Speech Proposal

             The company I chose to analyze is Kum & Go. I chose Kum & Go because I frequented it more than any other business during my high school years. Additionally, it’s headquartered in Des Moines, roughly ten minutes from my hometown.

                I examined two different promotional coupons for food and drinks at Kum & Go. The first one advertises a free 20 oz. Java Ridge coffee. The coupon establishes pathos with the word “free” in capital letters. Who doesn’t love free things? The word free in all caps gets people excited and interested in what the advertisement has to say. The advertisement also establishes mythos because it has a very simple, straightforward format. There is no fancy editing that went into the coupon. I believe it was designed this way to appear as if anyone could have made it. By doing so, the marketing experts at Kum & Go make their business appear like a small local business, with little connection to the corporate world. The reason for doing this is because it appeals to people’s cultural values and attitudes. A majority of people in Iowa live in rural areas where there is a bigger focus on small and local businesses. Although any given Kum & Go customer may know that Kum & Go is by no means small, this coffee advertisement influences customers’ subconscious opinions by increasing the likelihood that they will believe Kum & Go’s values fall in line with those of the small businesses around the state of Iowa.

                The second advertisement I analyzed is a promotion for a $4 meal that includes a medium drink, a bag of chips, and two roller grill items. On the advertisement it shoes an example of the items you get as a part of the promotion. Everything is perfectly placed and looks delicious. This helps build pathos because it makes customers hungry and want to eat at Kum & Go. Additionally, the words “meal” and “medium drink” are in large font and are bolded. This too builds pathos as it catches peoples eye and causes customers to pay attention to what the advertisement has to say. The ad also includes the Kum & Go logo and is very well put together, which builds ethos.

                To build logos in my speech I will also analyze an outside source that describes Kum & Go with statistics on things such as locations, services, etc., and I will analyze a source that describes Kum & Go’s place in Iowan culture, and its influence on the community. Lastly, the most important part of speech will be my story with Kum & Go. My friends and I used to hang out at a Kum & Go near our homes all the time because we were tired of hanging out at our houses with nothing to do. During the years that my friends and I hung out at Kum & Go we surely spent a few thousand dollars on food alone, to say nothing of all the times we filled our cars with gas. My story will build mythos and pathos and will describe how effective Kum & Go’s marketing is, at a personal level.