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In the world of marketing, you quickly learn that sometimes the most effective methods come from unexpected situations. Carefully crafted strategies are key, but occasionally, situations will arise that you can capitalise on. A great example is the recent viral marketing moment for water tumbler brand Stanley, which resulted in millions of impressions and gave the brand a significant PR boost. Interested? Keep reading to learn what happened and why it was so effective.
Car Fire Ignites Marketing Moment
In November, TikTok user @danimarielettering shared a video of the aftermath of her car catching on fire. The vehicle was totalled, but her Stanley Quencher tumbler was sitting unscathed in the wreckage - it even still had ice in it!
The post quickly spread across social media and now has more than 84 million views - certainly a great ad for the Stanley Quencher Tumbler.
This was only the beginning, though, as two days later, Stanley responded. President Terence Reilly stitched her original video with a video of himself (humanising the brand), offering to send her new tumblers and even replace her car! This response had a further 32 million views, significantly boosting the brand’s public image. This was evident with some of the feedback to the response, which shows the power of brand authenticity:
“This is awesome, definitely buying a Stanley now!”
“They responded, that’s freaking awesome. I'm going to have to buy a Stanley now.”
“Do I need a Stanley, no. Am I going to buy one on principle now, yes.”
Lessons To Learn
So, what lessons can be learned from Stanley’s social-savvy marketing strategy? Obviously, you do not want your customers finding themselves in unfortunate situations like Danielle and her totalled car, but you should always pay attention to mentions of your brand. Social listening tools can be incredibly useful for discovering what people say about your brand online. This can be useful for assessing your current brand reputation and finding opportunities to connect and engage with your target market.
The viral marketing moment showed the value of connecting with your customers and humanising the brand. By appearing in the video and generously offering to replace her car, Reilly created a human connection and managed to position the brand as one that cares about its customers. These days, consumers are conscientious and selective of the brands that they use. Therefore, PR is hugely important, and brands must find ways to connect emotionally with their target market while showing that they are more than a faceless corporation.
The viral marketing moment demonstrates that social media is still incredibly powerful. Both videos combined for well over 100 million impressions and quickly became a huge talking point online. Stanley were intelligent and managed to turn this unfortunate incident into an opportunity, but you can also do a huge amount of damage on social media if you are not careful. You want to be agile and responsive on social media, but you must be wary of what you post.
It is always fascinating to see unexpected events and situations turned into viral marketing opportunities. As a business, you should always be on the lookout for opportunities to connect with your target market and humanise the brand on social media to leave a lasting impression and stand out from the crowd.
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