A Research on the impacts of international event marketing on the brand equity, case of Starbucks in China

RESEARCH DISSERTATION – YUSHI ZHUA Research on the impacts of international event marketing on the brand equity, case of Starbucks in China attitudes to Starbucks event marketing in Chin

RESEARCH DISSERTATION – YUSHI ZHU

A Research on the impacts of

international event marketing on the

brand equity, case of Starbucks in

China

attitudes to Starbucks event marketing in China, the role of consumer’s perceptions, brand awareness and its impact to the buying behavior

University Of Birmingham

Abstracts

This research was designed to explore the use of event marketing on Starbucks in China Thisincludes the explorations of consumer’s attitude towards the firms as well as consumer’sperception to the events, sponsorships of Starbucks along with brand equity The research uses

a range of different research tools/ methods in order to explore the topic Interviews and

Surveys collections was applied based on the theme of different perception and howconsumers react

The research comes to a conclusion of event marketing can have great effect on firm’s activitiesand performance as well as on customer’s loyalty It helps firm to research on the market;approach and sync with consumer’s feedbacks and needs Nonetheless, communication andinteractions of firm with consumers are also promoted as firms are quicker and more proactivewith responding to consumers Other potentials of firm’s influences also conclude in the study

as well as comparisons between consumer’s answers and responses to the questions to analyzethe perception of each different group of respondents/customers including age, occupation,income, etc

Brand personality theory 11

Starbucks in China 12

Objectives 13

Aims of the study 13

Data Collection and Analysis methods and process 14

Action plan/Time Horizon 21

Validity and reliability 21

Part 1 General questions 45

Part 2: Research Questions 46

however still vague about it contribution about other aspects of brand equity (Gupta 2003).Following Kotler and Armstrong, the activities of event marketing can be either owned by thebusiness, or by a third party and approved by the firm through funding programs On the otherhand, event marketing involves but is not limited to event sponsorship It is different fromindirect, distant, broad-based mass media, as it allows a highly interactive, direct experiencewith the consumers in which generate a more significant and deeper relationship withcustomers (Miller & Washington 2014) However, consumer’s perceptions were mostly affected

by the brand Change in brand equity is the major effect of event marketing; it is usuallypresented as a tool to promote brand equity in the brand management literature (Keller 1998;2009) And following previous researches; brand equity can be considered as the ‘added value’

of the product (Farquhar, 1989) in relation to two main perspectives: one is focused on based brand equity (FFBE), refers to the brand’s financial value while the other centered onconsumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and addressing to consumers’ replies to brands

firm-One of the companies that pioneer in the event marketing is the case of Starbuck in China Inaccordance with the company; Starbuck’s investment in the People’s Republic of Chinaexpecting the country to be the biggest market outside of the United States with its potentialsabout the possible numbers of customers It was stated by Starbucks itself that the firm’sefforts in China have been the key to its international expansion efforts since 1999 whenStarbucks’ first store in Beijing was opened The company aims to build the world's mostadmired and trusted business which held a crucial role in the firm’s success in China by itsUnparalleled Partner Investments – recognize the significant contributions of Starbucks’partners and Elevating Customers Experience – innovate consumers’ relationship andconnection with Starbucks In many years, Starbucks has increased its investments in itsoperations expecting to promote the business’s publicity and exposure in China FollowingStarbucks; at the end of 2013, the firm has opened and delivered its unique ‘StarbucksExperience’ to customers to more than 300 stores in 10 new cities across China with itsimplementation of innovating to surprise, delight and exceed the expectations, enhancing thebrand’s coffee experience at the forefront of its stores The study will assess the effectiveness

of Starbucks international event marketing strategies and its results on the brand equityanalyzing its contributions to the firm by exploring researches and analysis on consumer’sperception with the effect of event marketing; advertising and promotion of the brand throughsponsorship as well as celebrities’ endorsement The literature review of the topic is vastly asthere have been many studies carried out to further analyze the effects of event marketing onthe performance of business in overall.

Literature Review

The next part of the study is to give an analysis of the literature review as there are a widevariety of researches have been published/conducted about event marketing It will furtheranalyze topics concerning the objectives of the paper as mentioned It provides backgroundabout brand equity as well as surrounds the critical themes of consumer perception theory orconsumer’s self-concept when purchasing or buying products/services also the understanding

of how it affects consumers decision contributing towards the study of event marketing alongwith brand acknowledgement and awareness and how it affects the buying behavior ofcustomers Methods of event marketing including sponsorship, celebrity endorsement and theconcept of customer’s loyalty

Event marketing on brand equity was viewed by previous studies to conclude in two keyperspectives: firm-based brand equity (FFBE) and consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) Manyterms and methods have been used in order to conceive CBBE which are mostly followingFeldwick (1996) and Christodoulides (2010) researches The most two famousconceptualizations of CBBE were suggested by Aaker (1991) and Keller (1993), which bothrealizations were stranded in a cognitive-psychology approach In particular, following the study

of Aaker in 1991, CBBE was refer as a set of brand liabilities and assets that were connected tothe brand itself Brand symbol and brand name will add or reduce the product or service value

of the company (p 15) On the other hand, Aaker also further his researches and acknowledgedfive components of brand equity as (1) brand associations, (2) brand loyalty; (3) brand

