Java City's flawed non franchise building sales promo

Sales Promotion activities that communicate distinctive brand attributes and contribute to the development and reinforcement of brand identity are termed consumer franchise building promotions. On the other hand, Non franchise building promotions are designed to accelerate the purchase decision process and generate an immediate increase in sales. These activities do not communicate information about a brand's unique features or the benefits of using it, so they do not contribute to the building of brand identity and image.

Its imperative for a marketer to understand when and which promo format to use. Just yesterday, I passed by a Java City Cafe' that had a board in front that stated, '50% off'. Now I am thinking, '50% off on what'? The pastries, or the coffee, or the non food merchandise? Either way, every customer who sees that promo offer, will associate it with coffee & food (that's the core merchandise) and he is going to wonder whether its because there's something fishy about the food, maybe its stale?

I don't know whether the sale is a 'clearance' one, as maybe the Java City brand is folding up? Whatever the reason, I would rather the board said, 'Buy a Cappuccino and get a chocolate cookie, ABSOLUTELY FREE!'

Helps negate the 'stale' association. By the way, the cookie, I hope, is a fresh one!