we can all learn from KitKat’s perfect positioning. Recorded in a pub in London, expect some uncensored opinions from everyone’s favourite marketing professor. 00:00 - Intro 01:30 - Mark #5: Brand purpose doesn’t need a commercial excuse 10:02 - Jon #5: Liquid death article 17:05 - Mark #4: There’s no such thing as performance branding 21:36 - Jon #4: Nike Winning isn’t for everybody 24:57 - Mark #3: KitKat’s standout positioning 30:23 - Jon #3: Compounding interest, relationships and creativity 35:44 - Mark #2: Why Liquid Death are running into trouble 41:32 - Jon #2: Outrage is the new s*x in marketing 44:21 - Mark #1: Nike’s biggest mistake 48:33 - Jon #1: Airbnb’s focus on brand