Howdy!

In this week’s newsletter, I am looking into:

• How Stanley’s leveraged the virality and sold millions of mugs

• Noah Kagan’s beautiful and effective landing page

• Email Course: 7-Days to Competitive Enablement Program

Lezzgo!

Dejan - @dgajsek

Stanley’s Cup

It’s 6 am at Target and there’s a line of people wrapping around the building.

Some have been there since 4:00 am, like this TikToker:

@missroyalblush

Was up since 4am stood in line & was first to grab my cup!! 💕 #pinkstanelycup #starbucksxstanley #pinkstanley #valentinesdaystanley #fyp #... See more

Reason? They want to get ahold of a limited Valentine’s edition of Stanley’s 40oz Quencher tumbler.

In the last few years, Stanley has sold millions of these bad boys.

• In 2019, Stanley’s revenue was $73 million

• In 2022, Stanley’s Quencher sales increased by 275% y-o-y

• In 2023, Stanley’s annual revenue reached $750 - more than 10x since 2019

That’s coconuts!

How did this happen to a brand that was known for a blue-collar choice for carrying coffee and soup to a construction site?

The freaking perfection in rebranding, hitting the growing segment, and influencer marketing lucky streak.

The crowd is anxious and ready to fight to get their piece like it’s Boxing Day in 1992 or a Playstation 5 low supply drop at Best Buy. 

Stanley’s is one of the oldest brands in portable insulation thermos.  They’ve been around since 1913, and the actual product was patented in 1899 by William Stanley Jr. The owner patented the design - the vacuum-sealed chamber, way back in 1913.

Stanley is known for one thing - its durability. It will survive a nuclear winter, a meteor strike, and several marriages. These traits were reflected in the design of the bottle — a military moss green, sturdy “manly” look.

One swipe to Reddit’s /r/buyitforlife subreddit and you’ll see it mentioned there any time of day. 

According to a Redditor, here’s a thermo that has been used every day since 1970.

But us dudes are not the best audience to sell to when it comes to liquid vessels. We love utilitarian sturdy stuff that doesn’t break.

But if the product is so good, that you only need to buy it once, the producer won’t get a lot of revenue from you.

A lot of companies are aware of it.

Some companies are using dark arts - planned omniscience (a nerdy way to say something is planned to be broken, so the consumer has to buy it again) is one of the dirty but effective ways to get more revenue, Stanley’s had to make some changes. 

• New audience segment

• New mechanism for selling

• New marketing channels to use

And they freaking delivered it.

The Rebrand

First, let’s check the design.

• pastel colors

• a straw

• a handle

• a cup holder-friendly design

One look at these new designs and you already know who this is for - it’s not for construction workers.

But you still have to sell many of these to get to these numbers.

How do you do that? 

You introduce scarcity in numbers and temporary design + execute a launch that is a combination of fast thinking, great assumptions, and a dash of luck. 

The Holy Trinity of Making It

Influencer Marketing + Viral Moment + Great Partnerships

TikToker Danielle’s car blew up and caught in flames. The owner filmed the remnants of her Kia. Everything was scorched… apart from almost unscathed peach-colored Stanley’s 40oz bad boy. 

@danimarielettering

Thirsty after you catch on fire? @Stanley 1913 is like no problem i gotchu #fyp #carfire #accident #stanleycup

Danielle picks up the thermo and shakes it. You could hear the ice cubes rattling inside it. 

The video went viral everywhere - currently, it’s at 90+ million views. It reached Stanley’s HQ as well where Terence Riley - head of marketing sent back this reply:

“We’re going to send you a few Stanleys, but we would also like to replace your vehicle”. 

The rapid response borrowed the viral wave on socials and tons of PR in media. 

P.S.: Looks like Danielle' got her new Stanley and a brand-new Mazda.

