cool·hunt·ing

-verb
is a term coined in the early 1990s referring to a new breed of marketing professionals, called coolhunters. It is their job to make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing cultural trends. The word derives from the aesthetic of “cool”.

Coolhunting is a word that was created in the 90s that needs to be deaded. Kids these days are too smart to go for the same “Coolhunting” tactics of the 90s and early 2000s. Companies that use these same tactics will not survive. Companies that want to be cool or seem cool can’t become cool through market research. They have actually have to be cool, they can’t fake it, they have to live it from the CEO to the guy that cleans the office at night.

Checkout a pretty interesting documentary from Frontline (PBS). It breaks down coolhunting and tactics companies use to become cool.