The Stanley Cup Craze is not about hockey or Stanley Park in Vancouver. It’s these water bottles that are extremely popular due to TikTok and social media influencers. Admittedly, I didn't realize this was a thing until a couple weeks ago when I saw all these posts about people lining up at Target over these pink Stanley mugs.
I did a deep dive into how Stanley went from camping gear to being an accessory that sells out at Target. Turns out there is a valuable marketing lesson here.
Stanley’s target market for over a hundred years was outdoorsy people, with items like mugs, lunchboxes and camping cook sets.
In 2016, they released a new design: the Quencher with a straw. The sales were horrible, and it was discontinued.
Little did they know that there were these bloggers who loved this mug and were recommending it to people, but now the people can't get it because they're discontinuing it. After several attempts and a social media post from a former Bachelorette, Stanley sold the bloggers 5,000 mugs for them to sell. They sold out in days. They do it again; they sell out in minutes.
Now, how does this relate to marketing travel?
When Stanley first released these mugs, they didn't change anything in their marketing. They had the same old website, branding and strategy that was aimed at camping gear.
Stanley got a new marketing executive, and seeing the success the bloggers had in selling this product, he redesigned their website. The marketing and color palette was now more feminine, since that was who was buying the mugs.
They partnered with influencers, Starbucks and Target and placed the mugs where their ideal clients already were.
When the message was the same for everyone, the mugs were discontinued. When they focused the marketing on their audience, the sales went up.
The first thing agents need to consider in marketing is WHO they are talking to. It comes down to who the client is.
Consider a river cruise. It’s an excellent product. But if you’re trying to sell more river cruises and your audience is younger families, no matter how much you post about it, it’s not going to convert well. They are not the ideal audience. If your audience is more empty nesters, retirees and adults with older kids, your marketing is more likely to work.
Get clear on who books what you are looking to sell. Ask yourself these questions:
- What do you want to sell more of this year?
- Who is most likely going to be interested in this type of travel?
- Are they in your audience? Do a quick poll asking your email list or social media followers if they want to know more about … (name what you’re looking to sell)
If you get crickets, then you need to think about where you can find the audience before you put time into marketing.
Think of ways to meet these people. Here are some examples:
- Find events where that type of client would be.
- Create a Facebook group for a specific audience.
- Contribute to blogs that the ideal client might read.
- Do a seminar on traveling at a library or for a group.
Clients don’t magically land in your lap. Marketing is a puzzle that requires strategy, and when done right, the results will be in your commission checks.
When you market to everyone, you reach no one. That goes for companies like Stanley, and us too.
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