Next step in outsourcing?

The outsourcing of "Coolness" is discussed in Fastcompany

When Hasbro wanted a hand lifting its decades-old My Little Pony toy line out of the realm of kitsch last year, it turned to a tiny Brooklyn, New York, creative agency called Thunderdog Studios. The result: a New York gallery show full of Ponies, each uniquely decorated by a different woman artist.

Now, that was cool. Which is exactly what Hasbro was after. ...

We should've seen this coming. For decades, business pundits (and, okay, we) have lauded the merits of lean, flexible organizations: Embrace the activities that truly add value; jettison everything else. And companies have done so, outsourcing their IT departments, human resources, copy shops, even manufacturing and distribution.

But this is something different, and more sinister. Companies are outsourcing cool. They're paying other companies--smaller, more-limber, closer-to-the-ground outsiders--to help them keep up with customers' rapidly changing tastes and demands. Talk about a core competency! It's like farming out your soul--or at least, asking someone what you should wear in the morning.
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There's something ageless about this: One generation has looked to the next for advice on cool for as long as there have been out-of-it parents. But seeking advice is one thing; letting an outsider set your agenda is another. Doing so forfeits control of your brand to someone who doesn't own it; it turns you from a creator into a distributor, which is a pretty low-value activity to base a business on. Martin Lindstrom, whose 25-person consulting firm, Brandsense, helps 11 of the world's 100 largest companies keep their brands cool, says, "I'm surprised when they come to us, because they should have structures built in to inform and shape their brand in those fundamental ways."

They don't because staying cool is difficult work. It requires constantly scanning the horizon and taking gambles. And that's scary. "People in huge corporations are afraid of being fired," says Lindstrom. "They don't dare take those risks anymore. The only way they can get a mandate to do this is by taking the risk outside of the company."