The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism.

Gordon, Ian

doi:10.2307/2568708

Cited by 21 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…Managerially, it may be difficult to harness cool as a reliable point of differentiation since brand coolness is subjective and differs from person to person (O'Donnell and Wardlow, 2000;Warren and Campbell, 2014). However, both contemporary research and history demonstrate that "coolness" is worth striving to achieve (Frank, 1998;. The findings here provide insight into how managers understand consumer goals of standing out and fitting in and how they affect perceptions of what is cool in a brand.…”

Section: Managerial Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…The transfer of cool The ability for coolness to be transferred from culture to brands and to individual consumers is crucial to the marketing of cool brands. The history of cool cannot be traced back to objects, but to culture (Frank, 1998;Gerber and Geiman, 2012). According to the theory of the movement of meaning, objects are not inherently meaningful, but obtain their meaning within the culture that created them (McCracken, 1986).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 1960s hippie culture is known for distinctive fashion and symbols, such as the peace sign. People unassociated with the "peace and love" hippies could still co-opt their cool by donning bell-bottoms, wearing their long hair loose around their shoulders or mimicking their rebellious attitude toward authority (Frank, 1998). Many recording artists, such as rapper Eminem and rock n' roller Elvis, have been accused of appropriating a cool, black aesthetic (Belk et al, 2010).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cool brands and hot attachments: their effect on consumers’ willingness to pay more

Koskie

Locander

2023

EJM

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Purpose This paper aims to explore how motivations to stand out and fit in through consumption affect consumers’ perceptions of subcultural and popular brand coolness. Importantly, how do perceptions of brand coolness affect consumers’ formations of hot, emotional brand attachments and their willingness to pay more? Design/methodology/approach This study incorporates survey data from consumers regarding cool brands. A structural equation modeling approach is used to assess the relationship between the variables of interest. Findings Susceptibility to influence is positively related to desire for unique consumption. While this desire may be fulfilled by both subcultural and popular perceptions of brand coolness, only subcultural coolness has a positive relationship with the willingness to pay more. The importance of an emotional brand attachment is established between both dimensions of brand coolness and price premiums. Research limitations/implications This study is based on cross-sectional survey data. As brand coolness is often transitory, longitudinal research on trends focusing on different elements of brand coolness may shed light on the cool brand lifecycle. Practical implications Firms wanting to position brands as cool should emphasize how the brand can help consumers stand out. If a cool brand is already well-known, resources should be allocated to building hot, emotional attachments to command price premiums. Originality/value This research contributes to a nascent body of literature empirically exploring brand coolness. It builds on past literature that notes the tension between standing out and fitting in conceptualizations of coolness by assessing individual differences. Significantly, it examines specific attributes of cool brands to explore the differences in how subcultural and popular perceptions of brand coolness relate to important marketing outcomes.

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Section: Managerial Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cool brands and hot attachments: their effect on consumers’ willingness to pay more

Koskie

Locander

2023

EJM

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“…The newly hired consultants perpetuated the creative language following western European urbanist tendencies (and the new head architect gave a Powerpoint presentation called 'Copenhagenize Warsaw'), although it is questionable whether they enjoyed any reasonable influence to push through their more radical propositions. Generally, the whole story echoed a familiar scenario of the counter-culture representatives in the urban realm being coopted by capital-backed political representation and thus effectively silenced (Frank, 1997). At the same time, however, it was undeniable that the desired mode of urbanity shifted and provided a degree of fluidity that led to the Jazdow initiative's success.…”

Section: Gap Strugglesmentioning

confidence: 95%

Politics and the environment in Eastern Europe

Soaita

2023

Eurasian Geography and Economics

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This book became possible because of the generous support of the Leverhulme Trust through an Early Career Research Fellowship, which during my time at the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge was also financed by the Newton Trust. The time and independence of thought won for research through such grants is incalculable. Workshops and conferences were also enabled through a British Academy Small Grant.I would like to thank Eszter Kelemen, György Pataki, Jessica Hope, Tatiana Thieme and Bill Adams for their comments and conversations on earlier drafts and iterations of some of the arguments presented here.I will also never forget how the final versions of these chapters took shape, as bubbles of time unpredictably won during little Sophie's naps. I am very thankful for the understanding, patience and kindness shown by all the contributors and supporters to this volume during this time.xi Contributors has a particular interest in farming and food systems and agricultural policy's effects on biodiversity, water and farmers' livelihoods.

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“…Small firms' allure to corporate America had to do with a "rage for creativity-which came quickly to mean an appeal to nonconformist rebellion against the mass society in ads as well as a nonhierarchical management style." 1 As the counterculture became more visible to the public in the late 60s, these firms were able to appropriate it to sell mainstream consumer culture, capitalizing on a "sudden mass defection of Americans from square to hip" in their self-perception. 2 Don inscribed with the reflection of Madison Avenue.…”

Section: Invisible Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Reflections on Hip and Square

Allison

2012

InVisible Culture

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The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism.

Cited by 21 publications

References 0 publications

Cool brands and hot attachments: their effect on consumers’ willingness to pay more

Cool brands and hot attachments: their effect on consumers’ willingness to pay more

Politics and the environment in Eastern Europe

Reflections on Hip and Square

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