Coolness is a quality that is widely desired but not widely understood. While many brands seek to establish themselves as "cool," few have a clear idea of how to get there. In this technical note, we present a general framework for coolness that can be used by consumers and managers alike to better understand how to create an air of cool around themselves, their brand, or their products. Our framework rests on four traits: autonomy, authenticity, attitude, and association, and on the interplay between them. Using this framework, we answer questions such as, "What makes something cool?" "What do cool brands do differently?" and "How can something cool become uncool?" Drawing on the literature surrounding autonomy, identity, norms, and impression formation, as well as real-world examples of best practices and common pitfalls, the note seeks to help students navigate the ambiguous world of coolness. This case is appropriate for use both in a first-year marketing course as well as a higher-level elective with MBAs and executives. This case would be most impactful if taught along with the case "From Heineken with Love: James Bond Product Promotion" (UVA-M-0952); the framework in this note could be applied to expand the discussion in that case.

This is a collection of four caselets that aim to provide a rich discussion around why experimentation in business is important and how it can be properly designed to improve short-term tactical and long-term strategic decisions. Specifically, this document presents four different business problems that could be resolved with proper experimentation techniques. The decisions range from the initial evaluation of whether an experiment is needed to how it can be designed, implemented, and evaluated to how it can be improved and sustained. This case would be best used alongside the technical note ""To Understand Consumer Behavior, Think Like a Marketplace Scientist"" (UVA-M-0950), as learnings from that note can be leveraged and applied to tackle the issues here. Ultimately, this reading allows MBA students and industry professionals alike an opportunity to practice being effective designers, analyzers, and proponents of experimentation.

This technical note outlines the process of proper experimentation in the world of business. This reading begins by describing why organizational experimentation is important and then defines a true experiment, highlighting the differences between testing and management by intuition. It then goes on to explain when it is appropriate to use experiments, outlines several different types of experiments, and provides their strengths and weaknesses. Next, the note walks through how to run an experiment, defining the components of experiments and detailing the experimental design process. Finally, it provides preliminary guidance on the analysis of experimental results, focusing on statistical significance, precision, scalability, and sustainability. Ultimately, this reading prepares MBA students and industry professionals alike to become effective designers, analyzers, and proponents of experimentation.