• SeattlePI.com, Wednesday, May 6, 2009 11:03 AM

"Starbucks is an image company," Andrea James writes, "one in which words matter." On the supposition that the words that company's executives have used to describe the company in 2007 and 2009 have changed dramatically, she put them through the word-cloud grinder. Lo and behold, words like "growth," "international," "markets," and "China" have been usurped by the likes of "customers," "coffee," and "value."

Stevens compared a transcript from Starbuck's 2007 second-quarter corporate earnings call with the 2009 call. The former totaled 9,978 words, including numbers and questions from analysts. The 2009 call included 10,083 words. Because the total number of words was relatively similar each year, she says, it's accurate to make comparisons of individual words using Wordle.net.

Oh, and one other word is tellingly more prominent: Howard, as in Howard Schultz, who returned to the role of CEO late year.

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