Correlates of Cool Identity: Humor, Need For Uniqueness, Materialism, Status Concern and Brand Consciousness

Despite some advances in understanding the meaning and origin of the slang word 'cool', literature uncovering the meaning of coolness is still in its infancy in consumer research. Yet, cool has attracted the attention of many marketing practitioners. In this paper, we examine the meaning of coolness using possible consumer behavior constructs associated to the term. We propose that humor, three subscales of need for uniqueness, materialism, status concern and brand consciousness are positively related to cool identity. Our preliminary correlation analysis supports all our propositions.