How a brand works globally: a multimodal study of Starbucks on Douyin

Abstract

The paper examines the approaches employed by the international brand Starbucks to establish and enhance its brand image and loyalty in the Chinese market through the social media platform Douyin. The paper analyzes six short videos from Starbucks’ official Douyin account and divides them into images by different scenes. Applying visual grammar as the analytical framework, the paper indicates that Starbucks positions its brand image as a social status and fashion trend, an integral aspect of Chinese consumers’ daily routines, and a sustainable representative. It has successfully entered and adapted to the Chinese market and emphasized its own brand characteristics. This study focuses on the content of the short videos from Douyin and examines the verbal and graphical aspects of brand image establishment and marketing strategies. The paper tries to figure out how the international brand Starbucks operates globally from a linguistic perspective and gives some insights into other international companies.

Keywords

• Starbucks
• Douyin
• multimodality
• brand image and loyalty
• Art & Visual Culture
• Media Communication