Cool Hunting and Persuasion

In the PBS documentary “Cool Hunting” the main focus is on people who attempt to decipher what is cool for teenagers, and that information being utilized to create advertisements that will attract that audience. This strategy works wonders in today’s modern world, as teenagers direct most of their time towards social media. On social media, influencers create societal trends which run their course through the teenage population; that is until they create a new trend which kills the last one and starts the cycle all over again. These influencers having such a massive following makes the cool hunters’ jobs easy, as they partner with these influencers to produce partnered advertisements which directly reach their target audience. Since these influencers have a such an impact on the younger demographic, and they already influence the things they do, wear, say, and how they act, this partnered content now influences the things that they buy. Furthermore, they can work to advertise any product which can influence any aspect of a person’s life, as the ads present in influencer content can slowly mold a person’s identity. In the PBS documentary “The Persuaders”, it showcases how advertisers attempt to stand out in a world where advertisements are literally everywhere. They achieve this by trying to connect with the individual consumer to make them feel appreciated, and in return, having these consumers think the brands care, garnering their business. They further utilize influencers to do this by having the influencers make content that appears to connect with each follower, showing them why they can be successful. healthy, fashionable, or happy by buying a certain product. This personal connection extends to a wide variety of products, and allows advertisers to form bonds with customers that last.