Business English: The C Word

Hello everybody!

This superlong post is in two parts just in case there is a person willing to read the whole thing (LOL). I have figured that will save you time scrolling down to get to the glossary.

Have a fabulous weekend!

K.

PART 1

In the latest season of America's Next Model, the finalists are taught, among other things, that in order to establish a successful brand you need for this brand to be associated with one single word. What follows is that the aspiring models label themselves with words such as 'girlfriend', 'survivor' or 'daring' and then try to personify them: they act in a friendly way, are brave or bend every rule of the competition. Another old business mantra is that 'sex sells', which can be expressed by a simple formula: any semi-functional product + hot chick = jackpot. Noah Kerner and Gene Pressman, the authors of Chasing Cool, believe that what sells products today is 'cool'. All successful brands and their products are thought to be cool by their respective audiences. However, when you ask the authors if there is one definition or formula for cool, they say no.

Cool sells because young people gravitate towards it and older people covet it. In boardrooms, product managers try to find a shortcut for cool. They spend money on focus groups and trend reports. They cooperate with hip advertising agencies. According to the authors of the book, it is all in vain. Cool can't be hunted down and bottled. It is not the outcome of a chase. You can't find it if you look for it. But if you are passionate about your brand/ product, have a strong authentic vision and are brave enough to follow you gut, cool will find you.

Don't Be Mr Me Too

If you want cool to find you, don't imitate what your competitors have. Don't look at another person's backyard. Instead, change the rules of the game. You need your product to stand out and therefore you need to give it a point of difference. Come up with a disruptive idea like the one the producers of the Grey Goose vodka had – to import their vodka from France, ship it in wooden crates and market it as the best vodka in the world; or like the editor of Us Weekly, who was the first to show that celebrities are just like us – they can be caught picking their nose, with a beer gut or dirty nails.

GLOSSARY 1

among other things – między innymi

to be associated with – kojarzyć się z

to label yourself with one word – tut. opisać, dosł. przyczepiać etykietkę

daring – odważna, śmiała

to personify – uosabiać

to bend – naginać, zginać

to express – wyrażać

a formula – wzór, przepis

semi- – w połowie, częściowo (half or partly)

a hot chick – seksowna laska/ dziewczyna

a jackpot – najwyższa wygrana (the largest prize offered in a competition, hit the jackpot – to win a lot of money

respective – odpowiednie, poszczególne

to gravitate towards – ciągnąć do czegoś

to covet something – pożądać

a shortcut for – skrót (take a shortcut – iść na skróty)

hip – supermodne

in vain – na próżno, nadaremnie

to hunt down – dopaść coś, upolować coś (to search everywhere for someone or something until you find them

an outcome – wynik, rezultat

a chase – pościg, pogoń

to follow your gut – postępować zgodnie z intuicją. przeczuciem

to imitate – naśladować

a competitor – konkurent, rywal

a backyard – ogród, podwórko (small space surrounded by walls at the back of a house, usually with a hard surface)

to stand out – wyróżniać się

a point of difference – element wyróżniający

disruptive – destrukcyjny, tut. wprowadzający zamieszanie

to ship – przewozić, transportować

a crate – skrzynka

an editor – redktor(ka)

to pick one's nose – dłubać w nosie

a beer gut – brzuch po piwie, brzuch piwosza

PART 2

Don't outsource too much

Cool can't be served on a silver platter by trend spotters, cool hunters, field researchers or social scientists. Those outsiders don't know your company and what it stands for. They don't have the understanding of the nuances that make up your company's DNA. If you need to ask young people about what is cool, ask your employees who are part of the company's internal culture. If they can't answer this question, then you know you have to start surrounding yourself with inspired and curious people who can. Next time you hear street kids say that mesh back trucker hats titled to one side are the shit, make sure you don't use them in your advertising campaign. Let your competitors use them and think about something else that will better represent your brand image.

Gimmicks can only work so long

It is true that viral marketing can buy you buzz and attract consumers' attention. You can get thousands or even millions of people from the YouTube community talking about your brand or product within a few days. However, if the product you promote doesn't deliver on its promise – isn't what it claims to be, customers will soon lose the interest you have generated and the product won't be cool. As a result of viral marketing gone wrong, you may also alienate your existing customer base. Also, instead of paying celebrities to show your product on the red carpet or on the streets in front of paparazzi, create a product that celebrities will want to buy with their own money. Trunk, for example, which reproduces vintage rock t-shirts, never pays anybody to wear their tees; rarely gives anything for free and requests their shirts back after any photo shoot. Still, celebrities are willing to wear Trunk even if they are not paid to do so.

There is no such thing as a quick fix for cool. You can't find it , engineer it or buy it. However, if you've got a strong vision and are gutsy enough to follow it, your brand may one day become the epitome of cool.

For more advice on cool, go to http://chasingcoolbook.com/

GLOSSARY 2

to outsource – zlecać część pracy innym firmom

a platter – półmisek, (served on a silver platter – podany na tacy)

to stand for – reprezentować, wierzyć w coś

a nuance – niuans

to make up – stanowić, składać się na coś

curious – ciekawi (interested in learning about people or things around you)

mesh – siatka

to tilt – przechylać, odchylać
a gimmick  – sztuczka, chwyt
(can) only work so long – działać tylko do (pewnego) czasu

viral marketing – marketing wirusowy

buzz – rozgłos

to deliver on one's promise – spełniać oczekiwania

to alienate – zrazić

vintage – klasyczne

a tee – a t-shirt

to request something back – prosić o zwrot

a photo shoot – sesja zdjęciowa

a quick fix for something – prowizoryczne rozwiązanie, rozwiązanie na skróty (something that seems to be a fast and easy solution to a problem but is in fact not very good or will not last long)

to engineer – zaaranżować, uknuć

gutsy – odważny

to be the epitome of – uosobienie, najlepszy przykład czegoś