Introduction:It’s no longer a novelty for new tea beverage brands to collaborate with popular IPs, but the execution details and fan feedback behind each partnership are what truly determine success or failure. Although Gu Ming’s first collaboration with the anime "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" encountered unexpected controversy, it quickly launched a second exclusive delivery-only edition in an attempt to regain market confidence. This article delves into the turning points of the entire campaign, real fan reactions, and how the brand can learn and adjust its strategy from the experience.
Cross-industry collaborations between new tea beverage brands and well-known IPs have become a common marketing approach in recent years, not only generating buzz but also helping to boost sales. As one of China’s leading chain tea brands, Gu Ming partnered with the popular Chinese animated series "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" in November this year to launch an exclusive limited-time campaign, initially rolled out in themed stores across 16 cities, which sparked a strong response from fans. However, before the event officially kicked off, an unforeseen incident triggered controversy, casting a shadow over what was initially considered a promising collaboration.
"The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" is a web novel written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, which later expanded into an animated series and TV drama titled "The Untamed," boasting a broad and highly loyal fan base. Gu Ming’s collaboration this time focused on exclusive themed store merchandise, including paper cups, straw sleeves, stickers, and acrylic standees. Among these, the “Heavenly Smile” and “Scroll” items were particularly popular and could only be redeemed at themed stores, attracting many fans to make cross-city pilgrimages.
However, before the collaboration even officially began, Gu Ming had to issue an apology statement due to the sudden cancellation of a planned drone birthday celebration. October 31st was the birthday of the protagonist “Wei Ying,” and the brand had organized a special celebration event. But due to weather conditions, the drone performance could not proceed as scheduled, leading to dissatisfaction among some fans. This was not the first time Gu Ming faced execution issues in a collaboration campaign — back in June, during a partnership with the game "Love and Deepspace," internal process errors had previously sparked protests from players, briefly damaging the brand’s image.
Although the drone show was not the brand’s fault per se, it still raised doubts among fans about the quality of the collaboration. Fortunately, Gu Ming responded swiftly, promising to reschedule the event, and with the emotional connection fans had to "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation," most supporters chose to give the brand a second chance.
On November 1st, the collaboration officially launched, and themed stores in Hangzhou and Chengdu saw long queues outside their doors. Many fans traveled from other cities just to collect the limited-edition merchandise. According to fans on-site, purchasing four collaborative drinks would grant a full set of merchandise, but some popular items such as the “Heavenly Smile” and “Scroll” were only available at themed stores, further encouraging fans to visit physical retail locations. On social platforms, there were numerous posts from individuals who queued from morning until noon just to receive limited-edition letters and participate in stamp activities, demonstrating the IP’s strong appeal to its fans.
Due to the strong response from the first wave of physical store collaborations, on November 8th, Gu Ming launched a second phase of the campaign, this time opening up ordering through food delivery platforms in addition to physical stores, making it more convenient for a wider range of consumers to participate. The brand hopes that by expanding the purchasing channels, it can further boost sales performance, while also attempting to rebuild trust lost during earlier setbacks in a more flexible manner.
Industry observers note that although brand and IP collaborations can generate high visibility and traffic in the short term, any slight oversight in planning, communication, or execution details can easily provoke fan backlash and even affect the brand’s long-term image. Striking a balance between hype and quality will be an ongoing challenge for new tea beverage brands in future cross-industry partnerships.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
