Stanley is a 110-year-old company that, in the past four years, has increased their revenue 10 times over through a simple switch in marketing. Founded in 1913, Stanley was historically recognized as a practical outdoor brand perfect for camping and hiking. Boasting durability, the Stanley Quencher cups, before almost being discontinued, brought this company back to life, taking the company’s revenue from $70 million to $750 million in just a few short years.
The Stanley Quencher, priced anywhere from $40 to $60 retail, sells for upwards of $100 on resale sites. This viral cup sensation was not always flying off shelves. In fact, in 2019, this cup was briefly discontinued due to a lack of consumer interest in the product. It is all thanks to The Buy Guide, a group of three women influencers who advertised these cups on their social media. Stanley, unsure of the marketability of these products, allowed these women to take over sales of the Quencher for a short period of time until, finally, they gave in to their new audience.
Unlike leading water bottle brands, Stanley cups’ accessible shape made them palatable to a large range of audiences; they are easy to hold because of the handle, fit in car cup holders and keep liquids cold for hours on end. One user even got into a car accident, and her Stanley Cup came out unscathed; following her viral video the brand sent her a new Stanley Cup and a new car.
Utilizing influencers as a marketing tool to attract more people to the product, Stanley Cups became a sensation, especially amongst their new target demographic — white women. These tumblers, once merely a vessel for transporting beverages, are now seen as a symbol of status and wealth inspiring the masses to collect reusable water bottles like Pokemon cards.
Stanley recently released many limited edition color waves for their Quencher cups, and the masses swarmed retailers, creating scenes akin to early 2000s Black Friday sales. The two new Valentine’s day cups with hearts on the label and a Starbucks collaboration Quencher were both Target exclusive drops with limited availability, promoting scarcity amongst these products. These cups quite literally flew off the shelves; some people even waited in line overnight outside of Target in anticipation of the $120 tumbler set.
Stanley boasts sustainable practices on their website; they have created a “Built For Life” product “reducing demand for disposable products that end up in waste and water streams.” Yet, Stanley’s influencer marketing campaign has created a culture promoting overconsumption. With their change in audience came a change in marketing, and these once never replaceable water bottles are now seen as collector items. People are attacking each other in Target to get new limited edition Stanley cups to add to their collection of 400 cups they already have at home. This culture of consumerism is detrimental not only to the average American’s wallet but also to the environment. The entire point of purchasing a Stanley Cup is that you only need one, maybe two, to last your entire life.
Stanley cups only represent a bigger problem inside American culture — obsessing over a water bottle’s color as a status symbol is only one of the many dangers of unhinged consumerism. Rather than offsetting the negative effects of consumerism, Stanley’s marketing has decided to participate in it, creating a culture of scarcity to increase their revenue tenfold. Stanley’s “more sustainable, less disposable life” motto is thrown out the window with this marketing strategy, demonstrating extreme hypocrisy.
