Chasing Cool

Hey, I'm not special enough to be in the Nikon D80 blogger program (which I could actually benefit from as I've been seriously contemplating a camera upgrade - you can see that my pics are taken with a Canon SD550 or Nokia N73 - but I digress), however from time to time people send me interesting things to read.

Steve sent me a copy of Steal These Ideas.  Andy sent me a copy of Word Of Mouth Marketing.  This week, I got a copy of Chasing Cool by Noah Kerner and Gene Pressman.  Read it on the flight from Boston to Minneapolis (where I visited the Mall of America - if Harajuku is an epicenter of cool, this is its antithesis).

These guys know what cool is and how to harness it in a business, as evidenced by their experience.  The problem is that many people don't and will read this book hoping to find a secret formula for coolness.  Let me save you the trouble - you won't find it here.  Or in any other book for that matter. 

I've been lucky enough to see cool from two perspectives, working at two brands in the footwear industry on opposite sides of the fence.  One was cool.  The other was chasing it desperately.  The problem with the latter is captured perfectly in the quote above the image at left.  The secret of the former was its authenticity.

As RHCP sang, if you have to ask, you'll never know.  So stick with what you know and have a passion for - that's what will make you cool.

Comments

[Bob]

Sorry to be completely off-topic here. I found you on the Z-list which went around a few months ago. Figured you might be interested in participating the Feed my Feed experiment.
bobmeetsworld.com/feed-my-feed/

[Marianne Richmond]

My very first camera was Nikormat which I had to save FOREVER for....since that time I have owned quite a few Nikons, including the first Cool-pix. I have been trying to decide for the past year about what to upgrade to and I am now making due with a 7900. I seriously considered the D80 but after being one of the few bloggers, along with you, that I know NOT included in the program , I am definitely BUYING a Canon. And that way, I will be able to say I have never accepted anything more expensive than a book....and I can live down the temptation to chase cool, free cameras.
Marianne

[Pete]

Great insight Marianne. You got me to thinking about how Nikon, Microsoft, and so many others are "chasing cool" with blog outreach programs. Even me getting this book was part of one. I guess it goes back to the difference between word-of-mouth and WOM marketing. Great products really do market themselves.

[Becky Carroll]

Peter, I love the idea of what is cool and what isn't. Today I posted on this idea and took it one step further - cool can only be accomplished when we understand our customers and can meet their needs. Authenticity comes from a customer focus as well. What do you think?

BTW, I didn't get offered a camera, either. I am glad, since now I won't have that pressure of "do I or don't I" weighing on me!

[Kelly]

I loved the book Chasing Cool. I think what I loved best was the vast range of knowledge and advice the book had to offer for future market-ers. There's no other book out there that offers stories of singers, designers, CEOs, etc. And the face that everyone told their own unique story, but that every different story had a similar (SUCCESSFUL!) outcome was great. It's one of those real "think outside the box" books, but not in a corny way, in a true to life way.

[tesha]

Chasing Cool is a great read. It explores in depth on branding, marketing, and the next big thing theory. I would recommend this book for the fashion forward, the fashion fauxpau, and all those in between!

[Michael Ruder]

"I think the book was great. The one thing I need at my age more than anything is motivation. Motivation keeps me on top of the ball, it keeps me thinking, it keeps my mind at work. This book is a great motivator for someone like myself. I enjoy learning how the best made it to the top. How the most popular became the most popular. How Grey Goose branded itself to become the product it is today. I want to think of ideas how to be worth something to a company as an internal, or an external counterpart. I think the book was wonderful, and I will recommend it to anyone interested in the same things I am."

[Britney]

“Chasing Cool” is an inspiration for anyone in the marketing business. I absolutely loved hearing the insight of successful people in marketing and design. The interviews that were integrated into the book give it a lot of credibility and just shows that you can’t "Chase Cool." This book really gives you something to think about. I found myself taking breaks to go and google the people and products in the book to learn more about the inventors. Nobody can be a copycat and be cool in today's society because by then we have already seen it....it’s not new and exciting. Especially engaging was the hip, witty style of the book.