awareness; (4) perceived quality and lastly, (5) other proprietary assets like trademarks,channel connections and patents Whilst Keller (2003) defined brand equity as variousoutcomes of consumer’s responses to the brand marketing along with the brand knowledge.Furthermore, Keller also suggested factors of brand equity include brand knowledge (1993); thestudy concludes brand image and brand awareness; and brand performance; brand salience;consumer judgments; brand resonance; consumer feelings and lastly brand imagery (1998).Nonetheless, brand equity is critical to support the product's image (Clearly, 1981); it is foundthat brand equity helps to increase positive values of the firm’s image (Ginden, 1993) alongbrand value (Park and Srinivasan, 1994) Following a research by Rossi et al (2015) customersare acknowledging the branding of products is indeed connected to the quality of product itself.Not only so but brand equity also promote consumers preferences (Rooney, 1995); opinions(Moore, 1993); and lastly, it helps the business in engaging its products with consumers(Chernatony and Dall'olmo Riley, 1998) The method of creating shared values in theinternational business context has formed a new track of reinvent businesses and exceed theconventional notion of corporate social responsibility (Porter & Kramer, 2011) By achieving theneeds of society and community, event management is constantly striving to build values andstandards among the community together Thus, harms to the brand image can be critical asconsumers’ perception of the brand is crucial; it could trigger a bad impact on the brand equitysuch as the case of Starbucks with the company tax avoidance outrage (Wanke et al., 2007) as ithas negative effects on consumers perception about the brand afterwards Following Keller'sBrand Equity Model (1993); brand knowledge can lead to changes in consumer’s attitude andresponse to the brand (Tuominen, 1999) Brand trust is also important to brand managementdue as in accordance to the study done by Gouteron (2011) integrity, credibility andbenevolence are the three factors that connecting consumers and the brands On the otherhand, in term of brand reputation, consumers responses in term of firm crisis is largely is critical(Vassilikopoulou et al., 2009 and Jorgensen, 1996) as the extent of control and response ofbusiness to the crisis can affect consumers emotion (Weiner's, 1986) as it shows a sense ofcontrol and level of management of the firm Firms that are poorly manage in responding with

crisis will reflect different buying behaviors than firms are well managed (Jorgensen, 1996) inaccordance with the Service Brand Relationship Model (Tsai, 2011) However, even thoughthere have been many studies indicating the advantages of event marketing in promoting brandimage and awareness, there still haven't much detailed researches or discussions around othereffects on brand equity it has (Gupta, 2003).

Sponsorship or as known as funding programs of event marketing or known can be scholars,etc Sponsorships was known as a tool to promote effect in relation with both product/brandand business degree (Cornwell & Maignan 1998; Walliser 2003) On one hand, sponsorshipshave optimistic effects on the picture and imagine of the sponsoring business (Javalgi et al.,1994) but on the other hand, cultural sponsorships only influence the firm positively in term ofcompany preference but not to the business’ competences (Schwaiger, Sarstedt and Taylor,2010) In term of product/brand extent, sponsorships or event marketing was known as a tool

to promote brand’ awareness; making consumers recognize the brand of the businessassociated with the events; making the brand more recognizable and easier to remember;promoting brand recall and brand recognition (Herrman, Walliser & Kacha 2012; Cornwell et al.2006) as a result of ‘image transfer’ as known as a method of linking and shifting theconnections between the sponsoring firm and the event (Gwinner & Eaton 1999); indicatingthat sponsorship is in relation with the brand representation and the event (Close et al 2006)

As the events show and stand for a term of commitment of the business to the community(Irwin et al 2003) Despite, the study of Woong Kwon, Huyn-Woo Lee and YuKyoum Kim (2015)

of creating shared values between national team identity and global event brand equity pointedout potential conflicts of social problems in local communities between the global and locallevel of the sponsorship Celebrity endorsements is also considered as a part of brandingtechniques that influencing consumers choice following the two researches by Kamis (1990)and Audi et.al (2015) which established the concept of celebrity endorsements on brandloyalty

Not only with sponsorship however event marketing management trade shows are also found

to have similar influences on brand equity as well in term of image-building; promotingrelationships and information-gathering (Kim & Lee, 2008) As follows the literature researches

on the effects of event marketing, there have been various tools as well as particular eventsmethods such as sponsorships, etc emphasized to have tremendous impacts on the aspect ofbrand equity However, the study also shows there are more considerations in the brand equitydimensions rather than the influences of event marketing on brand equity overall.Furthermore, manager’s management also found to have great impact on the promoting of thebrand (Cornwell, 2001) Nonetheless, it was suggested in Groza, Cobbs, and Schaefers (2012)work in relation to brand equity between the sponsored brand and the sponsoring businessthat sponsor incongruence is mostly unfavorable to the sponsored company’s brand equity atthe title sponsor level In addition, it was found by Bruno Schivinski on his study about theimpact of brand communication on brand equity through Facebook, or looking at the effects ofsocial media communication strategy in branding i.e.; social media is an useful tools toencourage the building of brand awareness and positive brand associations; the platformsprovide unlimited outreaches and tools for consumers to interact, express, share and createcontent about brands and products Starbucks engage consumers to constantly create brand-related content and interact with the brand to further connect with consumers, promotingbrand preferences and brand loyalty

Event marketing linked with brand loyalty as the promoting of event marketing withsponsorships, social media, etc., also increase brand loyalty which is known as a positivereactions of customers towards the brand and their willingness of purchasing the products orservices of the firm again (Baldinger and Rubinson, 1996) It was found in the study thatcustomers are responsive to brands event; moreover, with brand loyalty, event marketing alsoincrease firm preferences as well as business priority and firm’s base as businessacknowledgement are spread amongst consumers through the words of mouth once asrecommended by other consumers which helps keep the company growing (Heskett et al,1994)

Further on the researches of loyalty-based management, it was found that having loyalrelationship and intimacy with the firm or the brand will reduce the cost of attracting newconsumers as well as increasing the market share and the profit of the business (Rechheld,1993) which was also suggested by Barsky (1994) In accordance with the critical of brandloyalty, there have been various studies in relation with building strong, firm brand loyalty ofbusinesses with consumers based on brand factors and it influences including brand trust.Brand trust in considered to be critical to the coffee shop industry (Aleman, 2001), it helpsretaining consumers which considered to cost less than attracting new ones.

