Why did the Luckin Coffee Asian Games bet on Wang Shun work?

Luckin Coffee posted a Wang Shun campaign on Xiaohongshu before the Hangzhou Asian Games swimming events began, then released a gold-medal poster within hours of his win in the men's 200m individual medley on September 24, where he set an Asian record of 1:54.62. The quick timing turned a short-cycle collaboration into wide visibility.

The model differs from a formal endorsement: the brand signs an athlete for a short window, ties content to a live event, and reacts as results come in. Luckin used the same approach with Eileen Gu at the Winter Olympics. For a chain of its size, that rhythm keeps marketing spend tied to measurable attention rather than long contracts.

During the Hangzhou Asian Games, Chinese swimming star Wang Shun won gold in the men's 200m individual medley final and broke the Asian record, and Luckin Coffee once again accurately bet on this champion athlete. From Eileen Gu at the Winter Olympics to Wang Shun at the Asian Games, Luckin has shown a unique rhythm in sports marketing of "sign whoever, whoever becomes hot." This article will sort out the timeline of Luckin's cooperation with Wang Shun this time, its marketing tactics and the strategy behind it, while also exploring the difference between its short-cycle business cooperation model and formal endorsement. As coffee lovers, we also see from this wave of operations how the brand leverages sports popularity to achieve simultaneous gains in visibility and sales.

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The various events of the Hangzhou Asian Games are in full swing, and the Chinese delegation keeps collecting medals. In the coffee industry, a champion face that has attracted much attention has also emerged—he is the swimming star Wang Shun, who recently began cooperating with Luckin.

On the night of September 24, in the men's 200m individual medley final at the Asian Games, Wang Shun swam a time of 1:54.62, not only winning the gold medal but also breaking the Asian record he had previously held. After the race, his remark, "Those who say I can't do it, do you think this result is okay?" quickly topped Weibo hot searches, and Wang Shun once again became the focus of public discussion.

However, Luckin, which has always had a precise eye, seemed to have predicted all of this long ago.

On the night of the Asian Games opening ceremony, before the competition had even begun, Luckin seized the timing to launch a poster on Xiaohongshu, showing Wang Shun holding a little blue cup, with the caption: "Together with swimming world champion Wang Shun, luck is in hand!"

After Wang Shun officially won the championship on September 24, Luckin closely followed the athlete's online popularity and released another new poster with the copy: "Congratulations to Wang Shun on winning the gold medal🏅️ This cup, luck is in hand!" Such a rapid response makes people unable to help but sigh: so fast!

In the comments section, many netizens praised Luckin for its keen judgment. "Luckin, you really know how to choose people. From Eileen Gu to Yu Shi to Wang Shun, your judgment is really good." "You really grab whoever is hot, keeping your pace closely with current events." Of course, some "not so serious" netizens also asked online for stickers, cup sleeves, and paper bags printed with abs... Although the style went a bit off track, Luckin this time really grasped netizens' preferences firmly.

Luckin's ability to invite spokespeople is obvious to all, but its luck in repeatedly "betting right" in sports arenas makes people feel somewhat mystical. Unlike the conventional approach of many brands of "signing whoever is hot," Luckin's choice of athlete collaborations instead shows a pattern of "sign whoever, whoever becomes hot."

From Eileen Gu at the Beijing Winter Olympics last year, to the Chinese women's basketball team returning to the top of Asia after 12 years, and now to Wang Shun breaking the Asian record he set himself, in choosing cooperation targets, Luckin indeed has a unique "foresight," and each marketing move is fast, accurate, and fierce.

In fact, this seemingly opportunistic kind of luck also demonstrates Luckin's marketing strength behind it. Luckin Coffee's keen market insight and unique marketing strategy help the brand stand out in a highly competitive market, creating the impression of "it's Luckin again," and this is also a kind of praise from the public for the brand's marketing.

However, some netizens noticed that the poster widely circulated immediately after the competition did not contain any wording indicating that Wang Shun had become an official Luckin spokesperson. It seems that this official announcement was likely just a business cooperation rather than a formal brand endorsement. In other words, Luckin bet on Asian Games athletes with a relatively short cooperation cycle and prepared promotional materials in advance, then immediately rolled out publicity after they achieved results, achieving an overall improvement in brand sales and visibility.

Image source: Internet

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