TOW #6: Starbucks' Visual Rhetoric

The idea for this TOW came to me a few weeks ago, while I was at Starbucks after school with Hannah. We were heading out, and as I went to throw my coffee cup away, I realized the words on the trash can: "Landfill" and "Recycle". I bemoaned putting my cup in the landfill side of the bin, feeling incredibly upset by the idea of my piece of trash going to a landfill where it would stay there for an eternity, so I put it in the recycling side. Hannah and I joked about how the diction used on the Starbucks trash can was effective in making people want to recycle, and how I should "do my next TOW on it." I realized that a lot of Starbucks' successful marketing strategies can actually be connected back to their use of rhetoric, and decided to actually follow through on that promise. Here I am.

Starbucks is an incredibly profitable business built off of a common American interest: coffee. Established in 1971, the company at first had humble beginnings in Seattle, Washington. However, it grew rapidly over the next 50 years, becoming one of the world's biggest billion-dollar corporations to date. The various aspects involved in Starbucks' success include its in-store aesthetic, its word choice in advertisements, and imagery used in store displays to entice customers to purchase their coffee.

The visual aesthetics of Starbucks stores around the country help make it a welcoming and enticing environment for customers. The colors used stick to a neutral palette, with warm browns and bright coppers adorning the interior of the store. The use of these colors create a calming atmosphere for patrons - I know when I enter Starbucks, I immediately feel at home, between the color palette to the scent of coffee to the soft acoustic music playing throughout the store. Starbucks has set up specific playlists to be played in its stores, and the music within these playlists are calming and welcoming, helping keep old customers coming back and attracting new customers all at the same time.

Starbucks Coffee - Portland, Oregon

The use of rhetoric in the various advertisements used for different Starbucks products is incredibly effective at attracting new customers to the stores. The imagery selected is is of a high-quality beverage, appealing to the senses. This is the sole image on the advertisement, which serves its purpose: to display a product and make customers enticed to buy it. The words are simple: "Here's to the best part of your day", showing the crowd appeal of the cappuccinos. The word choice on this advertisement is similar to that of the trash cans in Starbucks - simple, straightforward, and to the point. The main words on the trash cans are "Someday everything will be recyclable. Until then, let's sort it out together. Thanks." The use of collective words like "let's" and "together" let customers know that Starbucks is with them: they are not a heartless, faceless corporation. The strong negative diction on the trash side, using "Landfill", encourage customers to rethink their decisions and tendencies to automatically throw everything in the trash. These words prove very effective, as Starbucks prides itself on its environmental conservation policies.