On the other hand, other studies also suggested that the key of trust is communication withconsumers which means that firms need to keep on their interaction with consumers (Morganand Hunt, 1994) which stated that communication has promoted a good impact of businesswith consumers (Gronroos, 2000), (Duncan and Moriarity, 1998)

Conceptual framework

The conceptual framework developed to describe the relationship between employee,company management, customers’ trust and brand loyalty Previous studies have shown thatcustomers loyalty are affected by corporate identity in which including corporate image,reputation that have influences on customer’s trust or their loyalty in general (Nguyen et al,2013)

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of customer’s loyalty (Nguyen et.al, 2013)

Consumer Perception Theory

The studies in relation to consumer’s perception are important towards business as it affectsconsumers buying behaviors and purchase decisions It analyzes which are the factors thataffecting consumers motivation of buying or not buying the products The studies of customersperception when purchasing the products/services has been developed throughout time from

as early as 1974 when it was suggested by Landon Jr in relation to the brand attachment asself-image In other words, consumers are more emotionally attached to the brand if theproducts match with their identities or the personalities of buyers Goods, products that areconnected to the self-image of consumers are more likely to have effect on the emotionalattachment towards the brand

Moreover, Kumar et al (1987), suggested that brand is what influence consumer buyingbehavior, it is the critical factor of consumer perception; other variant factor such as age,income, etc are just the small parts of the big picture On the other hand, it was found on thestudy of self-perception that individual or consumer attitudes were formed from their past,previous actions and behavior (Scott, 1981) However, other studies also shows that consumersbehavior and perception was formed, processed through various information, data and sourcesaround them; the varieties was then selected amongst different options (Bettman, 1979) Asconsumers perception or behavior based on the determination, motivation, processingcapacity, and memory of individuals about the products, it is critical to also further analyzed thedynamics of consumer’s perception and information processing and the attention of consumers(Kapoor, 2014) Perceptual selection of consumer’s behavior determines on the two mainfactors which are consumer’s motives and previous experiences Both are equally critical whendetermining their buying behavior (Wieber, 1978)

For consumers, price perception is the primary factor of self-perception theory as consumersacknowledge or are more aware of things that are more likely to affect them in general(Koekemoer and Bird, 2004) It was found that sales promotions influence consumer’s attitudes

and buying behavior towards the firm or the brand in general as it is motives for consumers todetermine whether to purchase the products or not.

Despite, another study by Aaker (2000) suggested that brand awareness play an important part

in consumer perception, promoting a stable buying patterns behavior Consumer awarenesscan be raised through the interaction of firms, products with consumers Furthermore, Chris(2012) argues that in term of price perception, price of the products have large effect onconsumer buying behavior and loyalty as consumers will evaluate their purchase through theusage of the product or determine whether the value of the products are fit with the quality Itwill affects the next purchase of the customers, whether they will repurchase the product, itdetermines by the satisfactions of consumers of the products (firms) This also supported bySabesson (1992) and Rees (1992) as they argues that the quality of the products are what affectthe consumer usage of the product

Brand personality theory

Another supported theory relates to the concept of brand management and event marketing isbrand personality theory as in accordance with previous studies consumers are exposed to thebrand’s elements and various different factors, after time, consumers will recognize the firmthrough the repeated contacts with that factors whether it is the brand packaging, logos or etc.The more encounter customers have with it, the more they recognize the brand through such(Durger, 1988) Therefore, the theory suggested that products should be approach byconsumers from their perspective and feeling rather than by different person It can best utilisethe firm or in other words, the products in accordance with consumer’s preference (Upshaw,1995) and (Solomon, 2003); since it refers to personal, individual's characteristic that connectswith the brand (Aaker, 1997); the theory was supported by many other researches later on.Furthermore, brand personality theory also suggested that the brand personality in relationwith the brand logos are the best resemble the firm (Plummer, 2000) Brand personality can be

in relation with the use of social media as it providing businesses with opportunity to formconnections with customers (Karkkainen et al, 2000) However, following Belk (1988),

consumers are more prefer businesses with personality traits relate to personal characteristics

or similar to self-image It is a configuration between products image and self-image Self-imageare intrigued from self-perception as it influences the buying behavior of consumers (Plummer,2000) as personalities affecting buying behavior of users brand personality helps firms to beable to determine the brand perception of consumers and amending their marketing strategiesand operations more fit with customer’s needs (Aaker, 1997) it serves as a communication toolbetween businesses and consumers however it was found in other studies in relation to brandpersonality that consumers are also after self-esteem factor when purchasing products (Sirgy,1986)

As the result, brand management and consumer concept are important factors that can affectthe concept and efficiency of event marketing

Starbucks in China

Starbucks has remained the undoubted leader in the coffeehouse industry Over the past 17years since its first store was opened in Beijing, the business stores have been used andembraced by Chinese customers as a community gathering place As the limitation in activities

of the business was restrained Starbucks China is required to innovate its present to consumers.Innovation, brand image and consumers incentive is the aim of Starbucks events in China withthe largest open business-to-consumer (B2C) platform (Starbucks, 2016) Starbucks China firstinitiated The Partner Family Forum in 2012 as the first-of-its-kind employee engagement eventpromoting the harmonization of Starbucks operation as well as the brand imagine in relation toits employees as the existing pay and benefits plans reflect Starbucks’ aims to its partners andworkers by offering inclusive health insurance to full-and part-time partners Nonetheless,Starbucks also offers Bean Stock program which provides equity to all partners of the business.The company also introduced Starbucks China Talent Exchange Program for retail partnersalong with the operation of Starbucks China University which has allowed Starbucks to benamed as the China Best Employer as well as other awards such as Best HR ManagementCompany, promoting the brand image and recognition through the funding of such programs,

enabling not only consumers but also investors, employees, etc to perceived the brand in agenuinely term increase the company’s awareness and value.

Additionally, Starbucks also elevate its own Starbucks Experience to the consumers by theenactment of the Starbucks Tmall e-flagship store, offering Starbucks users a convenient andsimple way to send a Starbucks gift digitally along with Starbucks Reserve stores in 150 storesacross China as it established to highlight a number of the world’s rarest, most exotic andexquisite coffees that is limitedly available globally What’s more is Starbucks China YouthDevelopment Program which was introduced in June 2014 in China which provides support forover three years for 1,500 university students for those with underprivileged conditions fromboth urban and rural areas (Starbucks, 2016)

Objectives

The objectives of the study is critical to introduce the purpose of the project as well as itprovides a general knowledge of what are the aims of the paper to avoid confusion in analyzingthe topic With having clear objectives of the study, it will be easier for writer to perceive theanalyzing process also concentrate and select suitable, appropriate survey questions; theoriesand data that helps with achieving the analysis of the study

The aim of the study: “To explore the consumer’s perceptions of brand equity resulting fromevent marketing of Starbucks in China”

Questionnaires are attached in the appendix

Aims of the study

❖To test the relationship between Customer response to brand management

❖To test the customer's’ perception with event management

❖To test the relationship between brand management and event management

❖To understand more about the benefit and relationship of event marketing and consumerloyalty as well as promoting firms market

❖To test the level of proactive of consumers towards firms activities.

