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On August 29, Luckin launched a co-branding campaign with the cartoon IP Little Duck, but participation was limited to online channels. Many fans went to stores early and found no merchandise. The campaign was run by Luckin Instant Coffee, a different system from the offline stores, and the co-branded items were gift-only, not for sale.
The giveaway covered limited-edition thermos cups, stickers, and desk mats, obtained by buying designated Luckin coffee sets. Luckin Instant Coffee had built momentum from August 23 with teaser posters, and it formally announced the gift-only terms on August 28. The gap between online information and offline expectations left consumers disappointed.
On August 29, Luckin's co-branding campaign with the cartoon IP Little Duck officially launched, but it sparked consumer dissatisfaction because participation was limited to online channels only. Many fans rushed to stores early in the morning only to come up empty, and later discovered that the campaign was actually handled by Luckin Instant Coffee, which belongs to a different system from offline stores. The co-branded merchandise for this collaboration was gift-only and not for sale, covering limited-edition giveaways such as thermos cups, stickers, and desk mats, and it had already attracted a great deal of attention during the teaser phase. However, the mismatch between online and offline information left many consumers disappointed and also triggered discussions about brand co-branding strategies and the essence of coffee.
On August 29, Luckin officially launched its co-branding collaboration with that honest-looking, lovable Little Duck. But early that morning, many complaints from netizens flooded social media—this collaboration surprisingly had no offline channel, and the purely online operation made people feel it was intangible, greatly reducing their sense of participation.
It is understood that during the campaign, Luckin adopted a gift-only, not-for-sale approach for the Little Duck merchandise and offered three ways to obtain it: consumers who bought designated Luckin coffee sets could get limited-edition double-drink thermos cups, outdoor carry-loop cups, co-branded stickers, desk mats, and other merchandise. Thanks to the popularity of the cartoon IP Little Duck itself, even before the collaboration officially started, the limited-edition giveaways and guide posters had already attracted the attention of a group of Little Duck fans.
According to the Weibo updates of Luckin Instant Coffee, it had already begun building momentum for this collaboration on August 23, posting two consecutive "nationwide duck search notices," with images featuring two posters themed around a yellow background and a duck silhouette; on the 26th, it directly teased the collaboration with Little Duck three days later and simultaneously posted Little Duck's employee badge for joining Luckin; on the 28th, the official Weibo of Luckin Instant Coffee formally announced that the limited-edition Little Duck merchandise would be gift-only and not for sale, agreed to meet everyone tomorrow, and also posted images revealing the specific styles of the merchandise and the purchase guide.
Unlike the currently popular Black Myth: Wukong, the crossover partner Luckin chose this time, Little Duck, is an evergreen IP that has been quite popular among the post-90s and post-00s groups in recent years. This duck has simple lines and a plump white body, with extremely rich facial expressions and body language. It first appeared on the WeChat emoji platform in April 2017 and accumulated a large fan base with its cheeky yet honest personality and versatile style.
As of January 2020, Little Duck had released 8 albums, and its emoji stickers had been sent 2 billion times. As a cartoon IP with extremely high fan loyalty, it has successively collaborated with well-known brands such as JD.com, Ele.me, and Pampers, and its strong sales-driving ability has also been widely recognized by crossover partners.
According to "international convention," the Luckin and Little Duck collaboration should have started punctually at midnight on the 29th. However, when fans rushed to stores in the morning, ready to bring Little Duck home according to the guide, they found themselves stood up.
Some netizens left comments under Little Duck's official account expressing confusion: they had seen the collaboration news earlier, excitedly ran to a Luckin store, but saw no duck at all. Little Duck's admin had no choice but to repeatedly explain that this collaboration was with @Luckin Instant Coffee and only supported online e-commerce channels. It is understood that similar cases of coming up empty were not uncommon. Another netizen @Luckin Instant Coffee said they had just bought a 59-yuan drink but did not receive the stickers promised in the guide. Helpful netizens then pointed out that this "Luckin Instant Coffee" was not that "Luckin Coffee"—the former specializes in e-commerce channels and belongs to a different business line from stores.
With reminders from helpful netizens, everyone disappointedly realized that Luckin's co-branded Little Duck merchandise this time was not available in offline stores or in the online mini-program, and could only be obtained through e-commerce channels such as Tmall, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Douyin, and the Luckin Coffee APP/mini-program. The duck that was within reach had flown away, which was truly a letdown. There is a saying in some circles that perhaps because Little Duck had just collaborated with Berry this year, it could no longer collaborate offline with Luckin, but this speculation has not been officially confirmed.
Amid this confusion, both warranted and unwarranted, some netizens also suggested that brands should refocus on improving coffee quality and taste—after all, with collaboration after collaboration, what they are ultimately doing is still the coffee business.
Image source: Internet
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
