Running Head: SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 1 Seattle’s Seafaring Siren: A Cultural Approach to the Branding of Starbucks Briana L. Kauffman Master of Arts in Media Communications March 24, 2013 SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 2 Thesis Committee Starbucks Starbucks Angela Widgeon, Ph.D, Chair Date Starbucks Starbucks Stuart Schwartz, Ph.D, Date Starbucks Starbucks Todd Smith, M.F.A, Date SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 3 Copyright © 2013 Briana L. Kauffman All Rights Reserved SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 4 Abstract Many corporate brands tend to be built on a strong foundation of culture, but very minimal research seems to indicate a thorough analysis of the role of an organizational’s culture in its entirety pertaining to large corporations. This study analyzed various facets of Starbucks Coffee Company through use of the cultural approach to organizations theory in order to determine if the founding principles of Starbucks are evident in their organizational culture. Howard Schultz’ book “Onward” was analyzed and documented as the key textual artifact in which these principles originated. Along with these principles, Starbucks’ Website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube page were analyzed to determine how Starbucks’ culture was portrayed on these sites. The rhetorical analysis of Schultz’ book “Onward” conveyed that Starbucks’ culture is broken up into a professional portion and a personal portion, each overlapping one another in its principles. After sifting through various tweets, posts and videos, this study found that Starbucks has created a perfect balance of culture, which is fundamentally driven by their values and initiatives in coffee, ethics, relationships and storytelling. This study ultimately found that Starbucks’ organizational culture is not only carrying out their initiatives that they principally set out to perform, but they are also doing so across all platforms while engaging others to do the same. Based on these findings, this thesis aims to test the permeation of culture in corporate brands while posing a challenge for future research to classify social media sites as a part of culture. Also, the findings of this study propose a re-examination of Kennedy and Deal’s culture types in order to adapt to Web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies. SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 5 This project is dedicated to: My parents - Brian and Lori Kauffman You have given me endless love and support and have shown me the true meaning of diligence, persistence and sacrifice. I could never thank you enough for all that you have done for me. I love you both, sempre. and My siblings – Bryce, Chelsea and Dustin I have been so blessed to have the three of you who I can always count on – no matter how many miles apart we are. Thank you for always being there. I love you guys, sempre. and My entire family (and friends) You all are so special to me and have impacted me in so many ways. Thank you for all of your love and support. I have been blessed beyond what I could have ever imagined to be surrounded by such amazing people. I love each and every one of you, sempre. SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 6 Acknowledgements Page First, I would like to thank Dr. Clifford Kelly for encouraging me to apply for the M.A. Communications program as a junior when I had absolutely no intent in doing so. Without your encouragement, I would not be in this position today. Secondly, I want to give the utmost thanks and appreciation to my Chair and friend, Dr. Angela Widgeon. Dr. Widgeon, thank you for your encouragement, support and guidance not only throughout this thesis process, but also throughout my academic and professional career. You have taught me so much in the field of academia and advertising, and it has been a pleasure and honor being taught by you as a student and working with you as a Graduate Assistant. I have enjoyed these last three years and have grown so much, both professionally and spiritually. Thank you for all that you, and Dave, have done. Thirdly, I want to thank my committee members, Dr. Schwartz and Professor Smith. Dr. Schwartz, you are extremely gifted in your field and you have given me such a passion and inspiration for the field of advertising. Thank you for your practicality in teaching and sharing your knowledge and experiences. Professor Smith, you are an amazing artist and have been such a great mentor and friend over the past five years. You have taught me so much not only about graphic design, but also about communication in general. Thank you for your encouragement throughout the years and all of the opportunities that you have given me. Lastly, I want to thank all of my grad school friends. I would have never survived this whole process without each and every one of you. You all are going to do amazing things and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for your futures. I love you guys – GSA fam. SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 7 Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Introduction ............................................................. 10 Chapter 2 – Literature Review ………………………………… 15 A. Defining Culture ………………………………… 15 a. Functionalist vs Interpretive …………….. 