Hypothesis 1: Consumers are aware of the events

Hypothesis 2: The events are perceived as positively benefit or close with the community

Hypothesis 3: The event marketing of the firm follows locals’ characteristics; consumers finds

the products are not against their moral, religious beliefs, etc

Hypothesis 4: The events affect the firm interactions with consumers could be positive such as

promoting relationships or more trustworthy

Hypothesis 5: Knowledge of the events positively affects brand image, consumer’s judgments or

purchasing opinions

As clear objectives are laid out, the aim of the paper will be to analyses the effects of eventmarketing on customer’s buying behavior and brand image of Starbucks in China, particularly,the aim clearly specify the target of the survey and study Objectives also suggested thatcustomer’s awareness; responses towards the brand equity and the events, strategies carriedout by Starbuck is critical as it is the fundamental factor to analyze the influence of the tool

Data Collection and Analysis methods and process

The chapter discuss the methods for the study as different approaches towards theunderstanding and analyzing of were applied It present how the participants were recruited;the philosophy of the research, selection of the topic for the study as well as the data collectionmethods and ethical considerations, justification for the project Furthermore, samplingmethod and the time table for the project is also presented

Selection of topic

Deciding on the topic for the research is the start for the study since determining an interestingtopic can motivate and inspire the author to work on their analysis and dig deeper into the

research (fisher, 2010), the topic of the study is the effect of event marketing on Starbucksoperation in China The topic was inspired by personal preference for the brand as well as itsactivities It was found that the topic itself has many related previous studies which mostlyfocus on successful Starbuck is and what determine the success of the firm however, less wasfocus on the Chinese market therefore the area of research was decided to be China’s marketparticularly in Beijing - the main location of Starbucks in China Research questions andobjectives mainly focus on determining how Starbucks able to establish brand awarenessthrough its sponsorship and social media platform; furthermore, it also analyzed the effect ofbrand identity and customers behavior.

Philosophy

The study will approach the positivism of the research philosophy as some matters can beobserved and described from an objective viewpoint (Levin, 1988) along with the qualitativeanalysis method by Hair, Bush and Ortinau (2008) as the data and information collected fromthe surveys and interviews were cautiously recorded, reviewed, checked and analyzed (seeappendix 1) This study aims to understand the effect of event marketing on consumers; as theresult, the study focuses on the customer's’ perceptions and attitude to identify thephenomenon

The concern is that the study undertaken should be relevant with the research questions Atthis point, the interpretivist philosophy is needed to understand how communication andinteraction can affect customers’ feeling, loyalty or trust Approaching the lack of objectivity is

in some cases related to interpretivist research methods However, the study still adopts thepositivism philosophy, using both qualitative and quantitative method

Strategy

The mix methods of collecting data will be selected basing on the objectives and researchphilosophy The mix method content both quantitative and qualitative method

The study will apply the exploratory research design method which can gather moreinformation from customer, deeply understand what customer thinks insight (Anderson andShattuck, 2011) This exploratory method is used to find or exam the behaviors, motives andattitudes of participants, allowing for the quality of experience to be explored and discoveredrather than the frequency which is relevant for this project (Easterby-Smith et al, 2008).Secondary research which is refers to date that has already exists and was collected forpurposes other than the current research (Hair et al., 2009) is crucial in order to understand thearea in a more in-depth analysis The method is useful to gain a background of customerbehaviors It is also flexible than having chance to explore into new findings.

The exploratory method have limited in sample size Thus, for Quantitative research methodwill be approached to gather more data from customers by using questionnaire and survey,which conduct in social media

Interview data were recorded and written down on specific key notes as well as on facialexpressions and body languages

Ethical Considerations

To complete the studies of the dissertation, ethical considerations are critical to the generalassessment It acknowledges the responses of the respondents to the research as it reflectstheir true view on the matter Respondent will need to be aware and understood the process aswell as the purposes of the research, interview, survey, clearly before any further action;consent and permission from respondents are vital Before conducting the interview,participants were required to signed the consent forms (appendix) to make sure they’re fullyunderstand the purpose of the research and its process Disclosure and confidential aboutrespondents will follow the requirements in accordance with their needs and permissions Eventhough the research was carefully monitored and carried out under considerations howeverfrom the recruiting of respondents; some of the participants know the author as the responses

might have been likely to inclined to bias as respondents feel the need to answer the questionsfollowing the idea that it might have been what the author wanted to be.

Limitations

The data was an ongoing process throughout the research for the paper The information andanalysis was collected may be accurate with the market at the time however there will bechanges on the market or the industry, etc other factors which could affect the results and thestudy to not be highly accurate afterwards Therefore, new data and research is constantlyrequired in order for the study to be exact and for the current market, industry situation;customer’s opinions and preferences

Another limit to the research is that it heavily relies on geography and the area of researchwhich could create difficulties to collect all the data from the respondents Inefficiency orincorrect data could occur during the time of transfer therefore it is necessary and fundamentalthat all the information are double checked if there are any adjustment needed to be made.New information or new data could be added to the research Furthermore, empirical findingswill also analyze and compare with other academic resources to avoid prejudice towards thestudy in term of differences

Another thing to consider in term of the validity of the research is that the paper is about thestudy of the effect of event marketing of Starbucks firm Therefore, the research is onlyapplicable to the firm or the brand respectively or the industry in general Furthermore, theresearch is also limited in comparison with other similar firm in the industry such as the coffeebeans, etc as it only focus on the event marketing, sponsorships, other activities of Starbuckstherefore it might be lack of comparison analysis in general Moreover, as the paper focus more

on the events of the firm as the result, management analyzing might not be comprehensive.However, the study discusses and provides more in depth considerations towards the topic

The sample size would be 50 people who were picked up randomly and variable in group age.There will be restrictions on the nationality because this study focuses on Chinese citizens only.

