“These bottles are bigger than your face,” I said. “You don’t get it, papa,” they replied. And they were right.
What looked like a stupidly big tumbler to me was the hottest thing to carry around in their school in India by then (and in our gym)!
So I dug in to figure out what the hell happened here - and what I found was fascinating.
🟣 Crocs & Stanley: The unlikely duo with the same playbook, and a cool secret.
Totally different products. But both pulled off jaw-dropping brand turnarounds—and both have one key player in common: Terence Reilly.
He was the marketing mind who made Crocs cool again. Then he moved to Stanley and turned a 100-year-old utility brand into a Gen Z and millennial obsession.
And what I loved was that he didn't change the products massively - he changed the context.
I like that he kept it simple - just 3 amazingly simple things brands can copy:
✨ 1. Made it aspirational among your consumers.
At Crocs, Terence rolled out collabs with Post Malone, Bad Bunny, even Balenciaga. Limited drops, massive hype.
At Stanley, he decided to focus on the "Lululemon Mom" and teamed up with a mom-run blog, The Buy Guide. Their authentic love for the Quencher tumbler sparked a viral trend.
Stanley’s revenue jumped from $70M in 2019 to over $750M in 2023. Not a typo. That’s a 10x leap.
🎨 2. Changed the visual story to make it cool for TikTok / Instagram
Crocs got a makeover with bold colors, fun charms, total vibe shift.
Stanley ditched its classic "green camping look" for soft pastels and influencer-designed editions. TikTok couldn’t get enough. The hashtag StanleyTumbler today has over 665 million views and counting.
🛠️ 3. Let people customise and show it off.
Customization was the "killer use case" on top. Crocs had Jibbitz - cool things you can plug into the holes and make them yours. Stanley offered engraving, color combos, stickers, accessories.
Suddenly, these weren’t just any other product —they were expressions of who you are.
And what do people do with things they love? They post them. Show them off. Build community around them.
💡 In this year's trip to the US, I found another brand, Pandora, following this same playbook for resurgence.
My learning - You don’t always need a new product. Sometimes, you just need a new frame for the consumer.
Question I'm trying to answer - what 'aging' Indian brand with a new context could be a bit?
⌚ HMT watches? 🧣 Fabindia? 🛵 Bajaj Chetak?
Brands with history, trust, even nostalgia but seem to be lost to history. Maybe all they need now is a new story.
Drop your thoughts 👇
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