The year has barely begun but it already looks to be yet another favorable one for Stanley, the uber-popular drinkware brand that has become a Gen Z favorite. After a Christmas that included the gifting of a plethora of tumblers to tweens, teens and adults—enough for Stanley to create its own TikTok compilation—the brand is trending again following the recent release of a Valentine’s Day collaboration with Target.
Marketing News & Strategy
Stanley’s Target collaboration sparks in-store and social media frenzy
Stanley is trending again following the recent release of a Valentine’s Day collaboration with Target
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Shoppers flocked to Target for the new Valentine's Day collection.
Credit:
TikTok
One of the new Quenchers.
Credit:
Target
The “Galentine’s Collection,” which is exclusive to Target, includes 40-ounce Quenchers in the holiday-appropriate hues of “Target Red” and “Cosmo Pink.” Both items are already out of stock online, after dropping on Dec. 31. A product description suggests the tumblers are “Made to gift,” and include a card label. But judging by the in-store frenzy well documented on social media and in news reports, it’s unclear how many shoppers were purchasing tumblers for others versus for themselves. Even more new Stanley models hit store shelves at Starbucks in Target locations today; the items are proving as popular as similar models from late last year that saw shoppers camping out ahead of store openings.
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A Target spokeswoman confirmed that the limited-edition Stanley Valentine’s Day collection was “extremely popular” and has already sold out. The items will not be restocked, though new Stanley products will be available at Target throughout 2024.
By early afternoon Wednesday, “Stanley” was the third top trending topic, with 30,700 posts, on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. A #StanleyTarget hashtag on TikTok garnered 30.7 million views.
Stanley declined to comment.
But much of the scurry for Quenchers comes from shoppers who are reselling the in-demand items for a large markup. The products are already listed on eBay for well over $100, more than double the original $45 price.
Stanley’s continued rise this year follows a literal hot streak in 2023. The brand, which is owned by PMI, made headlines in November when it gifted a new Mazda car to a woman who posted a TikTok video of her Stanley tumbler surviving her Kia car catching fire. The quick-response strategy, which included a TikTok post from Stanley President Terence Reilly, served as a textbook example of nimble social media marketing from a brand that has amassed a huge digital following already.