@danimarielettering

What a journey, thank you all sooo much for being here for it. I cant say it enough, this wouldnt have happened without every single one ... See more

The Limited Selection

So how do you make people buy a quality product? Two ways:

You could be like Landyachtz Longboards company and come up with a horizontal product line for different purposes:

• Smaller longboard like “the dinghy” for on-the-road cruising

• Racing longboard for downhill

• Carvers for city cruising

• “Dance” boards for tricks etc….

Or, you introduce limited selections with artwork.

• Limited Selection Art Colors

• Celebrity endorsed Mugs

There’s another way to increase the revenue per product — accessories. Think straws, lids, and sleeves.

The Buy Guide

Stanley’s was listed as one of the hot products in The Buy Guide - which is a platform that serves 

Now the trend will not last forever and will eventually play out - but until then, Stanley should keep pumping limited editions, target collectors, and perhaps adding to their product line.

Collabs and Partnerships

If I were in their shoes, I’d seek more partnerships (remember the Barbie movie’s genius marketing strategy). Imagine having Stanley’s limited collab with brands that are also perceived as premium. 

• Lululemon

• Peloton

• Luxury brands i.e. Gucci and Louis Vuitton

• celebrity collabs (the wholesome ones that aren’t in danger of being canceled)

Stanley’s already on StockX - a collector platform that Adidas build for sneakerheads to exchange limited edition Yeezy’s

You’ve seen it with sneakers, Starbucks mugs, Crocs (where mr Riley worked as a CMO before Stanley’s), and on a much smaller scale at Landyachtz longboards (wrote a mini growth study here).

Is it bad? No, it’s genius and it plays into the culture of conspicuous spending. but the fact is, that the company artificially creates scarcity to drive revenue. I mean, do you believe they “can’t” print out more Galentine’s hot pink H20 Quenchers?

Of course, they could but that would defeat the purpose! 

Now rumor has it, if you drink Prime “hydration” sports drink in a limited edition Stanley’s mug, you immediately get 1,000 more followers and a 10% increase in your social clout. advantage if done right.

Noah Kagan’s Landing Page Hack

I’ve been following Noah Kagan’s (founder of AppSumo) book marketing strategy. It’s brilliant to watch how these entrepreneurs assure their book is going to be a best seller.

From podcast tours to reaching out to communities and extra awards for pre-purchases and bundle buys.

But the most impressive thing that I’ve seen so far is the beautiful and effective landing page: https://noahkagan.com/mdwbook/

The one CTA that I like the most is the omnipresent CTA button.

Go to the book launch lander and scroll down.

You’ll see the “press B buy” scrolling button on the right side.

Why I love it:

• it’s not a form

• it’s one action to get to the purchase site (Amazon)

• It’s different than any other landers I’ve ever seen

• and my fav → a customer gets to decide how much information is enough information for a conversion

You’ll notice other high conversion actions on the lander as well:

• Scarcity Timer

• A pop-up window with lead gen - free chapter

• Testimonials from well-known experts

• Scarcity rewards

• Wall of Love

Anyway, I think it’s nice.

Email Course: 7-Days to Competitive Enablement Program

I’ve put together an email course on how to get started with competitive intelligence and enablement.

90% of Fortune 500 companies are using this strategy to stay ahead and keep tabs on what’s going on with competitors.

If you want to try to establish a CI program in your organization, then sign up for this 7-day email course, where you’ll learn how to do this step-by-step.

It’s free.

Sign up here.

Join Healthy Competition

Andy’s Healthy Competition community is one of the best online places to be if you’re in product marketing and competitive enablement.

If you’re looking for a tight-knit group of tech professionals, eager to help, share, and support each other - go check it out at healthycompetition.co

Cheeky Sponsor

Want to have the best tools available to write, publish, scale, and monetize your newsletter? Try out beehiiv - one of the most popular platforms for newsletter creators.

Have a great week!

Dejan

Lay it On Me

How did you like this week’s newsletter?

👎 Meh

👍 Good 

🤘🤘 Wicked