Why things catch on

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger 

CREATE an exceptional product or service, which you can sell at a great price, throw some advertising at it, and you just have to succeed. Right?

Not even close.

If a fellow foodie raves about a new restaurant, you would be more likely to try it than you would if you saw an advert for it.

One of the most compelling reasons for trying a different product or service is because someone you trust recommends it to you. Word of mouth is a powerful force.

With the advent of online social media, broadcasting an opinion has never been easier. Vast numbers of friends, and friends of friends, can be reached with little effort. This fact leads to the conclusion that most word of mouth has its origin through this medium.

Research by the Keller Fey Group finds that only 7% (not 70%, not even 17%) of word of mouth happens online! The amount of time we spend online might be high, but the amount of time we spend offline is way higher.

Even if online does have greater reach, offline conversations have power way beyond the capability of online.

So why are some products, ideas and behaviours talked about more than others?

This is the question that Wharton professor Jonas Berger has spent 10 years studying, and answers in this book. His answers are not speculative or theoretical; rather, they are fact-based conclusions.

From his own research and that of others, Berger has identified a set of six principles which cause products, services and ideas to spread like a virus.

The six principles are: social currency, triggers, emotion, public, practical value and stories. Together, the principles form the acronym STEPPS and the more of these that are present, the more likely an idea is to spread.

People don’t share everything with everyone because most ideas are of little interest to them. In the same way that the car we drive and the clothes we wear influences how others perceive us, so does what we talk about. 

If we want to be seen as sophisticated, contemporary, successful or knowledgeable, we will choose to talk about matters that reflect this.

On the other hand, not to bore people, we choose who to tell what to, and when, in order for the social currency of our content to be most effective.

In New York City there is a genuine old "hole-in-the-wall” hot dog restaurant that serves 17 varieties of hot dogs. At the far end of the restaurant is a vintage wooden telephone booth complete with a vintage telephone.

Dial 2 and you will be asked: “Do you have a reservation?” If you do, a secret door on the other side of the booth will open and you enter a pub called “Please Don’t Tell”.

Reservations to this pub open daily at 3:00 and by 3:30 it is fully booked, making it one of the most sought-after drinking spots in New York.

Knowing about the pub and even better, having been there, gives you a social currency that makes you look good in certain groups. That is why you tell others about “Please Don’t Tell”.

Talking about the unusual pub you visited on your last trip to New York will generate interest, but can the mundane do the same? The second principle, the Trigger, shows it can.

In an experiment designed to understand how to change eating behaviour, students were shown one of two slogans: “Live the healthy way, eat five fruits and veggies a day” and “Each and every dining-hall tray needs five fruits and veggies a day”.

In all, they saw the slogan 20 times in different fonts and colours and were asked to evaluate the slogan they saw.

That trays need fruit and vegetables was rated “corny” and deemed less than half as attractive as the “live healthy” slogan. Additionally, the slogan was viewed as far more likely to change their behaviour.

Students who saw the “tray” slogan ate 25% more vegetables than the “healthy way” group. The reason is that they use trays to collect their food every day, and the trays acted as a memory trigger.

The slogan “Kit Kat and Coffee” revived the sales of Kit Kat in the US not only because of the memorable alliteration.

Kit Kat and coffee do not go better together than Kit Kat and hot milk, but coffee is a more frequently consumed beverage than milk and so provides many more triggers each day for eating a Kit Kat.

Triggers also get us talking about a subject and the more triggers there are, the more we talk.

Clearly, if the subject also has the right amount of the right emotion attached to it, the chances of it being talked about are far higher.

If the idea can be translated into something visible and public, it will spread faster. If many people have bought in already, we are more likely to believe it than if few have.

Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong bright yellow rubber wrist bands went viral for exactly this reason – publicly visible support for a good cause – support for cancer sufferers.

Virtually anything can become contagious if the right ingredients are present. The ability to go viral isn’t born, it is made - and this is extremely important news!

Readability:    Light --+-- Serious

Insights:         High +---- Low

Practical:         High +---- Low  

 - Fin24

*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy.