Superpowers in a Can A Visual Journey Through Energy Drink Posts on Social Media David Monk Master of Philosophy (Marketing) School of Marketing Curtin University Perth 2019 Declaration I Abstract In the modern world we all live in a visual culture, which is fuelled in part by visual social media on such platforms as Instagram and Pinterest. Energy drink brands have realised this, and are targeting young adults aged 18-30, with attractive visual storylines posted on social media. This study is all about unearthing the brand meaning behind these visual stories. A visual nethnography is used in this study, which is broken down into three parts. (i) A series of walk through interviews were conducted with a group of young adults, where they pointed out to the researcher the images on Instagram and Pinterest, which they find most engaging and give the reasons why they find them engaging. (ii) These images where then collated and reconstructed using the VINE (Visual Interpretive Narrative Exercise) stories technique to unearth the concrete themes behind the visuals. (iii) The same set of collated images were then run through the 5A’s analysis of Aura, Arcadia, Allegory, Antimony and Archetype to unearth the more abstract themes and give an enriched brand meaning. Eight participants aged 18-30 took part in the research, with a result of 138 individual images gathered from three leading energy drink brands in the Australian market: Red Bull, Monster Energy and V Energy. The concrete and abstract themes unearthed portrayed a visually appealing world to this age cohort, filled with familiar characters and stories that they recognise. The implications for this research may show that the energy drink brands on social media are pushing messages of performance enhancement, risk taking and health promoting behaviours. From which there needs to be stricter control of the advertising messages produced by the energy drink brands. II Acknowledgements As my own MPhil journey is drawing to a close, I would like to take the time to thank some people who have supported me over the past four years. First of all I would like to thank my research supervisors Dr Robyn Ouschan and Dr Julie Napoli, for their tireless work and guidance in helping me reach this level. Your methodical approach, tough love and empathetic dedication to my supervision has inspired me to go on to the next exciting chapter of my life. Third of all I would like to thank my family, especially my parents, George and Dianne Monk for instilling the value of further education into me and putting up with me through the highs and lows of the MPhil process. III Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................... I Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. III Contents .................................................................................................................... IV List of Figures .......................................................................................................... IX List of Tables ......................................................................................................... XIII Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 History of Energy Drinks ................................................................................... 2 1.3 The Controversy of Energy Drinks .................................................................... 3 1.3.1 Harmful Ingredients .................................................................................... 4 1.3.2 Energy Drinks Marketed as a Healthy Product ........................................... 5 1.3.3 Energy Drinks Marketed as Performance Enhancers .................................. 6 1.3.4 Energy Drinks Encouraging Risk-taking Behaviour ................................... 6 1.4 Regulating Energy Drink Marketing .................................................................. 7 1.4.1 Industry Self-regulation ............................................................................... 7 1.4.2 Advertising Standards ................................................................................. 8 1.5 Lessons Learned from the Marketing of Other Harmful Products .................... 9 1.5.1 Comparison to Tobacco Studies .................................................................. 9 1.5.2 Comparison to Energy-dense, Nutrient-poor (Junk) Food Studies ........... 10 1.5.3 Comparison to Alcohol Studies ................................................................. 10 1.6 The Power of Social Media Marketing ............................................................ 11 1.7 Research Questions and Objectives ................................................................. 13 1.8 Approach to Study ........................................................................................... 14 1.9 Significance of the Study ................................................................................. 15 1.10 Scope of the Study ......................................................................................... 16 1.11 Conclusion and Thesis Structure .................................................................... 17 Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................................................................. 18 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 18 2.2 Defining Brand Meaning ................................................................................. 18 2.3 Overview of a Framework for Understanding Brand Meaning ....................... 20 2.3.1 Aura: The Brand’s Essence ....................................................................... 22 2.3.2 Arcadia: The Brand’s Community ............................................................ 23 2.3.2.1 Brand Meaning is a Shared Experience ............................................. 23 2.3.2.2 Brand Morphing ................................................................................. 26 2.3.3 Allegory: The Brand Story ........................................................................ 28 2.3.3.1 Let the Pictures Tell the Story ............................................................. 28 2.3.3.2 Framing Theory .................................................................................. 30 2.3.3.3 Visual Storytelling and Interpreting Visuals: What is Known From Other Social Sciences? ....................................................................... 31 2.3.3.4 Visuals in Marketing as Part of Popular Culture ............................... 32 2.3.4 Antinomy: The Brand Paradox .................................................................. 33 2.3.4.1 There Are Two Sides to the Same Story .............................................. 33 2.3.4.2 Is There a Darker Side to Brand Meaning Associated With the Marketing of Harmful Products? ........................................................ 34 IV 2.3.5 Archetype: The Brand Characters ............................................................. 36 2.3.5.1 Brand Meaning Has a Thousand Faces ............................................. 36 2.3.5.2 Shadow Archetypes ............................................................................. 37 2.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3: Research Methodology ......................................................................... 41 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 41 3.2 Entrée ............................................................................................................... 43 3.2.1 Overview of Social Media Platforms ........................................................ 43 3.2.1.1 Instagram ............................................................................................ 44 3.2.1.2 Pinterest .............................................................................................. 44 3.2.1.3 Snapchat .............................................................................................. 45 3.2.2 Energy Drink Brands in Australia ............................................................. 45 3.3 Visual Data Collection ..................................................................................... 46 3.3.1 Overview of the Walk-through Interviews ................................................ 46 3.3.1.1 Allowance for a Third Unlisted Brand ............................................... 48 3.3.2 Sample ....................................................................................................... 48 3.3.3 Cataloguing the Images ............................................................................. 51 3.3.3.1 Red Bull ............................................................................................... 53 3.3.3.2 Monster Energy ................................................................................... 55 3.3.3.3 V Energy ............................................................................................. 59 3.4 Visual Data Analysis and Interpretation .........................................................