Mary Chitwood

English 3059
Professor Cook
22 October 2015

The Rhetorical Devices of Starbucks.com

This document analysis looks at the way Starbucks.com employs different
rhetorical devises, primarily focusing on the main page of the website. Since
the website is available to anyone, the audience is diverse. Within and
besides the Aristotelian appeals of pathos, ethos and logos, the site manages
to gain this diverse audiences attention. The book Professional Writing and
Rhetoric discusses two perspectives from which to analyze a piece (or
multiple pieces) of writing. The first is a textual perspective, which looks
exclusively at the text; this means the language used, the readability, and
the stylistic nuances that a designer employs.1 The other perspective is a
social perspective, which looks at the broader picture in which the writing
exists. It looks at social roles, group purposes, communal organization,
ideology, and finally theories of culture.1 This analysis will broadly describe
some of the rhetorical devices used underneath both of these perspectives.
Under a textual perspective, Starbucks.com uses casual language
(vernacular) and small paragraphs for quick scan-ability. Under a social
perspective, the site uses multiple genres to speak to a variety of audiences,
such as information-seekers, blog-readers and coffee-fanatics. Ethos, logos
and pathos can be seen in multiple areas under both of these perspectives.

Rhetorical Analysis
Textual Perspective
Starbucks utilizes a vernacular, yet unique, language in its website. This
stylistic nuance meets the reader where he or she is. Primarily, this is seen
via contractions, which serve to give the site a conversational tone. For
instance, they write, A loyalty program thats all about you and Now
theres always time for a Starbucks coffee run.2 These quotes are found on
the main page of the sitea sort of first impression to the reader. Yet,
beyond this simple conversational language, the site piques the readers
interest with a few poignant vocabulary words. Describing Starbucks
Panama coffee, the writer tags the blend as having praline sweetness (see
Figure One)2. The word praline gives an exotic sheen to a coffee that could
just as easily have been simply called sweet. This same two-sentence
description also uses alliteration when it states that the coffee features
flavor notes of floral.2 These ordinary words become poetic and project an
almost ethereal view of the coffee that may, or may not, be merited. The site

also uses the word exclusive twice, subtly hinting that the viewer is special
for viewing this site (See Figure One)2. Or, conversely, that this site is special
for its restricted offers. This also serves to be invitational to the reader,
though, and not standoffish, since it is being proffered to the viewer like a
whispered secret.

Figure One: This picture, found on the main page of Starbucks.com shows the sites casual
language and you language. Here, both uses of the word exclusive can be found (one at
the top and the other toward the bottom).

This emphasis on uniqueness flows directly into the companys use of you
language. You language places a sentences emphasis on what the
customer receives, versus what the customer has to give. In other words,
Starbucks places customer needs as the focal point of the website. This is
also seen in Figure One. The site boats of One-of-a-kind Starbucks coffee,
delivered right to your door.2 The customers reading this understand that
there is an implied [that we have] delivered right to your door embedded
in the sentence. But the intentional lack of these words keeps the focus on
what the consumer receives, not on the we delivering it. This is an appeal
to pathos because it makes the reader feel important and valued. The site
might make a reader feel that his or her needs and opinions are of upmost
value to corporate Starbucks. Though this is probably not completely
accurate, using you language promotes this direction of thought in
consumers.
Small paragraphs make reading at a glance easy, which is generally what
consumers want. Web readers often scan documents in second, and
Starbucks caters to this type of perusing. The three green dots in Figure Two2,
together a sort of visually appealing tricolon, give consumers a lot of
information in a condensed amount of screen space. The diagram lets the

reader know that he or she can now order Starbucks online and avoid long
waits at coffee rush hours. Though no specifics are given, all of the
information provided reaches the scanning eyes of the consumer and invites
him or her to seek out more. The conventional tabs at the top of the
webpage also cater to quick browsing. Starbucks website holds a lot of
information, but is chaptered off into headings (the tabs) and then, further,
all of the subheadings underneath of those2. The tabs make browsing the site
simple and to the point.

Figure Two: Starbucks uses this model to quickly explain its new online order service.

Social Perspective
The convention of a website is to contain information about a certain brand,
service or idea. In this case, Starbucks uses its website to publicize all brandrelated information that it wants the public to have. The audience that it
caters to has to be a broad one, since the company is so wide spread. A few
audience categories are the following: coffee-drinkers (loyal customers and
new clientele), middleclass residents (largely, since the coffee is expensive),
new employees, social media users, and even environmental activists (based
on the companys focus on ethical harvesting). Figure Three shows some of
the target audiences to which the company caters.2

Figure Three: This index is found at the bottom of Starbucks main webpage.

The index in Figure Three does two things. First, it establishes a website
norm/convention, in which general housekeeping information is kept toward
the end of the site. Second, as stated above, the tabs lend themselves to
different audiences. All of these audiences converge, of course, at their
interest in Starbucks. The following diagram illustrates the purpose,
audience, and context of Starbucks website.

Within the conventions of a website, Starbucks employs appeal to ethos and

logos. The brand is concerned with being seen as credible. At the top of the
main page is a tab titled responsibility.2 Underneath this is a host of
subheadings about the ways in which Starbucks is doing its part to care for
the earth. These articles lend credibility to the Starbucks franchise.

Starbucks can ask others to be environmentally conscious because they

themselves are. And, for the environmentally conscious shopper, Starbucks
would be a guilt-free place to buy a cup of Joe. Looking at a broader
audience, coffee aficionados generally desire some sort of credibility in
coffee brewers/sellers as well. The how-to videos, found on Starbucks blog
under the 1912 Pike Blog tab2, establish this credibility. Viewers who can
find useful information about brewing coffee on Starbucks website are
probably more likely to trust the brands own coffee. Also within the social
context of a business (and website), Starbucks attempts over and over again
to convince buyers that this brand is the logical choice to buy from. The
entire website is working toward this goal. Going back to Figure Two2, the
simplicity of ordering coffee online and quickly picking it up at the store just
makes sense. In Figure One, the rewards program is all about you and
offers exclusive deals.2 Implicitly, this tells the consumer that this brand is
the logical choice to choose from. This idea is realized through words and
design, but it harkens back to the social context of a website and the many
audiences to which it appeals.

Conclusion
Starbucks wisely places the customer at foremost importance. This is
probably the most important take-away. Consumersthat wide spectrum of
audienceswant their needs to be met. Service providers have to place the
fulfillment of this need in the limelight. Use of you language primarily
accomplishes this. Beyond this, Starbucks is also skilled at presenting to a
myriad of audiences. They reach this gamut by using vernacular language
and by ordering information by tabs.

References
1 Professional writing and rhetoric, pg.48-50
2 Starbucks.com [Internet]. 2015; Available from: www.starbucks.com