Sports car maker Aston Martin has regained its mantle of being the official coolest brand among UK consumers, after being knocked off the top spot by Apple last year.
What does this mean for these brands – and does (or should) coolness have any bearing on your business?
There’s no doubt that many brands clamour to be cool, and it’s not just those which sell to consumers. This latest list of cool has been compiled by The Centre for Brand Analysis, a research company that, in addition to the CoolBrands registry, provides research services to generate other lists: Superbrands ranks the strongest b2c brands, while Business Superbrands ranks b2b brands.
What’s the purpose or consequence of these inventories of excellence? Mainly, I think, to get people thinking and conversing about the brands in the spotlight. Evidently it works, since I’m writing about them and the topic of “business cool” roused enough of your curiosity to prompt a click and a minute or two of your precious time. And that’s no bad thing; after all, businesses need ways to grab positive attention and no doubt the annual listings translate into a nice little earner for the company behind them.
In 2007 the Institute of Directors was named as a Business Superbrand, an honour which is perhaps not quite the same as cool, but it equates to respect and that’s what cool is really all about. While you might possibly pour scorn on a woolly notion of making your business cool, I can’t imagine you would be opposed to having greater respect among your customers and prospects.
Respect is not something you can control, but it most definitely is something that you can influence. I know this for a fact because most of my business is working with companies and individuals who want to be held in high esteem of one sort or another. Our mission is the development and management of reputation: who is seen to associate with you, what people say about you, who listens to you when you say something. It’s the very definition of PR and my company is charged with delivering the contacts, messages and voice to enable people to manipulate all of the above.
If you think manipulation of this kind sounds sinister, consider that it’s perfectly acceptable to present and conduct oneself in such a way that garners respect. At a business lunch you might wear a smart suit, use beautiful table manners and utter insightful witticisms over the coffee. You know you are being judged by your prospect so you’re putting your best foot forward. Surely your company should do the same?
Just remember that cool is in the eye of the beholder, so make sure you understand to whom you’re trying to appeal with your reputation and what you hope to get out of it
So, while rankings of cool and suchlike are trivia, the substance of what they rank is anything but. Aston Martin and Apple are probably not very concerned about the detail of their placement in the annual cool list per se, but you can bet your profit margin that they care deeply about their reputation and spend a great deal of time, energy and money taking care of it.
My sincere recommendation, therefore, is yes! Your business should try to be cool. Just remember that cool is in the eye of the beholder, so make sure you understand to whom you’re trying to appeal with your reputation and what you hope to get out of it.
If you’re to get to the top of the list – anyone’s list - management of your reputation should be intrinsic to your business objectives and not something to which you merely pay lip service. Indeed, the quality of your reputation (your respect, your cool) is probably the most valuable asset your business possesses. Without it, you might find you have no business, and that gives cool a whole new dimension.
James Ollerenshaw sit on the committee of the London branch of the Institute of Directors, is chair of its Young Directors’ Forum and is managing director of Curzon PR.
Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the Institute of Directors
