Trendsetters & Coolchasers

Catalog description

This course seeks to understand what makes something “cool” and how coolness can be used (or misused) in strategic communication. The course focuses on qualitative research methods as a way of helping students identify emerging trends that exist outside of their own cultural niche. Using these methods, students in the course will analyze the lifecycle and mainstreaming of emerging trends, the value of the concept of authenticity in contemporary culture, and “out of touch” miscalculations by major brands.