The study "Brand Coolness", conducted by three American professors and ISCTE professor Sandra Loureiro, found that "rebelliousness" is one of the 10 factors that make a brand cool.

As "rebellion", the study gives as an example lingerie companies betting on plus-size models as protagonists of campaigns, human rights activists representing sports brands, or beverage companies making their presence felt in sporting events.

"There is no clear explanation as to why brands have the approval of users and are considered "cool". This study aims to demystify what makes this happen and the criteria that should be followed. The rebelliousness of brands is one of the main criteria to become "cool2", but there are nine other characteristics that help it happen: being extraordinary, aesthetically appealing, energetic, high status, original, authentic, subcultural, iconic and popular", says Sandra Loureiro, researcher at Iscte Business School.

The selection of the mentioned characteristics resulted from a focus group with consumers from several areas (Engineering, Art or Literature) from different European countries. To this exercise, we also interviewed CEO's and creatives from Portuguese and international marketplaces.

The study also allowed the creation of a scale that evaluates how cool a brand is and in which dimensions it stands out the most and in which it needs to work. "This instrument is important for brands that want to strengthen their position in the market. Through a questionnaire - which we prepared based on the focus groups and interviews we conducted - brands know exactly what they should focus on when preparing a campaign to improve their market value," says the researcher.

Here are the 10 characteristics that make a brand cool:

Rebels

Extraordinary

Aesthetically appealing

Energy

High status

Originals

Authentic

Subcultural

Iconic

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