In the similar selecting method, 20 people for in-depth interview The sample didn't specificallytarget any ages, sex, occupation, etc group however other requirement is that they must havebought products at Starbucks before.as following Saunders at al (2016), focused sampling orhomogenous sampling in one particular group of targets can lead to the misrepresentative of

an entire category where the collection in opinions and samples are board Sampling on varioussubjects will generate higher chance of getting accurate data on the topic

The objective of sample size id to collect surveys from 50 Starbucks customers in Chinahowever, during the process, due to lack of time as well as the unwillingness to do the surveys

of consumers, the study was only able to collected responses from 43 participants However,despite lack of participations, the responses from respondents were still able to reflect themajority of consumer’s mind

The interview will be carried out mostly based on Facebook Mostly the interview will be whatcustomers feel about Starbucks so the time will be spent listening to then majorly Eachinterview will be 15 mins also The survey will strive to get as many of people involved in the

interview as possible The interviewees will be contacted through Facebook The location of theshop will be Starbuck coffee shop in 19 sanlitun road, chaoyang, beijing, china.The process ofthe interview will be through facebook as there are reviews and checkins of customers on thestore facebook Interviewee will be approach by messages asking to join the surveys andinterviews If there are not an adequate number of interviewees willing to do the survey, samemethod will be used for other store of Starbucks in Beijing as well to try to reach the target The

https://m.facebook.com/pages/Starbucks-Sanlitun/145004032206016

Helps from other sources would be necessary as well in order to carry out data collection tomeet the requirements and get the adequate numbers of surveyors as Haoster Wong, apersonal friend will do institutions collection to recruit the respondents

Data collection

Qualitative method

The project designed qualitative research as a tools to give insights for the understandings anddeep knowledge of the effect of event marketing The data collect from the survey andinterviews will be analyzed basing on the thematic analysis The analysis focus on summary anddivide the information into the similar themes then using Nvivo 10 as a tool to sort allinformation again into same themes Finally, the results used to build the Thematic Modelwhich giving a general picture about what customers think

Quantitative method

The primary data collect by quantitative method in questionnaire structures via Nvivo 10 Themain source of data is about customer in Beijing using Starbucks The secondary data will becollected from Starbucks website, previous findings etc

Secondary data is described as the ‘data that were collected from other sources then used for aresearch project’ (Saunder et al., 2009) Secondary data is considered critical to the paper as itprovides the study with background of previous research in the matter of the topic consideredwith credible resources; comparing the eligible of the research and partially help to determinethe appropriate methodology for the paper Electronic research were taken through theschool’s library searches were conducted through credible website and reliable sources werefiltered for the accuracy of the research based on academic journals, papers, etc Carefulconsiderations of the work were moderated and taken throughout the whole process ofanalyzing and researching data However, for secondary data collection of previous literatures,some thesis and research were taken from a long time ago which might no longer be irrelevant

or accurate at the time being Therefore, in recent year research are more considerabletowards the collection of researches and literatures so as careful analyzing of the sources inorder to best promote the accuracy of the projects

their impressions and what do they think about the store in general After that the interviewertook the lead and ask participants questions that are related to the analyzing of the chosentopic Each interview was strived to determine personal attitude and evaluation towards thebrand; acknowledging how brand awareness affecting their decisions and perceived.

The results from surveys were analyzed after collections Charts were used in order to make aneasier and more understandable view of the data Charts were created through a website toolcalled Amschart (https://live.amcharts.com/) Nonetheless, answers and data from surveyswere also collected then analyzed using SPSS

Action plan/Time Horizon

The research was expanded and conducted for 5 months from May 2016 to 2016, during theperiod, participants will be discussed thoroughly the changes and experiences, furthermore, thestudy was carried out over a long duration therefore analysis can be more precisely

Validity and reliability

Validity considers the efficiency of the tools and approaches used for the study and theaccuracy of the analysis while reliability determines the consistency of the research, whetherthe findings are the similar and representable (Saunders et al 2016)

The research based on the activities and operations relating to Starbucks It cannot betransferred to other firms as it is restricted to the environment and events of Starbucks In-depth studies among with various methods of data collection were carried out in order toachieve the highest accuracy of the analysis The answers and data collected through theinterview were then also checked again for permission as well as proof check before furtheranalysis The interviewee answers can be different after time or changes of companies however

if the contexts remain the same, the answers of interviewees will be quite similar if the samestudy are to be carried out again

Data Analysis

This part of the study set out the study is to show and analyze the results of the research surveyand interview through qualitative and quantitative method Appropriate method has been setout and the findings are as below:

Actual sample size: 43

The chosen amount for samples of survey to be collected is 50 however, due to the time frame

of the collection and analysis as well as the limitation in resources, the respondent numberscollected was only The respondent number was chosen to be 50 at first as it is higher than theactual needed amount to analyses the factor however, for more validity as well as to avoid risk

of insufficient respondents, higher selection of samples was decided However, during theprocess, a sufficient amount for further analyzing the topic from the information and data ofthe respondents have been collected therefore the initial amount of 50 participants is no longernecessary therefore only 43 samples were collected In addition, a method was applied duringthe collection process to increase participants interest in doing the interview was to offer to payfor the respondent’s drinks as it will boost their willingness to take part in the study Therefore,

it is appropriate to stop the collection process once the sufficient amount of respondent arecollected due to restricted and limited budget

This part is drawn from the findings and data collected from the interview answers and surveyscollected during the project It is also contrasted with other papers, literatures and studies toconsider the best understanding and appropriate approach, method and recommendations.The data collected from participants after transcript will be simplified and reduced for easier

understandings and analysis through the use of coding Further, iterative approaches wereapplied to the analysis process.

Branded Products and Trust

In relation to the brand of the products, respondents have revealed that one reason for productpreference is due to the brand of the products and whether they trust the brand Theparticipants were previous customers of Starbucks or in other words, they have used theproducts before

‘Yeah, I’m a regular at the store, my friend took me to this place and I’ve been drinking theircoffee ever since’ (Male, 27)

During the interview, many had stated that the reasons why they choose the product isbecause of the brand acknowledgement For example, respondents said that ‘it is because thehigh popularity of Starbucks that they choose to buy its products’ (female, 32); ‘Starbucks hashad great reputations for its drinks and services’ (male, 41)

The idea of a high quality products linked with the brand or that the luxury of buying Starbucks

in relation with the idea of conspicuous consumption There is no dispute for the crucial value

of the brand and how it majorly affects customers buying behavior

Respondents believe in the quality of branded products as value as it is more trusted amongstusers ‘Starbucks brand itself means a lot’ (Female, 21) or as stated by another participant ‘Evenjust a cup that has Starbucks written on it is good’ (Female, 18) Brand name is highlyconsidered by respondents as it reflects the quality of the products as well as the users

Brand Personality

Brand personality is important towards the construction of brand recognition as it is formed inthe mind of customers When consumers try to recall the brand, particular, exquisitecharacteristics of brand will come up to their mind as part of brand identity (Durgee, 1988).There are many factors which help to provoke the recognition of brand both emotionally andphysically In response to the surveys and the interviews, it was found that customers tend torecognize Starbucks brand through their logo and the color green Those are the elements thatcame up to their recognition even before they saw the word Starbucks

‘I like the decoration Starbucks has on their cup, it’s simple but also complicated at the sametime Really intriguing’ (Female, 23)

Starbucks logo itself has a meaning, the twin tailed mermaid in the logo is known as Melusineand in accordance to Rook (1985), consumers are easier to recognize the brand if it is in relationwith famous public figures however controversial to the research, respondents were able torealize Starbucks brand logo however none knew or recognized the story behind it - ‘I don’treally know what the meaning of their logo but I’m interested to know’ (Male, 23)

Firms strive to create own brand identities through various factors; color also represent thebrand personality and have effect on consumer realization (Kargere, 1979) The personalitytraits associated with Starbucks are easy going, relaxing, sophistication and purity Thesecharacteristics also in relate to the brand logo with the two color white and green as stated byone participant: ‘I like Starbucks logo, it really nice and sophisticated to look at, it also calming

as the color is not too bright and vibrant’ (Female, 16)

Following a study of Millward Brown in 2012; personality traits associated with successfulbrands in China are ‘wise, caring, creative, straightforward and brave’; which cover partial theconcept of how Starbucks brand resemble

Celebrity Endorsement

Celebrity endorsement is another section of event marketing whereas in accordance with mostrespondents, product acknowledgement is through the celebrity users as well as theyremember and recognize the products through famous figures One of the general opinion fromthe respondents is that they realize the brand through many famous public figures and it triggerand interest them in buying the Starbucks out of curiosity as stated by one of the participant: ‘Ireally like Ariana Grande and it came to my awareness that Ari herself is a big fan of Starbucks

as well and Starbucks also created an Adriana drink as well! I tried the drink as soon as I knowabout it and it has been my favorite ever since’ (Female, 16)

The responses were also similar to Audi et.al (2015) findings as the use of celebrityendorsement can affect largely to the consumer or products preference and customersopinions

Source: Referral Candy – ‘26 Examples of Social Proof Used In Marketing’

In addition, Starbucks also promote the use of celebrity endorsement on its products by makingfamous figure inspired drinks

Source: Colbert (2014) – ‘Caffeinate Your Monday with 11 Celebrity-Inspired Starbucks Drinks’

However, it was interpreted from the findings that amongst the respondents, women are tend

to be more responsive to the endorsing of celebrity towards the usage of products which issupported by Premeaux (2009) research as they find the product are more emotionallyattached if it was to be used by their favorite idol

‘I found it hilarious and interesting that they make those drinks that combines with thecelebrities Sure I would want to go to a Starbucks store and order an Ellen for myself haha’(Male, 25)

Other reason could be due to personal preference And in accordance with the research of Choi(2012), consumers prefer the products even more if it also considers personal self-image alongwith celebrity image in combine as ‘celebrities also drink Starbucks just like normal people’(Male, 19) - said one of the respondents; as customers consider themselves are even moreconnected not only to the products but also to the celebrity

However, contrast to celebrity endorsement, personal dislike of the product because of thecelebrity can also be the negative case of celebrity endorsement as the coordination of dislikeand boycott from celebrities can lead to the losing of customers of Starbucks such as with thecase of Neil Young or Donald Trump, etc whereas fans or supporters may want to follow theiridol, star decision or request.

Furthermore, in term of networking, it not only increase the convenience for consumershowever, it also increased interaction of Starbuck with customers promoting the firm’s imageand its relationship as in accordance with the participants: ‘I liked Starbucks website onFacebook so sometimes while using the website, a few of Starbucks posts popped on mynewsfeed, some of them are really funny’ (Female, 23); ‘there have been a few times I went toStarbucks to buy coffee because there was discount I saw on Facebook earlier’ (Female, 40);customers are more emotionally attached to the firm accordance with positive interactions.According to Rimlinger (2011), businesses use social media as a tool to increase and promotelong term relationship with consumers which is a cheap, efficient method It provides firm withendless opportunities to interact with consumers; furthermore, firms can also use social media

to collect customer’s feedbacks about their products, it’s one of the most convenience ways to

collect user's reviews (Hajli, 2013) The platform provides firms with opportunity to use itsservice for promoting, informing and sharing with other users; creating participating in activities(Karkkainen et al., 2013).

