Merchants of Cool

1. 'Cool hunting' is the search for what individuals think is cool. This research is taken through surveys, interviews, focus groups and case studies.

2. They want to understand how a teen thinks and what a teen wants in order to create a product a teen would want and be able to seel it effectively based on what the teen thinks.

3. MTV, other programming and marketing decision-makers characterize their relationship with teen culturte that they are simply reflecting it not creating it.

4. Marketing research focuses on getting the information form an individual, market research is not interested in the individuals personal life. Human research focuses on the individuals personal life. Market research's goal is to learn how a teen thinks in order to sell a product. Human reaserch's goal is to create an individual that appeals to all teens, in order to sell what the indidvidual's life is like.

5. The critics of the 'merchants of cool' are providing the most accurate description of the relationship between teen culture and commercialization. The 'merchants of cool' tell the five major companies, News corp., Disney, AOL Timewarner, Viacom, and Unniversal, what is cool or in. Then the five companies put out what they think will sell. Teenagers then watch or listen to what is put out by the five companies; allowing the teens to be socialised by the five companies ideas. In the video Merchant of Cool it is shown how marketing researchers collect information, and then how the information is distributed to the major five companies. And then how the five companies advertis to teens and sell products to teens. Critics of 'merchants of cool'