Assignment 1-3

For the Love of Joe: The Language of Starbucks
Coffee is the choice of drink for many Americans for several reasons. The first reason is the addictive quality of the caffeine that much of our society depends on for energy in the morning to get them going. Another reason is the social aspect of the coffee date. Many people use a trip to a coffee house as an outing, a way of maintaining social relationships. Even when there is not time for a large social gathering most people can find time to stop for a cup of coffee with a friend. It is a time to talk, to catch up with a friend, to relax and enjoy that cup of coffee.
This article focuses on the Language of Starbucks. Starbucks is considered a marketing marvel because of the small amount of advertising dollars they spent in their first twenty-five years. This is a business that has thrived because of word of mouth advertising. One way that they have built a following is the language that they use within their restaurants. They have a friendly atmosphere and they use language that makes people feel both invited as well as romanticized. They often use language that would be used to describe personal relationships when describing them in romantic terms. This type of language is used on their website, menu boards, and in-store advertisements. They call their blends powerful, exotic, and intriguing, The coffee matcher uses words such as sure thing, adventurous, and downright daring. They do not use the typical language of a coffee house that only describes how bold the coffee is. They use language that makes the coffee seem romantic to give the stores a romantic feel that will make people want to continue to return frequently.
The renovation of St. John’s Catholic Newman Center included the addition the Illini Market which serves Starbucks coffee. The reasoning behind adding this service was that it would be a drawing point to coffee drinkers throughout campus. Starbucks is a major representation of the coffee market and the name alone is enough to attract people to a location. The Newman Center strives to serve all Catholic students from the University of Illinois. While the main group of students that use the resources of the center are the residents of Newman Hall the goal is to reach all Catholic students and staff. By adding services such as a Starbucks outlet we are able to attract these additional Catholic students into the building in the hop that they will become contributing members to the center and the Chapel. This article gives me insight into why Starbucks stores are so very successful. It is not solely because of the taste of the coffee or the atmosphere of the restaurant but also because of the language of Starbucks. The language that they use to attract customers to the restaurant as well as the language that they use to convince their customers to continue to return time and time again - 10% of customers comes to Starbucks twice each day.