On the other hand, it was also stated by Hazlett (2013) that interactions with customers onsocial media is also crucial rather than just using it as a tool to promote, selling the firm’sproducts Consumers considers social media as a way to connect with the company, which alsorequire solutions to the issues and answers to the questions If firms only consider using socialmedia as a merchandising tool without providing any interactions or connections with users,customers will feel left out, abandon and some part tooled which can affect the relationshipbetween both sides in general

One participant said during the interview; ‘I had a terrible accident in Starbucks where I left thestore unsatisfied so I went on Facebook to leave my review about the store and told the story;

it came to my surprise that only less than an hour later I received a response from the storeapologizing and showing empathy for the terrible experience I had It was really nice and goodgesture/service from them’ (Female, 32) The story stating the opinion’s from the customers;declaring their preference, interest and satisfaction increase in accordance with the interactionwith the firm on social media platform

From the survey also found that customers prefer firms that are more responsive online ascommunications are expand and accessible The concept of brand personality is also applicablethrough social media as in accordance with Lindstrom and Andersen (2000) research, brandpersonality is also created from interaction with consumers online as communication isexchanged between users and firms

On the other hand, social media platform not only affecting consumers but also other business;firm’s partners, suppliers, etc For example, Linkedin is an online networking website with manyhigh level professionals as users The platform can be used as a tool to connect professional; it

is a channel network for business (LinkedIn, 2012)

Event sponsorship

In a certain degree, brand association also affect customer’s perception towards the brand.Sponsorships is a tool of event marketing as company funded programs in accordance with theactivities of its businesses or promoting the firm’s image for example funded scholarship, green,environmental campaigns, etc Nonetheless, positive perceptions of consumers linked with theactivities of businesses especially in a personal level (Pham and Johar, 1999)

Furthermore, branded events, sponsorships association with the marketing activities, aims andpurposes of the firm also generate more attention and support from the customers due to theconsistency For example, Starbucks green marketing campaign as the company increasingenvironmentalism utilities of its operation from environmental friendly products toenvironment sponsorship projects The consistency in both marketing events, sponsorship andoperation shows determination from the firm which helps to promote the firm's image amongstcustomers

‘I’m really environmentally conscious, before I never drink Starbucks, I don’t like the way theindustry or the company in particular operate; however, ever since Howard Schultz changedhow the company runs, become better, more advocate and progressive with the environmentissues of the firm; I started to use Starbucks’ (Female, 39)

Furthermore, it can most of respondents feel that they’re more connected as well as closer tothe firm as they believe in the good Ethics of Starbucks

Event sponsorship also generate interactions with consumers as it involves in public mattersand social issues By being involved in the matter, firm’s show sympathize and interest in thesubject that are also being concerned by many people including the business's customers,creating connections over the issues, promoting product’s preference as brand association willcome to consumers recognition and acknowledgement when purchasing products

However, it is critical for business to sponsor, attend in appropriate events that will benefit thefirm For certain market area, business should consider different culture factors, whether theevent will stand against the country traditional values and the effects for sponsorship if so.

In addition, contexts of the sponsored events need to be considered as it is more applicable forthe activities of the business For example, customers are more responsive towards Starbucks’sponsorship of culinary, coffee related events rather than sport programs as the circumstances

or the background is more appropriate and similar to the firm itself which is the same as thefindings in the study; customers are more aware of the products in a conform situation as the it

is fundamental to consider the most appropriate event when making sponsorship decisionsBehrer and Larsson (1998)

For many people, they are more likely to be proactive in findings out and researching aboutfirm’s campaign if it relates to the matters that they care and passionate of rather thandifferent topics The findings of the study suggested that consumers are more conscioustowards social and environmental matters; and for customers that are aware of the marketingevents held by Starbucks, their buying preferences have largely affected by Starbucks marketingevents as they sponsor, promote and raise awareness about real issues, matters that are alsoconcerned and acknowledge by the users

‘I do care a lot about the environment and I normally research a lot of it’ (Female, 39) Withproactive customers in finding about the events, they are more likely to respond to thecompany activities as well

In addition, Starbucks event marketing in China considering using other business arena in order

to promote its own brand perception with customers, using other arena which match withbrand identity as a platform to reach out to other customers and expand the market which willbenefit the firm

Not only sponsorship help to raise the connections between Starbucks and its customers butalso to the firm and its partner Such as with the sponsor event Partner-Family Forum with

Alibaba company founder, it promotes the relationship between the two firms On thecontrary, the findings also suggested that consumers are not more highly supportive for thebrand considering event sponsorship or other activities as most of them are neutral about

Customer’s perception

The role of personal perception towards the buying of a product is critical for the execution ofevent marketing activities as it largely influencing the choice of customers For one part, it wasfound by Landon Jr (1974) that self-concept is linked to the purchasing decisions and buyingbehavior The idea of self-concept lead to the emotional attachment between firms andconsumers, tightening the relationships Especially with businesses in the coffee industry likeStarbucks, it is important for the firm to link itself to the customers

Source: CCTV News (2013) - Starbucks Coffee Chain under Cloud over High Prices in China

On the other hand, individual or personal factors also affect largely to the buying behavior ofcustomers including social class as Starbucks is more expensive and luxury coffee brandcompare to other firms in the industry as the price of one cup of coffee in other shop is aroundRMB 20, at Starbucks, the price is up to RMB 27 or RMB 30 specially in China, whereas the price

of Starbucks is even higher than in the US (Brown, 2012)

In accordance with the respondents and the participants, low income (less than RMB 3000)earners tend to limit or avoid buying drinks at Starbucks due to its high price; the average cups

a week is around 1 or none; while middle class and high income classes (from RMB 3000 andabove) are more usual at buying Starbucks coffee, the frequency is around 2 or higher Whitecollars or office workers are also more regularly buying drinks at Starbucks as ‘it helps to focusduring a long working day’ (Male, 26)

Product benefit and price awareness will also affect consumer buying behavior as consumersare more considerate towards expensive product Consumers are more likely to put in deeperconsideration for luxury products that they haven't tried before whether they can trust thequality of the products However, the findings also suggested that some consumers weren'tentirely consider the price of the drink but rather the reputation and the brand of the drink Asthe result, brand awareness is also determined to be more important for high class firms which

is similar as well controversial to the conspicuous consumption buying behaviors of customers

as the purchase of the luxury, qualified branded products show the customers’ ability to buythe product; which in a way boosting their self-esteem (Griskevicius, 2014) The study’s findingsalso suggested that customers sometimes feel more special and valued when buying theproduct

Advantages and Disadvantages of event marketing

It has been thoroughly discussed in the studies that one of the positive effects of eventmarketing is that it create a tool of access for consumers to interact with firms Awarenessabout firm can be regulated through event marketing as positive presumption about brand cancome from sponsor programs, firm's marketing activities or from celebrity endorsement.Furthermore, event marketing also generates products awareness and provides solutions to thecommunication between companies and customers Social media is a method of eventmarketing in which credibility heavily relies on the quality and frequency of communication It

also provides consumers with information and acknowledge consumers about the eventssponsored by the firm.

