With a look at how top brands are leveraging cool trends, this white paper discusses which cool factors will grab the attention of the most discerning and fastidious consumer group – Generation Y. For more white papers and webinars, go to http://www.sldesignlounge.com To see our packaging and retail design work, visit us at http://www.sld.com

1. White paper | December 2012

2. Shikatani Lacroix is a leading branding and design firm
located in Toronto, Canada. The company wins
commissions from all around the world, across CPG, retail
and service industries, helping clients achieve success
within their operating markets. It does this by enabling its
clients’ brands to better connect with consumers through a
variety of core services including corporate identity,
naming and communication, brand experience, packaging,
retail, wayfinding and product design.
About the Author
Sydney Loo, Project Manager at Shikatani Lacroix
Sydney has twenty years of packaging experience as a
project and design manager for top CPG brands on both
the client and agency side of the business.
Specializing in strategic brand development and packaging
graphics management, Sydney has overseen a number of
successful packaging redesigns and private label programs
for top brands including Cott Beverages, Kraft, and
Shoppers Drug Mart’s Life Brand.
White paper | December 2012 | Capturing the Cool Factor | 1

3. Chasing cool
Consumers living in today’s post-industrial society often
send manufacturing companies on a goose chase.
Samsung Galaxy S3 is known as the best smartphone
leading most of the top smartphone lists in terms of specs
and features. However, being the “best product”
doesn’t always equal a “bestseller”.
In today’s cyber-socialization age, you can do
product comparisons on specs, price and product
reviews in numerous ways for any product that
exists on earth. But, at the end of the day, it is not
always the best product that wins. Why?
What makes people line up for 10-plus hours to
buy an iPhone when it’s not even the best
smartphone in the market? I believe consumers
are aware there are better products that are
worth their money. But there is an unknown
emotional factor that outweighs their rational
thinking. Let’s call this X factor the “cool factor.”
Cool factor #1: Simple, clever and easy
North America faces an aging workforce as the
last of the baby boomers are now reaching the
age of retirement. Meanwhile, Generation Y has
arrived in the workforce with a new attitude. They
are the group who defines the cool factor for
most of today’s consumer products.
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4. So, what are the characteristics of Generation Y? Gen Yers
in general don’t respond well to the traditional “command
and control” management style in the workplace. They
grew up in an environment where they were encouraged to
speak their mind. They are tech savvy. Technology to them
is more than a tool for increasing productivity. It has
become inseparable to their personal lives as a means of
entertainment and as an extension of their social network.
In addition, environmental and fair-trade issues are not just
buzzwords. Gen Yers really believe every global citizen has
an equal share of responsibility to preserve our
environment so it can be sustainable for future generations.
They also have a low tolerance for any social injustice; they
are quick to exercise their consumer power to boycott
companies that are profiting from any form of exploitation.
Knowing where Generation Y comes from will give us a
better understanding of what they would consider to be a
cool factor.
Back to the iPhone vs. Samsung Galaxy smartphone
example. The iPhone’s cool factor is that it is an Apple
product. The late Steve Jobs, who was the founder of the
company, became a legendary icon of design and
innovation. Simplicity (simple and easy to use) had always
been his key design principle. All Apple products are
intuitive; they are designed based on things people already
understand. Hence, there isn’t a need to accompany their
product with any operation manual.
White paper | December 2012 | Capturing the Cool Factor | 3
Cool factor #1
is all about
what’s simple,
clever and
easy to use

5. Generation Y embraces technology like no
other generation before it; they are the
generation that grew up with home
computers and cell phones. Technology to
them is a necessity, not a luxury. It is the
intuitive interface and logic that sets Apple
apart from its competition. Exceeding every
level of the iPhone’s technical specs doesn’t
necessarily impress Gen Yers if it requires
spending hours to learn all of the features
from a user manual. The more
technologically advanced phones may be
perceived as awkward and non-user friendly.
After all, the smartphone is meant to make
you feel smarter not the other way around.
Cool factor #1 is all about what’s simple,
clever and easy to use.
Cool factor #2: Customization
Another example of a product perceived by
the Generation Y group as “cool” is the
single-serve coffee brewers.
This product is all about individualism. The
taste palette of the Gen Y group is very
diverse and this technology makes it
possible to brew a single cup of your
favourite coffee in a second, without the
guilt of wasting a whole pot.
White paper | December 2012 | Capturing the Cool Factor | 4

