CHAGEE Teachers' Day Promotion and the China Coffee Market

CHAGEE ran a Teachers' Day campaign called Honor Teachers with Tea, Please Drink Tea, offering teachers a card, drink deals or small gifts from September 6 to September 10. After it launched, many teachers reported that limited cards ran out fast, that some stores never took part, and that the promised benefits could not be claimed, leading to complaints of misleading marketing.

The terms also varied by region, with Zhejiang and Guangdong offering a buy-one-get-one-free teacher card and other areas offering magnets, storage buckets or a free medium cup. The episode shows how promotion rules in China's coffee and tea market can strain brand trust when store-level execution does not match the national campaign.

During the 40th Teachers' Day, Chagee launched an exclusive campaign called "Honor Teachers with Tea, Please Drink Tea," originally intended to pay tribute to the teaching community and enhance brand goodwill. However, after the campaign was implemented, it sparked widespread dissatisfaction among teachers: limited-edition cards at many stores were quickly given out, and some stores didn't even participate in the campaign, causing many teachers to make futile trips. This article reviews the specific rules of the campaign in various regions, teachers' actual experiences in claiming the offers, and responses from the brand and store managers, to help you understand the ins and outs of this marketing controversy.

"A piece of chalk, two sleeves of dust, a three-foot podium, four seasons of cultivation." September 10 is China's 40th Teachers' Day, and the entire country is immersed in a strong atmosphere of respecting teachers and valuing education. All sectors of society are sending holiday greetings to teachers and educators in various forms.

Of course, businesses won't miss the marketing opportunity of Teachers' Day either, competing to launch exclusive offers for teachers to attract crowds and build brand reputation. Chagee launched the "Honor Teachers with Tea, Please Drink Tea" campaign, during which teachers could show their teaching qualification certificate and ID card at stores, scan a code to register, and receive exclusive benefits.

From posters at local Chagee stores shared by netizens across the country, the campaign periods and teacher benefits vary by region: From September 6 to September 10, teachers in Zhejiang and Guangdong could receive a Teacher Card, which entitles them to buy-one-get-one-free tea drinks; on September 10, teachers in Shanxi could receive a holiday-limited fridge magnet when ordering any two large cups; teachers in Jiangxi could get a limited-edition leather storage bucket for an additional 9.9 yuan after ordering two large cups of original leaf fresh milk tea; also on September 10, teachers in Sichuan and Lhasa could receive a free medium cup of Boya Juexian, and stores in this region seemed much more generous than their sister stores elsewhere.

It seems there are indeed many teachers who love milk tea, and even more who are fond of Chagee. Once Chagee's exclusive Teachers' Day offer was announced, it attracted a great deal of attention from teachers—beyond flowers and greeting cards, taking a moment to enjoy a cup of milk tea and share the happiness on social media instantly maxed out their professional pride.

A teacher from Guangdong shared her entire claiming process: She headed straight to a Chagee store early in the morning. The staff were extremely warm and polite. After verifying her certificate, the staff handed over the "Teacher Card" with both hands and said, "Happy Teachers' Day to you!"

Teachers who forgot to bring their original documents needn't worry either. A teacher from Ningbo shared that she forgot her teaching qualification certificate original at home, but cleverly showed the staff an official proof, and still successfully redeemed it, which was very touching.

But not all teachers got what they hoped for. Under the hashtag #ChageeTeachersDayBenefits#, many teachers shared their experiences, saying that local Chagee stores couldn't honor the holiday gifts, that they made futile trips, felt deceived emotionally, and turned from fans to critics.

The rule of "limited quantity, first come first served, while supplies last" sparked controversy. A teacher from Zhejiang complained that on the day of the Teachers' Day campaign, by the 10th, not a single card was left. The store opened at 10 a.m., and she arrived around 11 a.m., only to be told that they had been given out the day before. She inquired at several stores and got the same response—they simply didn't want to run the campaign at all.

Similarly, a teacher from Jiangsu said that Chagee's Teachers' Day benefits were marketed everywhere as the top item online, but in reality, they were impossible to get. The limited-edition cards were extremely few in number, and stores wouldn't even say how many they had. If you can't afford to run a campaign, don't run one.

In response, a person claiming to manage a Chagee store said that first, some stores indeed don't participate in the campaign, and second, it's a fact that teacher cards were claimed within hours. Each store's cards are uniformly allocated by the company, and the quantities are small. After giving out all of his, when more teachers came, he gave them student cards as consolation. Student cards also offer discounts, such as half price for the second cup and buy four get one free.

It is understood that in social media posts titled "Complaints about the following Teachers' Day campaigns," Chagee is prominently listed. Regarding such merchants who prioritize marketing over logistics, some netizens suggested to Chagee: If you don't have the sincerity to run a campaign, learn from other brands and simply don't do it. That way, the young ladies at the stores won't have to awkwardly respond to customers: "Our cards are all given out, please check with other stores."

Image source: Internet

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