American style coffee promos lose their pull as Manner glass cup giveaway falls flat
Manner's retro glass cup gift, tied to a set meal purchase, went largely unclaimed. Staff had packed cups in advance, yet the expected order surge never came. Reasons include the cup's appearance not matching expectations, set meal pairings that did not suit tastes, a cup material that is not heat-resistant, and consumers becoming more rational about buy-one-get-one offers.
Manner has built a reputation on frequent free cup promotions, and a set meal plus gift once felt like strong value to regulars. This time, fans who care about looks were disappointed by actual photos, while drinkers who avoid american style coffee skipped the deal because the set centered on an Americano. The gap between iced americano vs hot americano benefits also left some unsure the offer fit them.
Manner has always been known for its frequent free cup promotions, and the combo of a set meal plus a free gift was once regarded by many users as a great value choice. However, the recently launched retro glass cup gift unexpectedly fell flat—the cups the staff had prepared in advance went untouched, and the expected surge in orders never materialized. Why did this once highly popular gift fail this time? A mix of factors came into play: the appearance not meeting expectations, the set meal pairing not suiting people's tastes, the cup material not being heat-resistant, and consumers becoming increasingly rational. When buy-one-get-one promotions can no longer easily trigger the urge to buy, the promotional logic of coffee brands may be facing a turning point.
▲ Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine CoffeeWorkshop Among the many coffee brands, Manner is probably the one with the highest frequency of free cup giveaways. Simply purchasing a set meal gets you a cup of decent quality on the side, and for many Manner regulars, this kind of promotion is extremely good value. Precisely because of this, whenever Manner launches a free cup promotion, it always attracts a wave of fans to place orders quickly. Not long ago, Manner launched another free cup promotion, and this time the gift was the retro glass cup that was widely praised last year, enjoying extremely high popularity among Manner's giveaway cups over the years. Before the promotion was officially announced, there was constant anticipation among fans, but after the promotion officially kicked off, some staff noticed that the glass cups they had packed in advance went unclaimed, and the anticipated hot-selling scene did not appear.
This left store employees quite puzzled. Based on past experience, once Manner rolled out a free cup set meal, users would decisively place orders as soon as they caught wind of it, and some would even repeatedly buy set meals just to get an extra cup. Moreover, this time the gift was the previously hugely popular glass cup—who would have expected that fans' willingness to buy would not be strong, and set meal sales would be noticeably lower than expected. On this matter, netizens had differing views. Consumers who care about appearance expressed disappointment after seeing photos of the actual product; those who don't like Americanos gave up on buying because of the set meal contents; and some Manner users felt that although the free cup promotion was decent value, the giveaway cup was only so-so in terms of practicality for daily use, and based on actual needs, it wasn't a must-buy.
Manner's tradition of giving away cups goes back a long way, and the brand has consistently used this method to attract young people's attention, spark purchase impulses, and at the same time drive sales of new products. For the brand, this can both promote the brand and its products and attract new customers while retaining old ones—it can be called a win-win-win. However, for consumers who easily tire of the old and crave the new, even if the promotion pairs with new products and the giveaway cup changes style, under repeated waves of promotions, they will still gradually come to see it as routine.
On the other hand, consumers' sense of rationality is returning. Faced with the various promotions brands roll out, they are starting to pick and choose, no longer using value for money as the sole criterion, but instead judging whether participating is worthwhile based on their own circumstances. Take this retro glass cup as an example—its material cannot withstand high temperatures, which deterred many people who are used to drinking hot beverages. For some people, buy-one-get-one promotions from various brands keep emerging endlessly, but many of the gifts are nothing more than objects that are "nice to look at but useless" to them, so they gradually stop making "buying the box for the pearl" style purchases and stop stockpiling.
In addition, some people realize that the essence of brand buy-one-get-one promotions is to promote new products and drive sales, and from the feedback of consumers who have already purchased the free cup set meals, the actual effect has not met expectations. As users' consumption habits shift and their understanding of promotional activities updates, the stimulating effect of coffee brands' buy-one-get-one promotions on the desire to buy will probably gradually weaken. The scene of long lines forming for free gifts in the past will be hard to recreate, and situations where gifts can't be given away may become commonplace in the future. Image source: Xiaohongshu Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original author's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large volume, there may be individual images or texts that we have not yet been able to credit. We ask for your understanding. If the original author has any disputes, they can contact the website to handle it, and once verified, we will immediately correct it. Compiled and edited by "CoffeeWorkshop." Please indicate the source when reposting. If there is any infringement, please inform us for removal. Thank you~!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