6. Not long ago, consumers used to stay loyal to products
that they grew up with (and still do for some comfort food
products). However, today’s consumer is exposed to
numerous varieties and choices not only in retail, but also
on the internet. The demand for the single-serve product is
growing in almost every category as it caters to the
uncompromising “on demand” or “customization” needs of
today’s consumer. You can choose anything from colour,
flavour, and size to the variety pack for consumers who
simply want to try them all.
This generational shift helps explain why single-serve
coffee is the fastest-growing sector of the home market.
According to a study from the National Coffee Association,
single-serve coffee is now the second most popular
method of preparation after conventional drip brewers, by
far the dominant method. In 2011, seven percent of the cups
of coffee consumed in the United States were made with a
single-serve brewer, up from four percent in 2010. Cool
factor #2 is about providing instant, customizable solutions.
Cool factor #3: Social responsibility
A third example of a brand’s cool factor is fulfilling the
needs of its consumers by sharing certain social
responsibilities and conserving the endangered natural
environment. Starbucks is one of the forerunning
companies that has a holistic approach to ethical sourcing
and responsible purchasing practices, and is heavily
involved in farmer support and forest conservation
programs.
White paper | December 2012 | Capturing the Cool Factor | 5
Cool factor #2
is about
providing
instant,
customizable
solutions

7. Starbucks’ commitment to
sourcing responsibly grown
and ethically traded coffee
is grounded in its Coffee
and Farmer Equity
(C.A.F.E.) Practices, a
comprehensive set of social,
economic and
environmental measurable
standards focused on the
following areas:
Social Responsibility
To ensure safe, fair and
humane working conditions,
including protecting the
rights of workers and
providing adequate living
conditions. Compliance with
minimum wage, child labor
and forced labor
requirements is mandatory.
Environmental Leadership
To manage waste, protect
water quality, conserve
water and energy, preserve
biodiversity and reduce
agrochemical use.
White paper | December 2012 | Capturing the Cool Factor | 6

8. The performance of farmers participating in C.A.F.E.
Practices shows that, over time, farmers continue to ensure
their children are attending school and that the remaining
forest on their land is conserved, while suppliers are
achieving higher performance and improving practices. The
reach of the program is vast, spanning 20 countries,
affecting over one million workers, and encouraging
responsible practices on 102,000 hectares each year.
Starbucks successfully established a responsible global
citizen image, and it reinforces this message through its
website and in-store literatures. It has created a halo effect
amongst its patrons; the mermaid branded coffee cup has
became a symbolic beacon of social justice and the
environmental conservation movement. Cool factor #3
goes to those in support of creating a better world.
There will always be consumers who single-mindedly
search for the best valued products in terms of price,
product features and durability. In order to win these
consumers over, companies often have to cut cost, reduce
their work force or import products from developing
countries. By doing so, products designed for the mass
market often lack imagination, cleverness and personal
touch due to this thrifty approach. Going down this route
means joining numerous look-a-like products that are
lowering their profit margins in hopes of getting
consumers’ attention and that doesn’t sound very cool,
does it? Give some of these “cool factors” a chance on your
next new product launch and grab the attention of a
discerning and fastidious consumer group – Generation Y.
White paper | December 2012 | Capturing the Cool Factor | 7
Cool factor #3
goes to those
in support of
creating a
better world

9. Reference materials
New York Times — With Coffee, the Price of Individualism
Can Be High
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/single-serve-
coffee-brewers-make-convenience-costly.html?_r=0
USA Today — Generation Y: They’ve Arrived at Work With a
New Attitude
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/workplace/
2005-11-06-gen-y_x.htm
Fast Company — The 6 Pillars of Steve Job’s Design
Philosophy
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665375/the-6-pillars-of-
steve-jobss-design-philosophy
Starbucks — Responsibly Grown and Fair Trade Coffee
http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/sourcing/coffee
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10. For more information, contact:
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, President
Shikatani Lacroix
387 Richmond Street East
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 1P6
Telephone: 416-367-1999
Email: jplacroix@sld.com
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