MiHoYo, the developers of Zenless Zone Zero, approached us at the end of 2024 with a request to set up a collaboration with a coffee shop chain in Russia. At that time, players were looking forward to the version 1.4 content update, "A Storm of Falling Stars," which added new agents to the game: Miyabi and Asaba Harumasa.
The project goal was to create a unique opportunity for Zenless Zone Zero fans to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of their favourite game, feel like part of its world, and walk away with unforgettable emotions.
For the collaboration, we chose the Coffee Bon brand from Saint Petersburg and took full control of every stage of the project — from negotiations between the parties to coordinating the cosplayers’ activities.
After the second partner gave their approval, we had only 15 working days to organise everything, and we had to hit the ground running right after the major national holidays in January.
In the end, we ran a 20-day event from 12.01 to 31.01.2025 across 42 coffee shops in the city, organised themed days with activities, prize draws, photo zones and cosplayers, sold 10,000 litres of coffee and generated over 40,000,000 in reach.
The collaboration was designed so that every participant could feel a connection to the game not just through a screen, but in real life. We wanted to build a fruitful partnership and draw a broad audience to ZZZ through creative appeal and integration into their lifestyle. We pulled it off, because the collaboration with Coffee Bon was packed with interactive activities, themed locations and personal interaction with elements of the game’s universe.
The game developers wanted to put the spotlight on the character Hoshimi Miyabi and her "Coffee Practice," so we created two special themed drinks with flavours that directly reference the new agent. Anyone could support Commander Miyabi and buy coffee in 42 coffee shops across Saint Petersburg, and those who placed an order at the till received collectible cards — but only if they said the code phrase "Coffee in paws, ears at attention!" and showed Miyabi’s signature gesture.
On 18 January, a special event day unfolded for thousands of game fans, with activities held at two coffee shops featuring photo zones, cosplayers, and raffles for merch and promo codes. That day, fans drank more than 500 litres of coffee.
We drew up an optimal schedule that, despite the large number of guests, helped avoid queues and dissatisfaction — everything ran smoothly and comfortably. The day turned out to be genuinely joyful and memorable for everyone who took part.
By posting a photo with the hashtag #кофейнаяпрактикамеяби on VK or Telegram, participants got a chance to win a prize in the event’s raffle, and subscribing to the game’s social media accounts increased their chances.
We developed two Telegram chatbots specifically for the collaboration. The first chatbot was designed to streamline the distribution of the promo code and cut down the time needed to serve each customer; the second helped ensure that each person could enter the prize draw only once. The chatbot collected all the information about the raffle terms, guided participants through the next steps, and verified their subscription to the official ZZZ Telegram channel.
We also took charge of promoting the collaboration online, using various ways of engaging the audience. We published memes and illustrations by professional artists on social media, and in partnership with the Pancakeser and Gamma BadArt teams, created a viral animated clip featuring Miyabi and Section 6. The video and song delighted fans and spread all over the world.
On top of that, we tracked feedback from collaboration participants daily across all of Coffee Bon’s social networks and in themed chats, which allowed us to respond immediately and answer any questions related to the collaboration. Our contacts were listed everywhere so that fans could reach us at any time and leave feedback.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that Coffee Bon had no prior experience in running large-scale collaborative events. But we helped them with every aspect of management and preparation to make this partnership a success.
