The Surprising Rise of the Stanley Cup
- By Shargeel Sheikh -
- Feb 02, 2024
From a decent legacy inspiring $75 million sales figures to raking a whopping amount of $750 million. That’s how Stanley, the drinkware company closed their 2023 – right with a bang.
What caused this astronomical sales figure to appear for the brand? It was a lethal concoction of opportunity, strategy, savvy marketing, and a man who could handle all three spontaneously.
In 2020, Terrance Reilly became the new CMO (Chief marketing officer) of Stanley. Reilly has come from Crocs, a fashionable footwear brand known for its glitzy celebrity collaborations and dramatic variations of footwear.
The Stunning Case of Reilly’s Tenure at Crocs
When Reilly stepped into Crocs in 2015, he managed to spearhead the stock price from $30 in 2018 to peak at $180 per share in 2021.
His secret? Going social, bringing the marketing factory under one’s roof, and going after the celebrities for brand partnerships. Furthermore, the new CMO proposed exclusive limited-time products representing a particular partnership with a celebrity.
Under the marketing guru, Crocs collaborated with high-profile artists such as Bad Bunny, Justin Bier, and Post Malone, arranged high-end Fashion Weeks, and went bananas on major social media platforms.
Most importantly, the focus of Crocs was diverted and redirected towards a newer brand image. From an old-school run of the mill company to a digital dramatic
The technique kicked off and went viral on social media. Reilly had transformed Crocs, a decent commodity firm into a dramatic savvy enterprise manufacturing limited edition footwear and embracing social media like it’s the end of the world.
The result? Crocs sales went up skyrocketing to 150 million pairs of shoes being sold and sales figures nearing approximately $4 billion.
The marketing was called completely in-house so that everything could be worked out right on the desk of the new CMO.
Going social was one of the most lucrative moves introduced by the new CMO. The Croc had refocused their vision and their target audience. They leveraged the power of Instagram and garnered a massive youth following.
The new footwear category introduced was fancy, sassy, and stylish, and was produced in limited quantities. The market had to go crazy.
Crocs sold 15 million units without producing even a single one. All of it was outsourced while the headquarters remained busy unveiling what was more important: Marketing
Reilley’s Joins Stanley to Make History Again
In 2020, Terrence Reilley came to Stanley, another old-school but large manufacturer of tumblers, quenchers, cups, and similar products. To him, it was doing this all over.
A considerable time was consumed in doing research, understanding the product, the meaning, and the history of Stanley, a band that’s been doing business in the US since 1913.
With a legacy like this, it was soon realized that Stanley is a homegrown major name , but not a profitable one. Why? probably because it was a utility product manufacturer.
The outcomes of the research were mind-boggling. They have been using Stanley’s cups since the second world war. And the best part was that these products were not only being used for storing drinks.
Stanley products had been used for storing bull semen frozen food for Antarctic exhibitions and even human organs during wars. This new finding was enough to tell the people of the durability of quenchers.
But that wasn’t all, nearly all of Stanley’s products were too simple. They were treated as commodities. Terrence Reilley soon found out that showing durability alone would only propel the brand this far. Something else made to be done.
Soon it came into mind that what was done at Crocs could be replicated and implied here on Stanley. This means refocusing the brand, going digital, and fetching some celebs for a collaboration.
Hence it was decided as Stanley went from producing effective but boring-looking quenchers and cups to limited edition units produced in varied vibrant colors and designs and available in limited stock.
If you visit Stanley’s Instagram today, you will notice the appearance of colorful Stanley cups in the aesthetic display. This is a reflection of how the business has changed its focus from serving daily-use items to producing fancy and glitzy cups that would display status and style.
People flocked to stores and went completely insane whenever a new Stanley collection was announced. The units went viral on TikTok with several influencers partnering with Stanley.
One more thing, Reilley decided to target a younger female audience after knowing that the business relied largely on a male audience.
Soon the Stanley quenchers were seen as collectables. It’s a trend to flex your Stanley collection on Instagram and TikTok.
A recent Stanley X Starbucks partnered Quencher caused a frenzy at multiple supermarkets.
Goodbye to Macho Branding and Hello to Sisterhood
On Stanley’s pursuit of marketing to the ladies, a New York Times article featured Stanley fans as “sisterhood” reflecting the loyalty that the brand had garnered.
A conscious part of TiTok known as WaterTok consists of pale skin people who are super conscious of hydration and skincare. It was in this portion the Stanley Cups struck a chord with its viewers.
The influencers hailed Stanley Quenchers as a must-have item for daily carrying. They were highlighting its features such as being able to smoothly fit in a car, having the capability to store cool things and hot things, being eco-friendly, reusable and whatnot..
The content connected with the audience, to an extent that a NYT article got published. Its still a debate whether the recommendation of Stanley quenchers was a planned partnership or just a coincidence, But oh boy did they cash on it.
People started purchasing $45 Quenchers from stanley as being part of the community. The CEO of The Buy Guide, a site that reviews daily usage products to people, was taken onboard in a partnership by Stanley where it was exclusively recommended to its most loyal readers..
A Table-Turning Incident That No One Saw Coming
On the 15th of November 2023, a lady by the name of Danielle posted on her TikTok about something horrendous. Her car had caught fire. It was totaled. All was lost for Danielle, except her Stanley Quencher cup.
She published a video on her TikTok account citing the intact Stanley Cup being rummaged out of a destroyed car. In the video despite the flames, the viewers could literally hear the tinkles of the ice cubes inside Danielle’s Stanley Cup, a hardcore testament to Stanley’s promising temperature controlled quality.
The incident went viral. When people at Stanley got to know, Reilley pledged for a new car online to be gifted to Danielle. And he did.
This very incident made Stanley go viral within days and the market demand ignited. It turned out to be a sales-crushing viral marketing move and propelled its “Built for Life” image.
Stanley today is a brand whose product launch resembles nearly with Apple. Both have people waiting in long queues in advance, rushing into stores, fighting for it, and risking getting trampled.
A strategy coupled with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity made Stanley unstoppable. And the marketing world has been buzzing with its news ever since.
With Great Marketing Comes Great Criticism
As the Stanley craze reached new heights, some experts started to criticize the brands. To a point they seem correct. I mean if a bottle is supposed to be reusable and tackle pollution, then what’s the point if it gets purchased 10 plus times from a single customer.
The Quenchers have been found with a certain amount of lead just recently. Stanley claims that the lead, although present, is not enough to harm anyone.
Their price is also questionable. Who would want to buy a $45 Quencher drink to do something as basic as drinking cold water every day? It has been clear that people are purchasing Stanley cups because of FOMO and simply because of the desire triggered on social media.
As criticism grows, Stanley will continue to tackle and justify them with different strategies.
Stories like this one revolving around Stenley’s Cups are a piece of inspiration. As a marketer myself, reading about such stints makes me wanna lose my mind. It’s something we, as a part of the marketing fraternity, get a double dose of knowledge and entertainment when coming across such incidents.
With Terence Reilly still holding the CMO office, the sky’s the limit for Stanley as they plan to further venture into newer markets.