The present-day business world dictates its rules to the companies and their customers, and they imply the focus on specific parameters defining the appeal of items for purchase. One of the principal characteristics of desirable goods is their coolness, and it explains the first impression a product makes on a potential consumer. The race for attributes establishing one’s social status turned into a frenzy, and the notion of coolhunting seems to replace the considerations of usefulness and practicality for buyers.
From the perspective of marketing, coolness is perceived as the popularity of a brand regardless of the characteristics and functions of a specific product. In this way, coolhunting is the search for items that can be described as original, high-status, rebellious, extraordinary, or aesthetically appealing (Warren et al., 2019). This definition excludes the real purpose of an item and promotes people’s engagement in the process of self-assertion through the acquisition of prestigious goods.
Similar conclusions can be made from the assessment of trends in the health and wellness businesses. According to the study, a product’s coolness is one of the three crucial characteristics, together with usefulness and funniness, emphasized by reviewers on the Internet (Lee, 2018). The two of them, coolness and funniness, are not related to the notion of practicality, which means that the article proves the sole orientation of buyers on items capable of improving their image.
The spread of the concept of coolhunting is highlighted by the researchers, and this trend reflects people’s concerns about their social status. The considerations of usefulness, in turn, are less important than the desire to look cool and be cool. Therefore, marketers endorse the idea by offering products that correspond to the description, thereby increasing companies’ profits that comply with the demand.
References
Lee, I. (2018). Usefulness, funniness, and coolness votes of viewers. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 118(4), 700-713. Web.
Warren, C., Batra, R., Loureiro, S. M. C., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2019). Brand coolness. Journal of Marketing, 83(5), 36-56.