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Stanley Steps Up After Car Fire and Viral TikTok video
“It still has ice in it.”
Earlier this month, Danielle Lettering’s car caught on fire. She posted a video on TikTok of the badly damaged car.
Amid the cinders and wreckage was an orange Stanley tumbler with very little damage. “It was in a fire yesterday and it still has ice in it,” Lettering says in the video.
The video went viral, with millions of views and lots of comments calling out the opportunity it created for Stanley.
Stanley recognized the opportunity, too — and jumped at it.
Two days after the original video posted, Stanley posted a video of its own on TikTok. In it, Global President Terence Reilly says he’s glad Lettering is OK and acknowledges the comments calling for the company to send her a replacement tumbler. Then he goes one step further – one big step further.
“Well, we’re going to send you some Stanleys. But there is one more thing. We have never done this before and we will probably never do it again, but we’d love to replace your vehicle.”
Tell Her What’s She’s Won …
Stanley is a trending brand with a significant presence on TikTok already.
But this marketing push took things to a whole new level. Stanley TikTok posts consistently get hundreds of thousands of views. The video of Reilly offering the free car has 32 million views and counting.
Stanley did a lot of things right with this initiative, starting with creating a product that could withstand a car fire. But its biggest accomplishment was in speed and tone.
In just a few days, Stanley formulated a response, approved a major marketing investment and put out a video featuring its highest executive. Most brands would spend weeks on any part of that initiative.
Like all things social, speed trumped script and production quality in the video. But the tone is part of what makes it so effective. Stanley doesn’t come up as a big, buttoned-up brand looking to capitalize on a PR opportunity. It’s taking part in the conversation and responding to commenters calling for the company to take action.