Gen Alpha is Going to Slowly Kill the Stanley Quencher
The way that Stanley is marketing the Quencher (yes I’m still talking about that cup) is THE perfect example for product based businesses on how to market the WHO and not the WHAT.
Because it’s no secret that Stanley is not the best 40oz, stainless steel, handled mug with a straw poking out from the top that money can buy. In fact, many have taken to TikTok to showcase how much the Stanley leaks in comparison to other leading competitors.
It’s all about positioning baybeee
But the Quencher doesn’t position itself on being the best mug money can buy. They also aren’t boasting about the product’s features either (large handle, stays cold for x amount of hours). I mean, it’s a big ass mug. Instead the Quencher markets itself much like a must-have handbag... as an accessory not a necessity (or neccessory as I kept saying the other day).
So like… how do you do this? By understanding your target audience, and positioning your product towards their lifestyle.
And for the Quencher, this would be millennial women that invest in the idea of self care, prioritize hydration and AirTags their emotional support water bottle. And above all, they drag their water bottle with them everywhere.
And if these girlies are carrying something around with them all day, it has to coordinate with their carefully curated aesthetic and OOTD. Because it’s no longer a water bottle, it’s an accessory now.
And to me, this is why influencer marketing has been literal magic for Stanley. Because of its accessory status we now see thousands of women filling up their Quenchers in a 5-second clip of their day-in-the life vlogs and sipping along during their driver’s seat deep chats.
Generating buzz
But when something becomes a want and not a need, how do you generate buzz? Easy, you make it hard to get. Because after all, people will always want what they can’t have. Especially if they’re taunted day in and out on their TikTok feed.
By releasing limited edition launches, creating waitlisted items and carefully selecting collaborations that resonate strongly with their target audience, Stanley has managed to garner a strong demand for a handled tumbler.
In fact, with their recent Starbucks collaboration, featuring a hot pink Quencher sold exclusively at Target, they had people camping out stores like it was 2009 and the newest iPhone was about to be released.
The trend killer
However, nothing good lasts forever. And if I do say so myself, I think the popularity of the Stanley mug is going to slowly dwindle over 2024. Why? Well it’s simple, it’s because every 11 year old got one for Christmas.
With Zillennials largely leading the way for online content creation and influencer marketing, they tend to stay clear of trends that the younger Gen Alpha tweens have co-opted. This is happening right now with Sephora. Due to the influx of middle schoolers, many of its typical in-store clientele are getting the ick as the prestige beauty store now feels more like a Claires.
Tweens (or shit-head kids as I so lovingly referred to them as in a recent training.) flooding the market and killing a trend isn’t anything new. Vera Bradley was once the must have weekender duffle for any 00’s college girl packing a bag to Panama City for spring break. And once the older girls made it cool, these paisley patterns that once appealed to retiree’s soon started showing up in every K-12 classroom. And since 2018, Vera Bradley has seen a steady decline in sales as the frenzied demand died off not long after every 7th grader had a quilted lunch bag.
However Vera might be having another day in the sun. Like most Y2K and early aughts style trends, Vera Bradley has seen a nostalgia fueled uptick in TikTok searches. The girls who once lugged a tote back to homeroom are now pulling their favorite prints back out to take to the farmers market.
Which makes me wonder, 10 years from now will Gen Alpha be holding up their tried and true Quenchers, smiling and asking “Does anyone else remember Stanley’s?”