On the other hand, event marketing engaged with customers on a more personal level as itconcern with customers interest of the programs Event marketing actively engage in a matter

of personnel (Hasselstrom, 2000) the same discussion is also from the study as respondents feelthat they are more engage and involve with the firm through event marketing rather thantraditional TV advertising as it considered and related to personal interests and concerns.Furthermore, customers also prefer advertising online rather than traditional advertising

‘I like Starbucks page on Facebook, that's how I normally keep myself up to date with itspromotions as I'm not much of a TV advertisements enthusiast I can just turn off or ignore theads if I want to but it's different if it pop up on your TV while you're watching your favoriteshow’ (Male, 26)

Despite the advantages of event marketing, the costs can be variable With sponsorship, thecosts of the method can be high as firms are exposed to other agencies or businesses as firmsare connected to other participation a as the varying out the programs isn't by the companyitself but from other parties therefore the even might not meet the standards or fit the firm’svalues which could harm its image In such situation, business is exposed to the vulnerabilitiescreated by other firms; as the result, consideration of event and the sponsorship of otherbusiness should be put into careful consideration to fit with Starbucks operations and values

On the other hand, with event management, social media can be considered as a convenientand cheap method to keep in touch with consumers, promoting firm’s preference

The chapter provides analysis in relations to the theories and the findings of the study; it wasfound that consumers are responsive to the event marketing of businesses especially with theevents that are determined as critical or consumers are awarded and cared of which also relate

to the effect of celebrity endorsement and self-perception as the more consumers feel relate tothe products the more preference they are with the firms

The first recommendation towards the event marketing strategy of Starbucks is to consideringdevelop their social media interactions By staying connected with consumers through socialmedia, Starbucks is able to share with consumers their ideas, opinions as well as keep themupdated about their social events, sponsorships, promotions, policies, etc using social media tointeract with consumers can help the firm to establish a strong bond with customers Starbucksshould also consider to expand it operation to all social class considering the potential of themarket by reducing the price or appropriate marketing campaigns; programs with the approachtowards all type of consumers Furthermore, towards brand development, Starbucks shouldintensifies and promote their marketing activities and channels in order to establish a strong,lasting connection with consumers through consistence; board brand acknowledgement andrecognition The brand itself should develop an ideology that is recognizable and favorabletowards customers such as an ethical consideration In this way, the brand or the companyitself will be adored, increasing products preference as it stands for a meaningful standard andhelpful contribution On the other hand, most of Starbucks consumers are students or worker,whom belongs to the young or middle age group; in order to promote firm’s performance,Starbucks should consider exercising suitable events that is applicable and fits with these range

of consumers such as promoting the use of celebrity endorsement; following up with the trends

of the market in order to approach with young group of customers as a finding in the study wasfound that consumers are not likely to be aware of the events of Starbucks, this could be due tothe communication between firms and consumers as most likely consumers are unaware of theevents that Starbucks held or involved; most of consumers who are unaware of the firm's eventare to be consumers with age range from 35 and upper; the firm needs to have differentmethod in reaching out with those group of consumers Promotions, regular consumer’sfeedback and interactions with buyers can be use as key tools to promote intimacy andconsumers knowledge

Throughout the process of conducting and analyzing the research, there has been moreknowledge towards the studies and application of event marketing to businesses achieved.Collecting data and figures provides deeper insights including the feedbacks and the opinions ofStarbucks consumers which can be used to assess the strategy, determine the efficiency alsohow it affects customer’s evaluation and behavior

During the collection of data and answer from surveyors as well as the conducting of theinterviews, there were difficulties during the process to meet the adequate number ofrespondents due to geographical obstruction Personal help from friend was needed in order tomeet the targets On the other hand, consent from respondents while the surveys wereundertook was necessary

The paper has given a profound experience which will be helpful for me in the future bothpractically and academically afterwards The skills acquired will benefit in many aspectsespecially with my career or future occupation The project, paper is remarkably helpful

However, there are parts in the study would that would need further analysis or changes such

as with the number of the respondents, if the methods of collection were more proactive, moredata or participants in surveys could have been gathered which would provide a more accurateanalysis in the matter Furthermore, literature reviews on customer’s perception and brandpersonality need more research and as it will explore further on the critical analysis of thestudy

However, in overall, the study has given a look on the effect of event marketing on the coffeeshop industry in general or Starbucks in China in particular, how customers are perceived andinfluenced by the events that firms operate and their consciousness with the matter.

Conclusion

The findings of the study suggested that companies are majorly affected by firm eventmarketing activities The study found that consumers using Starbucks have different age rangehowever, most likely of its consumers are from age range 18-28 years old Specific strategiesare determined in order to approach this group of consumers which is in accordance with theirpreference in relation to brand personality and brand perception On the other hand, anotherfinding of the study in accordance with the brand awareness that brand acknowledgementtends to be more efficient amongst selected consumers involving in their social values, socialclasses, etc Consumer’s perception and preference is linked to brand personality as it serves as

a communication tools that connect consumers with the brand The more consumers foundthat they are related or in common with the he firm, the more confident they are at theproducts Personal behavior affect customer’s buying decisions; firm relies heavily on thepurchasing preference of consumers; Starbucks need relies on the promotion of therelationship between customers and firms through interactions on social media and otheractivities Increasing bonds with consumers will largely affect their perception towards thebrand and the products It was found that consumers responsiveness to the event marketing ofthe firm lies within its abilities to connect with consumers or in other words, communicating Byall means, firms that are responsive to consumer’s complaints, questions, reviews, etc about itsproducts are more likely to receive positive feedbacks from consumers