How Death Wish Coffee Won the Big Game Commercial

The cat (or coffee) is out of the bag!

Death Wish Coffee Company — maker of the world's strongest coffee — is the winner of Small Business Big Game and the Big Game commercial.

After months of voting, lots of nail biting and just a *few* caffeine-fueled nights, Death Wish Coffee will have its shot at the "big leagues" of television: a 30-second spot during football's biggest game.

How'd they manage it? 

A mix of great marketing, a unique product and some pretty killer fans. 

Here's how you can amp up your business, Death Wish style.

1. Get the word out to everyone (yes, everyone!) you know. 

Death Wish didn't stop at their fans and Twitter followers — they contacted everyone that they knew, whether friend or acquaintance, and asked for a vote here and a vote there. 

The big lesson here? If you need help, don't be afraid to ask for it — even in far-reaching places. People like to support other people and their businesses,especially if it's a product or cause that resonates with them. 

2. Build a culture around your brand. 

Death Wish Coffee fans aren't just casual buyers. They live, breath and drink the Death Wish brand. 

Some Death Wish lovers have gone so far as to make the world's strongest coffee part of their lives forever — even with tattoos of the brew's logo!

Tattoo by Billy Harrigan

Yes, this photo is real. :-)

Their social brand totally embodies the culture that their customers know and love. It's a little cheeky (think  crazy caffeinated dancing videos), a little bad-ass (you can sharpen a knife on the bottom of their mugs!) and always includes a whole lot of coffee love (if there's a coffee pun out there, they know about it). 

Their Instagram hashtag  #fueledbydeath is a great example of this. We also *loved* these downloadable social media banners they made for their fans.

3. Watch what works for others, and find a creative solution for *you.* 

The Death Wish Coffee team learned a lot from watching what other people were doing during the contest and paying attention to the competition. They came up with their own spin on other peoples' tricks on social media and kept the votes coming in.

As Mike from Death Wish Coffee says, "My advice to folks who are just starting out is to ask people who have done it already. Ask other successful small business owners how they did it. You don't have to reinvent the wheel when there are people out there who have done it already." 

Congratulations to the Death Wish Coffee Company team! 

Now... let's grab a cuppa.