What Is Behind the Luckin Coffee Esports Strategy?

Luckin Coffee has signed EDG, the S11 World Championship-winning team, as a brand ambassador and is preparing an esports-themed store in Shanghai. The store will have four areas: a themed light sign and gaming experience zone, a danmaku corridor, a team history honor wall, and an infinite fantasy photo zone. Orders through Luckin's mini-program earn an EDG honor medal.

The move follows earlier marketing bets such as signing Eileen Gu and partnering with Coconut Palm, aimed at closing the distance between the brand and younger consumers. After its financial storm, Luckin reported 2021 self-operated store revenue of 6.193 billion yuan and now has more stores in China than Starbucks. Whether esports marketing brings new growth remains to be seen.

Luckin Coffee recently signed the S11 World Championship-winning team EDG and is preparing an esports-themed store in Shanghai, attempting to deeply integrate esports culture with consumer scenarios. Previously, Luckin had already demonstrated keen marketing instincts by signing Eileen Gu and partnering with Coconut Palm. This themed store features four major areas: a themed light sign and gaming experience zone, a danmaku corridor, a team history honor wall, and an infinite fantasy photo zone, sparking widespread anticipation among netizens. Meanwhile, after weathering a financial storm, Luckin has made a strong comeback. In 2021, its self-operated store revenue reached 6.193 billion yuan, and its store count has surpassed Starbucks, making it the coffee chain brand with the most stores in China. Whether esports marketing can bring new growth to Luckin is worth watching.

Luckin Coffee previously invested substantial resources to sign the S11 World Championship-winning team EDG as its brand ambassador. Looking back, Luckin's marketing strategies have always been impressive: it signed Eileen Gu as a spokesperson before she became a global sensation; later, it partnered with Coconut Palm to ride a wave of "rustic" trendiness.

Luckin has always been committed to closing the distance between its brand and young people. Esports enjoys extremely high popularity among the youth, and Luckin hopes to use this to connect esports with consumer scenarios. After EDG won the championship, many streetwear brands rushed to collaborate with them, so it was only natural for Luckin to set its sights on EDG.

To enhance consumer engagement, users who place orders through Luckin's mini-program can receive an EDG honor medal. However, experiencing the esports atmosphere through a phone screen alone is clearly insufficient. To this end, Luckin spared no expense and announced via its official Weibo that the "luckin x EDG Shanghai Theme Store" jointly created with EDG is actively being prepared.

According to Luckin's official Weibo, this themed coffee shop is located in Shanghai, the home city of team EDG. Some netizens commented with questions, asking why they would still choose to prepare it there given Shanghai's severe pandemic situation. In response, other netizens pointed out that EDG is based in Shanghai, and Shanghai is also recognized as the capital of esports.

Many netizens expressed the hope that this luckin × EDG collaborative esports-themed store could also open in their own cities.

According to Luckin's official Weibo description, this collaborative themed store is divided into four areas: a themed light sign and gaming experience zone, a danmaku corridor, a team history honor wall, and an infinite fantasy photo zone. Each area has its own distinctive features.

The themed light sign and gaming experience zone is equipped with gaming chairs, allowing visiting consumers to immersively enjoy the fun of esports while sipping coffee in a gaming chair.

At the end of the danmaku corridor hangs a huge EDG team logo, while the walls are covered with danmaku content related to Luckin Coffee and EDG.

The team history honor wall chronicles EDG's years of struggle and achievements.

The infinite fantasy photo zone is filled with a strong cyberpunk vibe, using black as the main color tone paired with Luckin's signature blue lighting, creating an atmosphere as if you are in a fantasy realm and making photo shots full of mystery.

Many netizens are full of anticipation for this esports-themed coffee shop still in preparation, hoping that the pandemic in Shanghai will subside soon so they can visit in person.

In 2020, Luckin was exposed for financial fraud, but in 2021 it achieved a "complete transformation." As the financial fraud issue has been basically resolved, Luckin has entered a brand-new and high-quality development stage. Luckin Coffee has surpassed Starbucks to become the coffee chain brand with the most stores in China, with both store and user numbers returning to steady growth. On the financial level, Luckin is just one step away from full profitability, with self-operated store operating profit significantly improved. In 2021, Luckin's self-operated store revenue reached 6.193 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 78.3%.

How much contribution Luckin's bet on "esports marketing" can actually bring to the brand, and when the esports-themed store will officially open, remains to be seen.

Image source: Luckin Coffee official Weibo, internet

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