Stanley is a century-year-old company that has established some ground in the market share, especially in the American market. While Stanley has been a reliable brand like Tupperware, it wasn’t a widely-talked-about tumbler like Corkcicle and Starbucks. At least until this year, that is.

Stanley Quencher has become so viral that it earns the title ‘The Stanley Cup’. This specific product obviously defied all odds because it has been introduced since 2016 and wasn’t a top product of the company. In fact, in 2019, it got less priority in manufacture for other products.

So the question is, why? What happened? It’s all thanks to the power of organic word-of-mouth from a viral TikTok video that has amassed 80M+ views. 

 

The Viral TikTok Video

 

A TikTok content creator, Danielle, with 90k+ followers has gained attention with her recent video that shows the aftermath of her car going on fire with a Stanley Cup in it. She then proceeded to take the untouched Stanley Cup, even saying “It even still has ice in it.”

The public quickly latched on to this video like it was hot news, many are singing praises for Stanley for their undoubted, nearly impossible material quality. Some also said that Stanley should pay Danielle an advertising fee. Because the video showed a prime example of an organic testimonial by a customer while promoting the product’s qualities.

 

Stanley Responds with A Marketing Power Move

 

When a brand becomes viral overnight due to a social media account, brands are sort-of obliged to respond. It is also a great way to ride the viral wave and increase sales. So in a genius marketing strategy move, Stanley posted a response regarding the viral video. The video started with the President of Stanley himself, expressing concern about Danielle’s well-being as well as gratitude for testifying to Stanley Cup’s quality. 

You might wonder, ‘What’s so genius about a normal brand response?’. Well, when a positive viral phenomenon happens like this. The normal response from the brand would be to send some products to the creator. It is part of the content marketing and branding strategy to gain even more positive view from the public by essentially saying ‘We are thankful for our community. And we care about them’, effectively gaining sympathy for the brand marketing. 

So when the Stanley Cup video went viral, the general public expected Stanley to send some tumblers in exchange for the 80M+ views. But Stanley went above and beyond. In addition to some complementary Stanley tumblers, the President also said, “We’d love to replace your vehicle.”

This sparked the overwhelming attention of the public. Stanley didn’t just acknowledge the free marketing material they got from the viral video, but also gave away a car as gratitude. As a result, Stanley has built countless emotional attachments with their viewers as the brand that understands the value of organic viral marketing and for showing concern to their user.

 

The Effects on Awareness and Consideration

While Stanley has been one of the staple choice for a tumbler brand in America, it wasn’t exactly well-known in Indonesia. But due to the viral video, many Indonesian have started to notice the brand as an option for a reusable cup.

In the marketing funnel strategy, the viral video has fulfilled its role in the awareness funnel worldwide—especially in Indonesia. Other than the 100M+ impressions from TikTok alone, Stanley has also gained numerous earned media from various press that mentioned the brand. A very positive advertisement form to different kinds of new audiences.

 

Read More : Avond Study Case on Branding

 

As for the consideration funnel, with the exceptional way of testifying to Stanley’s build quality. Many people have decided to consider actually getting a Stanley themselves. This is evidenced in the thousands of comments of people expressing their desire to have a Stanley. And how this video alone has convinced them to buy Stanley. 

 

Let’s say that the price to gain 1.000 views is $10. Then to achieve the 100M impressions alone, Stanley would have had to pay $1M instead of for free. This is not to mention the sales boost they gained as well. This is all thanks to their quick thinking in listening to their community and appropriate response that is well-loved by the public.

So in conclusion, always listen to your community. It is always an effective digital marketing strategy to engage positively with the public and leave a memorable impression. Don’t let your brand be forgotten by your audience, you can contact Avond Studio for advanced branding services.