17 B. The Corporate Culture …………………………… 20 a. Defining Corporate Culture ....................... 21 b. Functions of Corporate Culture ................. 21 c. Elements of Corporate Culture………….... 22 d. Types of Corporate Culture ………............ 26 C. Social Media ……………………………............... 29 a. Facebook ……………………………….... 30 b. Twitter ………………………………….... 31 c. YouTube ………………………………..... 32 d. Role in Corporations ……………..……... 33 D. Cultural Approach to Organizations Theory ......... 33 a. Cultural Performances ………………...... 35 b. Culture as a Metaphor ………………....... 36 c. Symbolic Interpretation …………............. 37 d. Cultural Change ………………………… 37 E. Application of Theory in Various Studies ……… 39 F. Critique of Theory …...………………………….. 40 G. Starbucks ………………………………................ 40 a. Starbucks Studies ……………………..…. 42 SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 8 b. Starbucks and Social Media …………….. 44 c. Starbucks Culture ……………………….. 45 H. Rationale for Approaching Starbucks Interpretively ……………………………………. 45 Chapter 3 – Methodology …………………………………….... 47 A. Rhetorical Analysis ……………………………... 48 B. Data Collection …………………………………. 49 C. Data Analysis and Interpretation …………….…. 51 D. Verification ……………………………………... 52 Chapter 4 – Results …………………………………………….. 54 A. Schultz’s “Onward” …………………….……….. 54 B. Website ………………………………………….. 64 C. Twitter …………………………………………… 65 D. Facebook ………………………………………… 70 E. YouTube ………………………………………..... 71 Chapter 5 – Discussion …………………………………..…….. 73 A. Research Questions Answered …………………. 73 B. Limitations ……………………………………… 79 C. Implications for Future Research ……………….. 80 D. Conclusion ……………………………………… 80 References ……….……………………………………………… 82 Appendix 1: Culture Charts & Models ………………………….. 98 Appendix 2: Website Data ………………………………………. 101 SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 9 Appendix 3: Tweet Categorization ……………………………… 102 Appendix 4: Twitter Chart Results ……………………………… 231 Appendix 5: Facebook Data …………………………………….. 239 Appendix 6: YouTube Data …………………………………….. 243 Appendix 7: Infographic of Overall Findings ……………….….. 244 SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 10 Chapter 1: Introduction In the days of Greek mythology, sailors were enchanted by the beautiful songs of the Sirens due to the powerful gift of their voices. Enticed sailors who stepped foot on the Sirens’ island were trapped, never to leave. Starbucks is a modern day Siren. The coffee aroma and very culture of Starbucks has enticed consumers. Those who step foot through those doors, never leave. At the rate in which Starbucks has expanded over the years, not even Odysseus could have prepared for this strong-cultured, global corporation. Before digging deep into what Starbucks, as a brand, represents, it is important to unravel the historical meaning, identity and design of the face of Starbucks’ brand: the Siren. The fate of every person’s life boils down to the dependency of one organ: the heart. The heart pumps blood to every organ in the body and therefore, life itself is dependent on the ability of the heart to operate effectively. According to Steve M., a Senior Writer for Starbucks, the Siren is at the heart of Starbucks, meaning without her they could not operate effectively. Steve M. describes her symbolism as this (2011): She is a storyteller, carrying the lore of Starbucks ahead, and remembering our past. In a lot of ways, she’s a muse – always there, inspiring us and pushing us ahead. And she’s a promise too, inviting all of us to find what we’re looking for, even if it’s something we haven’t even imagined yet. She means something different to every one who sees her, who knows her. For me she’s kind of the final say on the spirit of everything I write and everything we do. (para. 6-8) Although the modern day Siren embodies everything that Starbucks is and strives to be, the logo went through many transitions in order to signify Starbucks’ culture today. Originally called Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice, the logo, established by Terry Heckler while looking SEATTLE’S SEAFARING SIREN 11 through old marine books, was “based on a sixteenth-century Norse woodcut: a two-tailed mermaid, or siren, encircled by the store’s original name…that early siren, bare-breated and Rubenesque, was supposed to be as seductive as coffee itself” (Schultz & Yang, 1997, p. 33). During the time of Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice, Howard Schultz had established his own company, Il Giornale, whose logo “reflected the emphasis on speed” and was “inscribed in a green circle that surrounded a head of Mercury, the swift messenger god” (Schultz & Yang, 1997, p. 88). In 1987, Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice and Il Giornale merged logos. The merging of these logos was to “symbolize the melding of the two companies and two cultures…[w]e kept the Starbucks siren with her starred crown, but made her more contemporary. We dropped the tradition-boudn brown, and changed the logo’s color to Il Giornale’s more affirming green” (Schultz & Yang, 1997, p. 108). From 1987-2011, Starbucks’ siren remained consistent in nature, but had minor revisions in order to establish more cultural symbolism while creating solid brand recognition.