JKR

What makes a brand cool? The movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are came out in the States on Friday and the buzz suggests it is the very definition of cool. Meanwhile, the Coolbrands 09/10 supplement in yesterday’s Observer newspaper was peppered with expert opinion and theory on why some brands are cooler – plenty about first mover advantage and the like, little about the basic (self evident?) contribution of bold design and clients. However, Mark Blenkinsop of agency Exposure made some points which I thought were enlightening. He talked about the notion of “distribution as communication” – where the brand is sold, how, who to, and how the competition on adjacent shelves can all combine to give a brand the right image for cool consumers.

I thought of this when looking at the promotional tie-ins for the Wild Things film. Cool book, cool director (Spike Jonze), cool soundtrack and uber-cool merchandising and marketing. The following images were posted on (of course) coolhunting. It’s all so “now” it could almost be a parody of overblown marketing trends, from “pop up stores” to high fashion tie ins, via designer sneakers and jewellery:

The pop up store in LA:

The exclusive on-set photography prints at Urban outfitters:

The jewellery collection & furnishings:

The fashion collections:

The collectable kubricks:

The inevitable sneaker editions:

Looking at all this it occurs that while being a cool brand is desirable and lucrative, it is an approach which intentionally limits the brand appeal to the “right” people rather than the masses. Limited editions, limited availability, limited time only – even the plastic figurines are collectible “Kubricks” rather than something which comes with a happy meal burger. I’m not sure how many adult sized wolf outfits they will sell, and I doubt that this is the point. This is not to knock all the wonderful creative work which seems like a smart way to promote the film to the kind of hipsters and kidults who are presumably the target audience. But the obvious conclusion I came to is that while being cool is some kind of marketing holy grail, the cache one creates in such a distribution strategy by default restricts the brands’ potential to reach everyone. Which presumably suits the hipsters very well.