The Stanley Surge: How a 111-Year-Old Brand Captivated Gen Z and Redefined Viral Marketing

Hey there,

Guess what's been making waves among Gen-Z in 2024? Yep, you read that right—a water bottle. Specifically, the Stanley water bottle has become the ultimate must-have. But how did this happen? Let's dive into the fascinating story of Stanley and uncover some valuable marketing lessons along the way.

THE RISE OF STANLEY

Stanley is no newcomer; it's a 111-year-old brand that's been around since 1913. Founded by William Stanley, who patented the steel vacuum-seal bottle, this company has seen its fair share of ups and downs. But recently, it's been on an incredible tear. Sales have skyrocketed from $70 million in 2019 to a whopping $750 million in 2023 Each new launch sells out faster than you can say "hydration station," and their TikTok hashtag has racked up an impressive 700 million views.

So what exactly happened here?

Well, let's take a closer look at how Stanley transformed itself into a viral sensation.

For most of its history, Stanley marketed its products primarily to men—think campers, fishermen, hikers—the outdoorsy types 🏕️🎣🥾 

The brand's messaging was infused with a certain ruggedness; back in 2012, their marketing campaigns highlighted how their products resonated with tough guys like career policemen and retired Army soldiers.

But then something changed. The company shifted its focus towards a younger demographic—Gen Z—and it paid off big time. They introduced new designs that were not only functional but also stylish and Instagram-worthy. Suddenly, carrying a Stanley water bottle became cool again.

It all traces back to a group of moms in Utah.

Meet Linley Hutchinson, Ashlee LeSueur, and Taylor Cannon—the dynamic trio behind The Buy Guide. This online shopping blog and Instagram account has been making waves since 2017. But it was Ashlee's discovery of the Stanley Quencher in 2019 that set off a marketing firestorm.

The Quencher, with its convenient handle and tapered base designed to fit perfectly into cup holders, was an instant hit with Ashlee. She envisioned it as the ultimate accessory for on-the-go moms. But here's the twist: this product was flying under the radar at Stanley.

Recognizing its potential, The Buy Guide team reached out to Stanley with their insights. However, their enthusiasm fell on deaf ears. Undeterred by this setback, these entrepreneurial moms decided to take matters into their own hands.

They purchased 10,000 Quenchers wholesale and set up a Shopify store tailored specifically for their community. The results were nothing short of astonishing: the first 5,000 cups sold out in just four days; the next batch vanished in an hour. Taylor Cannon summed it up perfectly: “It blew [the Stanley executives’] minds. They couldn’t believe how quickly we sold through our cups.”

This remarkable tale isn't just about selling tumblers; it's about recognizing untapped potential and leveraging community engagement to drive sales. It's also about challenging conventional marketing strategies and proving that sometimes all it takes is passion and creativity to turn an underdog product into a star.

The Power of Authentic Endorsements

The Buy Guide women knew that sometimes all it takes is the right endorsement to spark a movement. After Emily Maynard of Bachelor fame gave birth, they sent her a free Stanley Quencher. As they aptly put it: “There is no thirst like nursing mom thirst!” Maynard shared the Quencher on her Instagram Stories, leading to an inflection point in growth.

This success story convinced Stanley executives to launch an affiliate program—a move that marked their first formal foray into influencer marketing. By partnering with influencers who genuinely loved their products, Stanley tapped into new audiences and created organic buzz around their brand.

Community Engagement: Listening to Your Audience

The Buy Guide trio didn't stop at just selling products; they also became vocal advocates for what consumers truly wanted. They suggested that Stanley create bottles with pastel colors—products that would look as beautiful on kitchen countertops as they did at campsites. This feedback resonated deeply with Stanley's target market and proved lucrative for the business.

In response to this feedback, Stanley released over a dozen new color variations between 2020 and 2021. Each one quickly sold out, contributing significantly to sales growth. By listening to their community and adapting accordingly, Stanley more than doubled its sales in 2021 to $194M.

Product Feedback: Tailoring Your Offerings

Around this time, Terence Reilly joined Stanley as President after serving as Chief Marketing Officer at Crocs. Reilly brought valuable insights from his previous role where he had helped reinvent Crocs using savvy merchandising and marketing tactics.

Crocs' remarkable turnaround is worth noting: despite nearly a decade of flat sales and stagnant margins, the company saw revenue grow by 67% in 2021 to $2.3B while improving profit margins from 22% to 31%. Much of this success came from trimming its product selection by 30-40%, which allowed Crocs to refocus its efforts on its iconic clogs while shifting entirely towards e-commerce.

Reilly applied similar strategies at Stanley by making the Quencher its marquee product and positioning it as an item of self-expression—a tactic that had worked wonders for Crocs with Jibbitz charms allowing customers to customize their shoes uniquely.

By offering dozens of variations in bright greens, blues, reds—and more—Stanley allowed customers to match their Quenchers with everything from their outfits to their kitchen decor or even their mood As Reilly noted on CNBC: “We see all the time that [our customer] wants her Quencher to match her fit, her nail polish, her car... We’re serving her where she wants the product.”

Collaborations: Injecting Coolness into Your Brand

Crocs has been a masterclass in leveraging collaborations to reinvent its image. By partnering with influencers like Justin Bieber and Post Malone, as well as brands like Balenciaga and Hidden Valley Ranch (yes, you read that right!), Crocs transformed from a 2010s punchline to a 2020s fashion statement.

Stanley followed suit by collaborating with brands like Olay and Starbucks. These partnerships not only injected coolness into the brand but also created buzz around each new launch. The strategy was simple yet effective: constrain supply to make every drop an event. Consumers scrambled to get their hands on these limited-edition products. For instance, after the Starbucks collaboration dropped, a red Quencher was resold on eBay for hundreds of dollars within hours.

