What drives brand avatar changes in coffee marketing?
Mixue Bingcheng swapped its chubby white Snow King avatar on social platforms for a golden version, a move tied to its "Drink Mixue Bingcheng, Get a Golden Snow King Necklace" campaign rather than only to overseas expansion. The tea brand first entered South Korea and then Japan, and a second Japanese store was announced shortly after the first.
The company has long treated its avatar as advertising space, previously rolling out a darkened Snow King and a winter-clothed Snow King. Heytea and McDonald's use limited-time avatar changes in similar ways. For coffee knowledge watchers, the pattern shows how a small logo shift can signal a product launch or campaign before any formal announcement.
For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style) For more specialty coffee beans, please add the personal WeChat of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex When a brand changes its avatar on social platforms, it often signals the start of a new round of marketing moves. Recently, Mixue Bingcheng's iconic Snow King image changed from chubby and white to a golden version, sparking heated discussion among netizens. This change is not simply to build momentum for overseas expansion, but to coordinate with the "Drink Mixue Bingcheng, Get a Golden Snow King Necklace" campaign. In fact, Mixue Bingcheng has long treated its avatar as ad space, having previously introduced looks such as "Darkened Snow King" and Winter-Clothed Snow King. Brands such as Heytea and McDonald's also often create buzz by changing their avatars for a limited time. This article will analyze the logic and effects behind this marketing technique.
I wonder if everyone has noticed that changing the logo when launching new products or holding events seems to have evolved into a new popular trend. As long as brands replace their logos on social platforms, it inevitably means that some new move is about to appear.
Recently, many netizens noticed that the chubby white Snow King avatar of tea beverage giant Mixue Bingcheng on major social platforms has turned into a golden version. Seen this way, it suddenly gives off a lavish air. This move aroused the curiosity of many netizens. Some commented, "It changed so much after just a few days? You really know how to gild yourself all over," while others joked, "It even stretched its neck and stood up, giving off a feeling of success and confidence," and some netizens guessed, "Is this going abroad to get gilded?"
That is not entirely wrong. During this period, Mixue Bingcheng indeed first entered South Korea and then Japan. After accumulating rich marketing experience domestically, Mixue Bingcheng's ambitions have gradually expanded overseas. Not long after its first store entered Japan, at around 2 a.m. today, the account that had officially announced Mixue Bingcheng's first Japanese store posted again, announcing that the long-awaited second Mixue Bingcheng store in Japan had arrived.
However, the main purpose of changing to the golden logo this time was not for going abroad, but to promote the official "Drink Mixue Bingcheng, Get a Golden Snow King Necklace" campaign. It is understood that the gold necklace in this campaign weighs a full 25 grams. After checking, the domestic gold price is about 402 yuan per gram, so 25 grams would be 10,050 yuan. Previously I thought Mixue Bingcheng was "poor," but I never expected that the clown was actually me.
This is not the first time the brand has used a "skin" for marketing. This summer, many places across the country were under high temperatures. To respond to current events, and mainly to promote its new products, the "Black Snow King" once appeared across the internet and was jokingly called the "Darkened Snow King" by netizens. The official account claimed it was because it got tanned while picking mulberries. This kind of marketing tactic, combined with product launches, really achieved good results. With the gimmick of the "darkening" topic, it made it onto trending searches and quickly and precisely promoted a wave of its new mulberry fruit tea. Look! The darkened Snow King looks like this👇👇👇
And a while ago, when the weather began to gradually cool down, Snow King put on winter clothes ahead of time, wearing a thick cotton jacket and holding a thermos cup. I do not know whether it was because it was holding the thermos or because the weather was too cold, but Snow King also looked unhappy. Later, many netizens noticed that Snow King in Northeast China was different from those in other regions: it wore a floral jacket, held milk tea in its hands, and had a smiling face, presenting a full-on Northeastern style image.
It must be said that Mixue Bingcheng understands event marketing very well. In addition to its theme song and brand image, it has always used various marketing efforts to keep itself highly exposed, treating its logo and store avatars as advertising space. If changes are controversial, they can drive a great deal of topicality.
Changing skins for avatars does not happen only with Mixue Bingcheng; changing avatars is a common marketing method for many brands. For example, brands such as Heytea, McDonald's, and KFC all temporarily change their avatars during new campaigns to create freshness and topicality, thereby attracting the attention and participation of young consumers.
Heytea in particular has repeatedly succeeded in "tinkering with" its avatar in co-branding efforts. When collaborating with FARMER BOB, the boy avatar became an older man; when collaborating with streetwear godfather Hiroshi Fujiwara, it got an afro...
These operations both combine the characteristics of both sides and create freshness for the brand, further promoting the campaign. However, for a brand to operate for the long term and gain more consumer recognition, it still needs to pay more attention to the quality of the product itself.
Image source: Internet
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
