Progress Update

1. Background Research-- I read a couple of scholarly articles about Starbucks and an article about branding. These gave me some background about the company in general as well as how people have used brands to push agendas before (see citation for Logo Logic).

I also read through the timeline/history that Starbucks has up on their site, and helped compile a list of key people.



2. Data Collection-- I mainly focused on three areas/projects for data collection:

a. I took pictures of storefronts (both close-up and from across the street) of Starbucks locations in Seattle. I took pictures mainly in the University District and downtown, although I also took some in Wedgewood and Fremont. Unfortunately, the majority of the pictures were lost due to a major technical problem. However, some things that I noticed while taking the pictures are follows:

-Starbucks isn't too picky about their location--they mostly purchase space that has already been created.

-Most of these shops have a minimalist, modern look with clean lines and lots of black.

-Usually they have lots of windows as well--many times an entire wall will be 75% glass.

-For the drive-through locations, and some larger or corner locations more cream and white colors are used and there is a more "post-modern" look, with decorations in the architecture.


b. I created a google map of Starbucks in Seattle. This can be found in the links section in the right-hand toolbar of this blog. I named each location by neighborhood (as closely as I could). I did not map any Starbucks out of Seattle city limits. Observations I had were:

-There's at least three times as many Starbucks in downtown than there are in any other neighborhood of the city.

-There are more Starbucks in the North part of Seattle than there are in the South end (maybe due to socio-economics of the areas???).

-The farther away from downtown, the less Starbucks' there are.


c. I constructed and distributed a survey about the Starbucks logo. Questions covered recalling the Starbucks logo from memory, describing it with the aid of a picture of the logo, general feelings about the logo, certain preferences having to do with the logo, as well as where the person was located in the city and where they were from. I have yet to organize and code responses for the survey, so I don't have too many solid observations at the moment. The survey was available to anyone who had an account with the UW.

Christian Group Takes Issue w/ Logo

Ad Age has a recent article about a Christian Group ("The Resistance") that is taking major issue with the Starbucks logo.

See it Here


And the Stranger Slog comment on the article: here

NOTE: The image the Slog article uses is the original logo, not the recent re-release.

Survey

The survey responses have been very interesting so far. I'm looking forward to getting more responses, looking through them, and beginning to code them in a couple weeks.

If you are from the Che study or a visitor to this blog, and attend/ed the University of Washington, you can participate in the survey by clicking the link below. You must have a UWnetID to do so.

Access the survey here.

More Data Types

Here are some links to articles that I found about the Starbucks' logo and the study of logos and the affects on the consumer. They were really easy to find and I think they will be helpful in referencing and getting ideas from, while moving forward with the research.

1. Defining the Mermaid: Letter to Howard Schultz, Chairman of Starbucks Coffee Company (http://www.nyu.edu/cas/ewp/barrentinedefining03.pdf)
2. Color Principles of Design (http://swc2.hccs.cc.tx.us/tan/2004StudentWorks/2d/kylie/kylieColor.pdf)
3. CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF REBRANDING: THE CASE OF LOGO CHANGES (http://dspace.uta.edu/bitstream/10106/572/1/umi-uta-1769.pdf)
4. Starbucks Wars (http://japundit.com/archives/2006/02/23/2025/)

Useful Data Types

I believe that we should include articles about the Starbucks logo as a useful data type in our research. For example, the following article was found on Lexis Nexis and has some helpful information towards our research, "When it comes to branding, Starbucks' cup runneth over" PR Week (US) March 26, 2007.
In addition collecting artifacts with the starbucks' logo on it will be beneficial to our research to display the various ways it is depicted in society. These artifacts can be anything from an empty coffee cup, to a stir stick, to a mug with the logo. By having real evidence of the image, we can observe it closer and consider where it came from, what its purpose is, and how it affects our study.

Data types

1. Pictures of the Starbucks logo not located in or on Starbucks stores. Appearance of the logo around the city, whether it be advertisement or garbage. Record of the number found.

2. Note what Starbucks merchandise the logo is on. Merchandise including their in store supplies like cups, napkins, bags, etc. Tally a percentage.

3. Images of the parodies of the Starbucks logo notating their popularity. One example is cartoonist Kieron Dwyer. Compare the semiotic elements of the real logo and the copy and see what is most included in the copy images.

4. Survey Starbucks consumers, non-Starbucks consumers, and even Starbucks baristas about the logo. Questions may include asking them to describe the logo off the top of their head. Their overall feeling toward the logo, "Is it visually appealing?", "What stands out first?" "what do you think about the new promotional logos?" etc. Ask if they are originally from Seattle. If not, ask if they noticed the presence of Starbucks more here than where they are from. It would interesting to note the responses from native seattlites and non natives and see if there are differences in perception and overall feeling toward Starbucks and its logo.

Types of Data

1. Graphic timeline of the evolution of the Starbucks logo

2. Pictures of storefronts, noting where logo (and which) logo is used

3. Map of all Starbucks in Seattle (and possibly other cities)

4. Survey: Ask people to describe the Starbucks logo both from memory and while looking at it.