Introduction:The collaboration between the new-style tea brand Uncle No Name and the popular mobile game Light & Night Love, once hailed as a successful case of cross-industry partnership, came to an abrupt halt on the day of its official announcement due to inappropriate remarks made by staff at some locations. This "shortest-lived collaboration in history," which lasted only three hours, not only damaged the brand's reputation but also exposed gaps in training and supervision within the franchise system. This article delves into the details of the incident and explores how brands can avoid similar crises in the future.
What was supposed to be a highly anticipated crossover between a tea brand and a mobile game ended on the very day it was announced. On December 14, the romance simulation mobile game Light & Night Love officially announced its collaboration with Uncle No Name, with plans to release limited-edition products on December 17. However, some employees at Uncle No Name stores were exposed for making insulting comments about the game’s players and characters. The related topic quickly topped the Weibo hot search list, garnering over 450 million views. Just three hours later, Light & Night Love announced the abrupt termination of the collaboration, which netizens dubbed the "shortest-lived collaboration event in history."
Uncle No Name subsequently issued an apology, acknowledging the inappropriate words and actions of individual store employees and terminating those involved immediately. However, this failed to appease the players, many of whom believed the brand had not fundamentally addressed the issues of employee training and management in its franchise locations. The incident not only damaged Uncle No Name’s brand image but also served as a cautionary tale for other brands seeking cross-industry collaborations.
Uncle No Name is a well-known domestic brand of fresh fruit tea, affiliated with Shanghai Zhenjing Industrial Co., Ltd., and co-founded by its founder Shan Weijun and Zhou Rongrong. Since registering its trademark in 2013, the brand has expanded rapidly through franchising. By October 2022, it had over 5,000 stores across more than 200 cities. Light & Night Love is an immersive romance mobile game developed by Aurora Studio. Since its beta launch in June 2021, it has amassed a large fan base and released its latest version in November 2023.
According to online reports, the incident stemmed from some Uncle No Name store employees displaying unprofessional and disrespectful attitudes when customers inquired about the collaboration products. Some employees even made disparaging remarks about the game, with one commenting, "I wonder if that widow scamming game is really that fun?" When customers pressed further, the employees failed to respond appropriately and instead escalated the conflict. Some store employees were even caught directly insulting game characters. These remarks, recorded or documented by customers, quickly spread online, sparking strong backlash from the gaming community.
In fact, prior to the official announcement of the collaboration, there were already signs of issues in the collaboration process. It was reported that due to the need for unified product launches and pre-distribution of materials, some store employees were suspected of selling unreleased collaboration packaging or freebies in advance, or even spreading misinformation on social media. These actions had already drawn the attention of the Light & Night Love project team, prompting them to request the collaborating party, Uncle No Name, to investigate and rectify the situation.
The official statement from Light & Night Love noted that the two parties had been in discussions about collaboration for several months, with the original plan to announce the partnership on December 14 and officially release the collaboration products on December 17. However, starting from November 24, the partner stores were frequently involved in negative incidents such as premature material leaks, dissemination of incorrect information, and unauthorized sale of freebies. Although Uncle No Name had publicly apologized for the earlier issues and pledged improvements, the incident on December 14 where employees insulted players ultimately led to the collaboration being terminated.
In its subsequent apology, Uncle No Name emphasized that the company had immediately launched an internal investigation, confirming that individual authorized store employees had engaged in serious misconduct. The involved stores were reprimanded and educated, and the relevant employees were dismissed. However, this explanation failed to earn the forgiveness of players, many of whom felt the brand had not shown sufficient sincerity and had only carried out superficial measures to address the public relations crisis.
This incident highlights the challenges chain brands face in controlling the training and service standards of franchise store employees during rapid expansion. For brands seeking cross-industry collaborations, ensuring service quality across all touchpoints during the partnership period has become a critical issue. Moving forward, whether Uncle No Name can regain consumer trust while improving its franchise management mechanisms will be key to the brand’s sustainable development.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
