Why did the Luckin coffee co-branding leak happen again?

Photos of merchandise, cup sleeves and paper bags from a Luckin Coffee co-branding campaign with the drama "The Tale of Rose" circulated on social platforms nearly two weeks before the expected launch on the 24th. An employee also posted internal exam questions, confirming the collaboration and revealing the limited-edition Yellow Rose Latte. The early exposure put confidential campaign material in front of the public while the show was still airing.

Supporters called the timing a win-win, since the drama's popularity was peaking. Others pointed to a gap between social media confidentiality rules for staff and the repeated leaks of materials. The incident leaves an open question: when internal information spreads ahead of schedule, responsibility falls on employees, on the brand's own controls, or on the netizens who amplify each photo.

The recently popular drama "The Tale of Rose" has sparked widespread discussion, and news of Luckin Coffee's co-branding with it was also exposed in advance on social platforms, with photos of merchandise, cup sleeves, paper bags, and other materials quickly circulating. Internal employees posted new exam questions, indirectly confirming the authenticity of the co-branding campaign and revealing that the limited-edition new product is the Yellow Rose Latte. The campaign is expected to launch on the 24th, but the news was known to the public nearly two weeks in advance. Some believe that releasing information while the drama's popularity is at its peak is a win-win for both the brand and the show; others are concerned that employees are required to comply with social media confidentiality rules, yet leaks of materials occur repeatedly. Behind this "double standard" phenomenon, who should ultimately be held responsible for internal information leaks? This article will sort out the sequence of events and explore the delicate relationship between the brand, employees, and netizens.

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Recently, after the drama "The Tale of Rose" aired, it quickly became a focal point of discussion across major platforms. Even many netizens who have not watched the show have more or less heard of this highly popular work through trending information on the internet.

Yesterday morning, news suddenly appeared on social platforms about Luckin's co-branding with "The Tale of Rose," and clear photos of campaign-related merchandise, cup sleeves, paper bags, and other materials also appeared on the platform. Soon after, a Luckin employee posted new exam questions from internal affairs, corroborating the authenticity of the co-branding campaign that was spreading wildly online, and revealed that the limited-edition new product for the collaboration was the Yellow Rose Latte.

It is understood that the new co-branding campaign will launch on the 24th, yet the related news was known to the public nearly two weeks in advance. Some believe that the drama's popularity is currently continuing to rise with each episode, but it is hard to say how long this wave of hype will last or whether changes might occur along the way. By the time the campaign officially launches, the drama may have already finished airing, and discussion heat around the IP would decline, which would be unfavorable for the brand's promotion.

From this perspective, revealing information about the co-branding campaign while the IP is currently on fire is actually mutually beneficial and win-win for both partners. Luckin can leverage the drama's popularity to attract a large amount of attention from fans of the show, and once the campaign officially launches, there will naturally be no need to worry about sales of the new products that fans have been anticipating.

Fans whose appetites were whetted by various leaked images have expressed their impatience in the comments sections of rumor posts, urging Luckin to speed things up. Meanwhile, Luckin employees who learned about it belatedly looked at the material photos flying everywhere and helplessly remarked that news on social platforms travels faster than internal operations notices.

Looking back at Luckin's previous co-branding campaigns, limited-edition merchandise and materials could mostly be seen in photos on social platforms a few days in advance. Most people have become accustomed to the brand's practices, but when they look at the official "Luckin Coffee Employee Social Media Personal Account Management Guidelines" given to every employee, and then look at the screenshots related to co-branding campaigns on social platforms, employees cannot help but joke about the brand's "double standard."

They revealed that co-branding materials, limited-edition merchandise, drink recipes, and the like all belong to the brand's internal information, and employees are actually not allowed to leak it in advance, nor are they permitted to spread it to social platforms and elsewhere. If such violations are discovered, according to the company's confidentiality clauses, leakers are subject to punishment from the brand and related legal liability.

But in reality, social platforms are flooded with co-branding news, and short videos of employees uploading immersive drink-making at the bar can also be seen from time to time. Many people are puzzled: the company clearly requires employees to maintain confidentiality, yet these prohibited violations continue despite repeated bans.

On the contrary, once these co-branding news items and short videos spread online, most of them can gain thousands of views. Perhaps in the brand's view, netizens' attention may be more important than internal information leaks.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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