Rhetoric of Starbucks
Memorandum
To: Dr. Lee Cerling, Director of Research and Communications
From: Tanay Gabhawala
Date: 11/29/14
Re: Analyzing the ‘rhetoric’ of Starbucks and recommendations
It doesn’t really matter where in the world you go these days, because you can probably still get your grande non‐fat latte at Starbucks as if you had never left home at all. For many people, their latte is an indispensable part of their day. Or perhaps their espresso, cappuccino, macchiato, or frappacino—whatever the case may be. The fact that we even know how to pronounce the names of these drinks is a tribute to Starbucks and the influence it has had on a global scale. With 15, 756 stores around the world, you’re bound to be able to find one to get your much-needed coffee fix unless you’re in Antarctica. Part of the reason for this success is the covert marketing strategies employed by Starbucks to create a specific lifestyle for their customers.
Despite the popularity of Starbucks as a brand, you rarely see them run traditional advertisements. They promote their products more subtly by inviting their customers to enjoy a certain way of life and a certain set of values. In this report I would like to focus specifically on how Starbucks promotes this lifestyle through the design of their logo, the “The Way I See It” quotes—which are featured on the back of their cups—and how Starbucks fits in with the post-modernist identities of its clientele.
Starbucks uses a combination of the visual and textual to convey the lifestyle it wishes to project onto its customers. The fact that it doesn’t use a lot of obvious advertisements, in print or on TV, is significant because it allows Starbucks to sneak up on those of us who identify as Starbucks people. In our postmodern, globalized society we are increasingly loyal to brands. We use them to composite our own identities and advertise ourselves to the world. In the same way that the books we read, the music we listen to, and the art we love says
To: Dr. Lee Cerling, Director of Research and Communications
From: Tanay Gabhawala
Date: 11/29/14
Re: Analyzing the ‘rhetoric’ of Starbucks and recommendations
It doesn’t really matter where in the world you go these days, because you can probably still get your grande non‐fat latte at Starbucks as if you had never left home at all. For many people, their latte is an indispensable part of their day. Or perhaps their espresso, cappuccino, macchiato, or frappacino—whatever the case may be. The fact that we even know how to pronounce the names of these drinks is a tribute to Starbucks and the influence it has had on a global scale. With 15, 756 stores around the world, you’re bound to be able to find one to get your much-needed coffee fix unless you’re in Antarctica. Part of the reason for this success is the covert marketing strategies employed by Starbucks to create a specific lifestyle for their customers.
Despite the popularity of Starbucks as a brand, you rarely see them run traditional advertisements. They promote their products more subtly by inviting their customers to enjoy a certain way of life and a certain set of values. In this report I would like to focus specifically on how Starbucks promotes this lifestyle through the design of their logo, the “The Way I See It” quotes—which are featured on the back of their cups—and how Starbucks fits in with the post-modernist identities of its clientele.
Starbucks uses a combination of the visual and textual to convey the lifestyle it wishes to project onto its customers. The fact that it doesn’t use a lot of obvious advertisements, in print or on TV, is significant because it allows Starbucks to sneak up on those of us who identify as Starbucks people. In our postmodern, globalized society we are increasingly loyal to brands. We use them to composite our own identities and advertise ourselves to the world. In the same way that the books we read, the music we listen to, and the art we love says