Knowing who's cool can be hot for business

"Cool." That useful four-letter word that crops up everywhere from the kindergarten to the boardroom. But what is "cool"? The fact that its definition had to be pinned down and that trying too hard to be cool is definitely uncool, prompted international strategic marketing consultancy AVG, which also has offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, to commission a study to find out what makes some people cool.

According to Ferrier, from AVG's office in Sydney, the study set out to see how brands could increase their appeal through association with cool people.

"Although much has been written in psychological and marketing literature about the mystique of cool and its importance to brands, 'cool' has not been defined," says Ferrier.

According to Ferrier, the notion of coolness started with slaves in America who "masked their emotions with the cool pose as a way of showing defiance to their masters".

This initial rebelliousness was followed by the "I don't care" coolness shown by 1950's idols such as Elvis Presley, Marlon Brando and James Dean. "A decade later, coolness became mixed-up with hippiedom, then punk rock before moving back to the black ghettos of the United States.

"Today coolness is no longer about an angry, rebellious minority," says Ferrier. "It has become mainstream. It is also no longer about youth, class, income, but about perceptions of personal qualities."

In AVG's study into the makings of cool, group studies were done on people aged between 18 and 26. A combination of five overriding factors were identified that led to a person being deemed as cool: self-belief, defiance of convention, understated achievements, care of others as well as energy and sociability.

The results pointed to a number of cool icons. Nelson Mandela's coolness was mentioned in the same breath as that of Kylie Minogue and Albert Einstein due to their defiance of convention in pursuit of their passions. Rock star Kurt Cobain and football icon Pelé were selected because they remained modest despite their success. John Lennon and Russell Crowe are regarded as cool due to their ability "to fit into most social circles while enjoying a strong internal sense of control".

Gandhi, Princess Diana and Bradd Pitt were also deemed to be cool because they typified "loyalty, empathy and sensitivity towards others".

Interestingly, in the AVG survey women chose both males and females as examples of cool, while men only chose men.

How cool - or uncool - is that?