Why did banners outside Mixue stores trigger bias coffee talk?

Several Mixue Bingcheng stores in Yinchuan, Ningxia, hung banners saying on-duty police officers were welcome to rest inside, shortly after Starbucks faced backlash over reportedly driving away on-duty officers and raising prices. Some customers praised the gesture, while others called it opportunistic marketing. The regional manager later told stores to take the banners down over concerns about biased public opinion.

The banners appeared as anger toward Starbucks was still fresh, so the contrast did most of the work, drawing both support and accusations of a publicity stunt. Mixue Bingcheng has long relied on simple, direct campaigns, from its jingle to donations, so the move fit its usual playbook. The episode shows how quickly bias coffee style judgments form when a brand reacts to a rival's crisis.

Starbucks has recently found itself mired in public opinion crises after being accused of driving away on-duty police officers and then raising product prices. Some consumers even expressed their dissatisfaction by sending white flowers and throwing eggs. Just then, several Mixue Bingcheng stores in Yinchuan, Ningxia, hung banners welcoming on-duty police officers to rest inside, which was seen by outsiders as opportunistic marketing. Although the move won praise from some netizens, who said it showed a broad-minded approach and relied entirely on the contrast with peers, it also drew criticism for malicious marketing and suspicion of putting on a show. Later, the regional manager, worried that the banners might trigger biased public opinion, notified the stores to take them down. Mixue Bingcheng has always used simple and direct marketing tactics, from its catchy jingle to donations and now this banner response, with a clear intent to ride the hot topic.

Recently, Starbucks' public relations team has probably been overwhelmed. First it was reported to have driven away on-duty police officers, and then news came of product price increases. The two controversies erupted in quick succession, causing some Starbucks customers to quickly turn negative, with some even resorting to extreme actions such as sending white flowers, sending luosifen, and throwing eggs.

Just as the heat from Starbucks driving away police officers began to fade, Mixue Bingcheng stepped in to add fuel to the fire. Recently, some Mixue Bingcheng stores in Yinchuan, Ningxia, hung banners outside their stores that read "on-duty police officers are welcome to rest inside." This move undoubtedly reawakened public memories of the Starbucks incident.

The news that Mixue Bingcheng stores had hung banners welcoming on-duty police officers to rest inside attracted attention from many netizens. Since the public's anger over the Starbucks incident had not completely dissipated, some netizens commented that it all relied on the contrast with peers and that Snow King had a broad-minded approach, expressing their recognition and support for Mixue Bingcheng.

At the same time, doubts followed. Some netizens believed that Mixue Bingcheng's move to piggyback on the hot topic amounted to malicious marketing and was suspected of being a publicity stunt.

On February 17, a media reporter called the persons in charge of several Mixue Bingcheng stores in Yinchuan, Ningxia, to ask about the details of hanging the banners. One of the persons in charge said in an interview that in recent days some stores in Yinchuan had indeed hung banners reading that Mixue Bingcheng welcomes on-duty police officers to rest inside, but on the afternoon of February 16, the regional manager of Mixue Bingcheng, worried that the banners would trigger biased public opinion, notified the stores to remove them.

Mixue Bingcheng's marketing style has always been simple and direct, from the cheesy hit song "I love you, you love me, Mixue Bingcheng sweet honey," to donating 22 million yuan during the Henan rainstorm, to surrounding a Tea Baidao store on the street, and now to hanging banners in response to the Starbucks incident of driving away police officers.

It is just that this time the intent to hang banners and latch onto the hot topic is especially obvious. After all, this is an era of grab-and-go fast consumption. Very few people would sit in a store all day after ordering a drink; more people just take it and go to attend to their own business.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.