Introduction:When Luckin Coffee announced a collaboration with the ethnic dance drama "Dream of the Red Chamber," Yihetang quickly followed suit with an event themed around the original novel. Not only were the timing of the two collaborations close, but their promotional posters were also strikingly similar. This seemingly coincidental overlap in brand partnerships actually reveals an underlying strategic competition in marketing. This article takes an in-depth look at the approaches of both major brands, showing you how to capture consumer attention and maximize brand benefits through collaborative events in a fiercely competitive market.
After adjusting its 9.9 RMB promotion campaign, Luckin Coffee received less-than-expected market feedback. To regain consumer confidence, it successively launched cherry blossom season limited-edition drinks and co-branded merchandise with the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art. However, these moves did not generate much market enthusiasm, as consumers remained focused on whether the original discounts would return.
Just as public attention began to shift, Luckin dropped a major announcement via its official Weibo account — it was about to launch a co-branded series with the ethnic dance drama "Dream of the Red Chamber." The news immediately sparked heated discussions online, with netizens showcasing humor and creativity in the comments section. Some joked, "If I'm drinking both tea and coffee, how am I supposed to dream?" while others wondered, "Are the next Four Great Classical Novels all going to get co-branded too?" This demonstrated strong consumer anticipation for the collaboration.
Unexpectedly, Yihetang, a chain tea drink brand, also announced its own "Dream of the Red Chamber" collaboration plan on social media slightly later that same day. Surprisingly, the poster Yihetang released had almost the exact same composition as Luckin’s, except the main characters were replaced with its own products. This quickly ignited online discussion, with netizens playfully dubbing it the "Battle of Baoyu and Daiyu," and engaging in fun interactions in the comment sections of both brands.
Yihetang even quoted Lin Daiyu’s classic line “If I’d known you were coming, I wouldn’t have come” in the comments section of Luckin’s official post, successfully drawing a lot of online attention. It then released its own version of the co-branded promotion. Although the main visual layout was similar, the central characters and merchandise designs incorporated elements from the "Dream of the Red Chamber" painting album illustrated by Qing Dynasty artist Sun Wen. In fact, Yihetang’s collaboration was with the original novel "Dream of the Red Chamber," not the ethnic dance drama version that Luckin partnered with.
Looking at the timeline, Yihetang’s promotional actions actually started slightly earlier than Luckin’s, but its official event went live a bit later. Analysts pointed out that this may have been because the initial promotional effects did not meet expectations, and there were concerns that Luckin’s collaboration would steal the spotlight and online traffic. Therefore, Yihetang chose to quickly follow up after Luckin’s official announcement, using the moment to generate buzz and build momentum for its own collaboration.
This seemingly accidental collision of collaborations actually reflects the agility and creativity in branding and marketing strategies. Luckin sought to enhance its brand image and emotional connection with consumers through cross-industry collaboration with culture and the arts, while Yihetang leveraged the same cultural IP and clever community interaction to spark an online craze. Both approaches were creatively unique, giving consumers laughs while also showing how brands can stand out in a competitive market.
In summary, this collaboration clash is not just a coincidence, but a real-world showdown of brand marketing strategies. For the industry, whether coffee or tea brands, there is much to learn from this about leveraging cultural IPs, engaging communities, and timing events to create more appealing collaborations.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
