The Merchants of Cool - PBS FRONTLINE REPORTThey spend their days sifting through reams of market research data. They conduct endless surveys and focus groups. They comb the streets, the schools, and the malls, hot on the trail of the "next big thing" that will snare the attention of their prey--a market segment worth an estimated $150 billion a year.
They are the merchants of cool: creators and sellers of popular culture who have made teenagers the hottest consumer demographic in America. But are they simply reflecting teen desires or have they begun to manufacture those desires in a bid to secure this lucrative market? And have they gone too far in their attempts to reach the hearts--and wallets--of America's youth?
FRONTLINE correspondent Douglas Rushkoff examines the tactics, techniques, and cultural ramifications of these marketing moguls in "The Merchants of Cool." Produced by Barak Goodman and Rachel Dretzin, the program talks with top marketers, media executives and cultural/media critics, and explores the symbiotic relationship between the media and today's teens, as each looks to the other for their identity.
DUE Thur. November 13th PAPER/BLOG ENTRY on the Persuaders/Merchants of Cool
2-3 pages on the techniques and tactics used to by marketers to manufacture desire, appeal to our emotions, and create a branded "culture".
Show how these (and other similar) tactics of persuasion are being used to communicate with consumers today
Think about what types of new communication techniques the future may hold for these marketers.
- neuromarketing ( psychological )
- emotional branding
- branding/creating a culture around a brand
- narrowcasting
- rhetorical marketing
- under the radar marketing
- cool hunting
- cultural character
- across-media marketing
- product placement across media
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