Drops: Creating Hype Through Scarcity

By borrowing from "drop culture" popularized in sneaker and streetwear worlds, Stanley turned each product launch into an anticipated event. This approach ensured that every new release generated significant excitement among consumers.

Internet Virality: Seizing the Moment

Stanley also invested heavily in social media platforms like TikTok. They hired a dedicated TikTok agency to develop a strong brand identity through engaging content. When viral moments arose, they seized them with lightning speed.

One such moment came last fall when a woman's car burned down but her Stanley Quencher miraculously survived the blaze—with ice still intact Her TikTok video about this incredible incident garnered 94 million views—a dream come true for any marketer looking for free advertising gold.

Turning Virality into Marketing Gold

To their credit, Stanley quickly capitalized on this viral moment by responding promptly on TikTok. Within a day of seeing the video go viral, Terence Reilly announced that Stanley would be buying her a new car for free This savvy move not only generated goodwill but also created another viral sensation—the reply video amassed 54 million views, 6.9 million likes, and over 68 thousand comments.

Even conservative CPM math shows that this stunt provided an impressive ROI on paid marketing efforts—a testament to how well-timed responses can amplify brand visibility exponentially.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

There’s this theory called the “diffusion of innovation” (similar to the hype cycle) and it goes like this:

This theory explains how new ideas and technologies spread through society. Similar to the hype cycle, it begins with innovators, followed by early adopters, then the early and late majority, and finally, the concept fizzles out. TikTok has significantly sped up this cycle, compressing what used to take months or years into just a few weeks. For instance, the "mob wife" aesthetic is currently trending, but the true innovators in fur coats have been showcasing this style long before it hit the mainstream. This rapid shift can create a sense of urgency and anxiety for brands and marketers trying to stay ahead.

Many of us have felt the frustration of preparing a TikTok video, only to find the trend has already passed by the time it’s ready to post. How can brands keep pace?

One strategy is to rise above the fleeting trends by focusing on your brand's core values and mission. By consistently sharing your story and staying true to your roots, you can create a lasting connection with your audience. This approach is challenging in an algorithm-driven world, but it helps maintain authenticity.

Another way to navigate the fast-paced trend cycle is to tap into broader, enduring themes, like the human desire for genuine emotional experiences. By aligning your brand’s tone with these larger trends, you can create content that resonates beyond the lifespan of any single fad. Storytelling, delivering value, and showcasing passion never go out of style. And who knows? Maybe your brand will be the one to set the next big trend.

Off the heels of Stanley’s viral success, we’re likely going to see brands try mirroring their strategy or attempting rebrands for themselves in 2024—and we’d recommend taking a page out of Stanley’s book (or sipping from their tumbler) from a consumer marketing perspective this year.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM THEIR JOURNEY!

1️⃣ Embracing New Customers & Segments

As a century-old brand, Stanley had a well-established name within the male-dominated outdoor & workwear space. However, their niche positioning was preventing them from tapping into a large sum of potential buyers in the drinkware category.

Through a successful rebrand, Stanley shifted from being primarily geared towards men and marketed as an occasional-use product to becoming a versatile and trendy lifestyle brand for everyday consumers. By appealing to an entirely new market of millennial and Gen Z women, the brand's sales increased over 300% within just a few years. They're now even expanding their line of tumblers to cater towards children and teens.

The Key: Stanley’s willingness to reinvent as a brand and appeal to new customer segments.

2️⃣ The Power of Influencer & Affiliate Marketing

Influencers continue to be a powerhouse marketing channel. We've seen it outperform traditional ad tactics on many client programs thanks to its unique ability to combine reach, trendsetting, and credibility—a key attribute that traditional marketing campaigns can't quite replicate.

This exact strategy led to Stanley’s seemingly overnight stardom. The brand’s accelerated growth can be largely credited to a group of online influencers who saw the product’s potential within the female market space (and successfully made it explode) by promoting it through their social media platforms as a product for women backed by women.

The Key: The power of UGC and people talking to people—in this case, women talking to women—to fuel discovery, appeal, and demand.

3️⃣ Moving at the Speed of Culture to Drive Relevance

Another strategy Stanley has successfully utilized throughout their rebrand is leaning into cultural trends to generate heightened buzz. We saw this tactic perform particularly well through their limited-time Valentine’s Day drop; they newsjack micro and macro trends almost all the time.

Spangler Candy is another example of a brand riding the cultural relevance wave. They debuted a line of limited-edition “Situationship Boxes” filled with misprinted candies that are “as hard to read as Gen-Z relationships.” This launch not only brought this 100-year-old brand into today’s mainstream media but also cleverly addressed one of its most criticized flaws: many Sweetheart candy messages are often fuzzy and unreadable (much like certain Gen-Z dating trends). Spangler ran with this idea—and unsurprisingly—the Boxes sold out in less than a day.

The Key: The ability to lean into today’s cultural trends while remaining authentic to your brand.

3️⃣ Tapping into Like-Minded Partnerships

Brands have really woken up to the power of collaborations. Lilly Pulitzer has ramped up on this tactic; Disney has been doing it forever; Stanley has also employed it well—from its first-ever celebrity collab with country musician Lainey Wilson to its Starbucks “Winter Pink” cup exclusively sold at Target.

The Key: Finding a like-minded individual or brand with cachet and a relevant audience—and considering different ways of partnering.

Trends on the internet barely last a season. The Stanley tumblers are currently having their hero moment, but where will they go from here? Hasn't it already peaked? Can a new brand of water bottles top this frenzy? These questions linger as we navigate the ever-changing digital landscape.

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