Review of Good Is the New Cool

Afdhel Aziz and Bobby Jones

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Rating

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Qualities

Applicable
Concrete Examples
Inspiring

Review

Many companies find that societal value ranks close to shareholder value. For some firms, doing good has become “the new cool.” Customers appreciate online shoe merchant Zappos for its wares and charitable work. Fashion brand Stone & Cloth donates to education programs in Africa. The Dulux paint company gives away paint to brighten gray urban areas. In this inspirational report, Afdhel Aziz and Bobby Jones detail what’s cool about goodness and what this trend portends for the future of commerce, philanthropy, and a kinder and more charitable world.

About the Authors

Afdhel Aziz is the founder and chief purpose officer at Conspiracy of Love, an international brand-purpose strategic consultancy. Peace First chief marketing and communications officer Bobby Jones leads the firm’s efforts to help young people in more than 100 countries create solutions to global and local problems.

Many companies have adopted the philosophy that “good is the new cool.”

Aziz and Jones report that astute companies combine profitable business with an aware, charitable corporate culture. Among the many commercial organizations that spend energy and money doing good, the authors list TOMS, Tesla, Etsy, Kickstarter, Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Zappos, the Honest Company and Warby Parker. “We are witnessing a seismic shift in popular culture,” Aziz and Jones write, “one where doing ‘good’ has become its own form of ‘cool’.”

The authors list three factors that account for this increasingly popular dynamic. First, younger customers – notably millennials and generation Zers – prefer to support firms that contribute to social well-being. Second, contemporary marketing and advertising suffer from a glaring lack of meaningful messaging, and, third, technology now enables innovative new avenues for social service. Today, few people respect conventional marketing. But marketing messages gain stature when promotions support a noble purpose. Many firms support world-improving causes, as, for example, Warby Parker does – one pair of eyeglasses at a time.

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