Stanley is a 111-year-old company known for its Hammertone Green vacuum-insulated steel bottles. While the company invented the stainless steel bottle category in 1913, by the 2020s it was the underdog in a category dominated by Yeti and Hydro Flask.

For decades, Stanley marketed and appealed to manual laborers and outdoorsmen—consumers who relied on its lunch boxes and classic Hammertone Green bottles. While these mostly male customers remain loyal, Stanley was ready for its next chapter of growth.

To reclaim the #1 spot in the category, Stanley needed to grow awareness well beyond our current audience and inspire a connection with a new generation of Stanley lovers.

It was time to move beyond utility and give brand-new consumers passionate new reasons to prefer our brand in the crowded hydration space. In short, it was time to become a female accessory brand that just had to be shared.

The idea was as simple as the strategy: Listen to women and be in their culture. Rather than try to land a memorable line or bet big on a single Super Bowl spot, we marshaled budgets to make sure we could continually add value to the TikTok spaces where our new audience lived. Rather than physical or mental availability, we prioritized cultural availability, not spending on one big idea but developing a series of creator collaborations and a newsroom agility that meant we could hop on every hashtag.

#WaterTok? We were there. The Roman Empire? On our minds too. And, because we lived on social, when a random TikTok about a Stanley that survived a car fire with ice inside started trending, we could respond instantly with a TikTok stitch from Stanley’s president offering the car-fire victim a new Stanley and a new Mazda (seen by 100M people).

We were genuinely thankful that Danielle and her family were unharmed in the fire and wanted that sincerity to come through. And to be authentic and true to the Stanley brand, it needed to be personal. So, to show just how serious we were, there was only one person to deliver the response: the top dog at Stanley, president Terence Reilly.

We spoke directly with Danielle using the Stitch format. Co-creation allowed us to handle the delicate matter with authenticity and show that Danielle was seen, heard and respected as a valuable member of our community. The stitch format also provided the necessary context for viewers who may not have been familiar with Danielle’s story, spreading it further. Our shared communities were waiting for our response. This ensured our message was heard.

Spoiler alert: Less than 24 hours later, his stitched response nailed it.

"Hey, Danielle, I’m Terence Reilly, the president of Stanley. We’ve all seen your video, and wow! What an ordeal. We’re really glad you’re safe. Thanks for sharing the video because it shows that Stanleys are Built for Life. What it went through with you, I couldn’t think of a better example of our product’s quality. But anyway, we’re glad you’re safe. I’ve seen a lot of comments that we should get you some Stanleys. Oh, we’re gonna send you some Stanleys! But there’s one more thing…. We’ve never done this before, and we’ll probably never do it again…. But we’d love to replace your vehicle. So check your DMs for details. Thanks, be safe, and cheers!”

Those 116 words set the internet on fire.

The internet took it from there. People who’d never heard of Stanley were all of a sudden our biggest fans. As one commenter said, “*adds Stanley cup to cart.*”

The result was a viral moment that couldn’t be missed.

Overall, this launch campaign garnered 3.3 billion earned media impressions. The brand saw a 220% increase in TikTok followers (more than prior two years combined), 200% increase in TikTok engagement, 56M video views, 532K hashtag uses and 4.7M engagements. All of this led to $43M estimated media value, a 249% increase from the year prior.

And more importantly, it planted the brand in consumers’ minds rent-free just as Black Friday and the holiday shopping season kicked off. Stanley proceeded to have its best quarter in company history, with a 275% YoY increase in Stanley Quencher sales and elevated sales above forecast through the holiday shopping season.