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Brand MATTERS
HERB SKELTON
Ever thought about taking a magic net and capturing a bottle of cool and applying it to a brand? Or paying some hotshot irreverent trend-spotter to dial up some cool for you? Or sprinkling a dash of bling on it?
In offices around the world or just before he or she drops off to sleep in brand-land, some product manager or CEO is holding onto a bottle or a pack or a digital widget and asking, "How do I create the coolest gizmo on the planet?"
Cool sells. Cool cuts through. Cool is worshipped. Cool can take a Harley Fatboy and turn it into a cult. Cool can make Steve Jobs' little iPod an object of desire.
The sad thing is that many think there is a short-cut to gaining it. They will try creating it using semantic shams like "bling". They pray that some focus group or hip guru will create it for them. They might try bedding some celebrity for a quick hit of cool. Or they simply "borrow" from another marketer's backyard. Little is gained from such ill-conceived tactics.
Scrambling for cool is a bad idea. Being inspired by it is good. Noah Kerner, a New York marketing maverick, states, "Cool is not the outcome of a chase but rather the province of a visionary who maintains a personal and authentic point-of-view."
In our digital constituency it is Steve Jobs. In our world of fantasy it is Johnny Depp. In our art gallery it is Andy Warhol. In our escapism it is William Harley and Arthur Davidson. In our travels it is Ian Schrager.
These are all people who listened intently to others and then stayed focused on a unique concept no matter who tried to knock the wind out of their idea. They also knew how to live through failure at different stages and rose to prosper as a result of those negative gaps.
Paul Morrissey, Andy Warhol's manager and the co-founder of Interview magazine, once admitted, "Since he really didn't have many ideas of his own Andy had to depend on the ideas of the young people around him. And that continual presentation kept him relevant." Be mindful that it was Warhol's gifted mind that rendered some of the coolest images on earth. He created Buzz.
Here is the most innovative way to get close to cool. Surround-Sound. Gather creative minds around your brand - artists, fashion designers, webmasters, writers, DJs or those who speak on public issues. They will help as remarkable incubators of new and unexpected ideas. The hope is that you will also find fruitful minds within your company. Then turn up the volume of Surround-Sound. And listen.
Gatekeepers of brands are always on the chase for ideas to keep brands fresh. The reason iPod isn't about to move aside is that Steve Jobs refuses to stand still. He is constantly stepping right or left with adjustments to the iPod - its size, its aesthetics or its features. Imagine trying to compete with something that won't stay still. Jobs keeps cool out of his competitors' sights.
The genius of creators of cool brands is that they give people what they are ready for. And often these people are unable to tell those of us who manage brands what they want! They certainly can't imagine what the next unique idea should be. Originators of cult brands such as Facebook, Hello Kitty, Virgin, Apple and Bang & Olufsen are certain of what people want based on research and gut instinct. They are intuitive, perceptive and active, knowing precisely when to pounce with the next iPod.
Talk to many in the brand galaxy and you will hear cool does not fit into a precise clever definition. You will hear phrases like, "luck", "intelligence", "slippery as mercury", "off the wall", and "unexpected".
Achieving cool-ness is one thing. Keeping a grip is something else. Here is a very short story from the book Chasing Cool to prove a point:
Once upon a time a lifestyle-focused high-tech company invented an amazingly efficient portable music device. Owners celebrated its technology and its compact design. It allowed people to make compilations of their favourite music and they can carry it anywhere and everywhere. The device sold millions and saved the company. I didn't fall in love with mine, I crashed in love with it. The iconic leader of the company declared from a mountain top, "If you want innovation you have to come up with something completely off the wall."
Sadly, that was not iPod. It was the 1979 Sony Walkman.
Makes me wonder, what's with this? Why on earth didn't Sony create the iPod? I don't get it when they don't get it.
Got cool? Trying to create it? Make sure you have a central vision. Get your team to buy into it. And create a Buzz.
Herb Skelton is Executive Creative Director at Creative Inhouse, a local branding consultancy and ad agency. He can be reached at herb@inhouse.co.th
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