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Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Nonfiction (2013)Why are some products and ideas talked about more than others? Why do some articles make the most emailed list? Why do some YouTube videos go viral? Word-of-mouth. Whether through face-to-face conversations, emails from friends, or online product reviews, the information and opinions we get from others have a strong impact on our own behaviour. Indeed, word-of-mouth generates more than two times the sales of paid advertising and is the primary factor behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions.It is between 8.5 and 30 times more effective than traditional media.But want to know the best thing about word-of-mouth? It's available to everyone.Whether you're a Fortune 500 company trying to increase sales, a corner restaurant trying to raise awareness, a non-profit trying to fight obesity, or a newbie politician running for city council, word-of-mouth can help you succeed. And you don't have to have millions of dollars to spend on an advertising budget. You just have to get people to talk.The challenge, though, is how to do that. This book will show you how.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2013
4321 people are currently reading
90410 people want to read
About the author
Jonah Berger
27 books779 followersJonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and bestselling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On and Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior.
Dr. Berger has spent over 15 years studying how social influence works and how it drives products and ideas to catch on. He’s published dozens of articles in top-tier academic journals, consulted for a variety of Fortune 500 companies, and popular outlets like the New York Times and Harvard Business Review often cover his work.
Dr. Berger has spent over 15 years studying how social influence works and how it drives products and ideas to catch on. He’s published dozens of articles in top-tier academic journals, consulted for a variety of Fortune 500 companies, and popular outlets like the New York Times and Harvard Business Review often cover his work.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,523 reviews
July 24, 2022
I picked this book up in my local library, only intending to flick through a few pages. Some 50 pages later, I realised I couldn’t put it down! I think that's evidence enough that Jonah Berger knows what he’s talking about in regards to making something viral or “contagious”.
This book is really a study of human behaviour and psychology more than anything else, which is why I found it interesting. I began to look at advertisements and social media from an entirely new perspective. The more I read, the more I felt like I’d walked into an engaging university lecture on the psychology behind marketing. I couldn’t help but analyse my own consumption of media, advertising and various products.
Jonah uses many examples to help explain his ideas – I found this a really good way of learning, as it helped easily break down concepts that were at first confusing. Contagious revolves around Jonah’s six principles of STEPPS (Social currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical value, and Stories) with chapters dedicated to each.
How many times have you scratched your head in disbelief at why something has become popular or gone viral? This book explains why – from horrendous Rebecca Black videos to Apple iPods. I never would’ve guessed people were more inclined to share something after visiting the gym! I now understand many of the ingredients working away behind the scenes that make something catch-on.
At times, the book became a little US-centric, but it wasn't too distracting. I found it dragged slightly towards the end, however, and by that time, I was wanting to apply some of the principles, instead of reading more product stories I didn’t care about.
Because of reading Contagious I now have greater ability to see through certain marketing strategies and content delivery. I also understand the psychology behind why so many news stories and social media posts are designed to make people ‘angry’ these days – I won’t be falling for it anymore!
Contagious is a quick and enlightening read on how things go viral, how to make your own product go viral, and how companies manipulate consumers into helping their product succeed. Highly recommend to all business owners, bloggers or anyone with a social media account!
This book is really a study of human behaviour and psychology more than anything else, which is why I found it interesting. I began to look at advertisements and social media from an entirely new perspective. The more I read, the more I felt like I’d walked into an engaging university lecture on the psychology behind marketing. I couldn’t help but analyse my own consumption of media, advertising and various products.
Jonah uses many examples to help explain his ideas – I found this a really good way of learning, as it helped easily break down concepts that were at first confusing. Contagious revolves around Jonah’s six principles of STEPPS (Social currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical value, and Stories) with chapters dedicated to each.
How many times have you scratched your head in disbelief at why something has become popular or gone viral? This book explains why – from horrendous Rebecca Black videos to Apple iPods. I never would’ve guessed people were more inclined to share something after visiting the gym! I now understand many of the ingredients working away behind the scenes that make something catch-on.
At times, the book became a little US-centric, but it wasn't too distracting. I found it dragged slightly towards the end, however, and by that time, I was wanting to apply some of the principles, instead of reading more product stories I didn’t care about.
Because of reading Contagious I now have greater ability to see through certain marketing strategies and content delivery. I also understand the psychology behind why so many news stories and social media posts are designed to make people ‘angry’ these days – I won’t be falling for it anymore!
Contagious is a quick and enlightening read on how things go viral, how to make your own product go viral, and how companies manipulate consumers into helping their product succeed. Highly recommend to all business owners, bloggers or anyone with a social media account!
March 8, 2013
If this material is enough to cover an entire Wharton MBA course, then I'm not sure what that says about Wharton's program. There is just not that much information in this book far beyond common sense most people already intuitively know. I had been looking forward to this book release as the topic is interesting and even possesses its own themed six characteristics, conveniently ascribed the acronym STEPPS, which the author Jonah Berger explains contributes to why products or ideas become contagious. Mr. Berger argues that if we want our product or idea to catch on and spread like wildfire, we must try to build into it as many of these six STEPPS as we can. STEPPS stands for:
Social currency
Triggers
Emotion
Public
Practical Value
Stories
If discussing something makes you look interesting or cool or special, then that something provides you with "Social currency'.
If there is built into a product or idea easy cues that can trigger it to come to mind, then it has a strong 'Trigger'.
If the brand/concept can evoke emotions of anger or good will/ happiness (but note NOT sadness - since we don't want our friends/family to be sad and therefore are not inclined to share something likely to invoke sadness), then it has 'Emotion'.
If your product or cause can be broadcast to others, it is 'Public'.
If it provides 'Practical value', it is more likely to be shared.
Lastly, if a memorable story can be spun around it, then it has the added benefit of having a 'Story'.
Now, let's apply STEPPS to the book itself: 1) Clearly, the answer the book claims to explain (Why do certain products and ideas go viral?) has Social Currency -- it's an interesting topic in which most everyone would be interested; and it makes us look interesting in bringing up that we are read on the subject through this "groundbreaking" book (more on this "groundbreaking" claim later). 2) There are Triggers all around us that cue the topic for discussion (you see hipsters all around you and wonder how a lifestyle of skinny-jeans-wearing-gastrointestinal-issues-causing/fixie-rubber-shoe-braking-bike-riding came to be; or maybe how it is that we've gone backwards to wearing heavy Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and why these retro audio phones [form factor] are fashionable; or why you see Toms shoes all about as they really are plain and resemble the old cheap kungfu shoes that are dirt cheap and available in any chinatown (but they have a strong cause behind them- hence
Public' factor)...you get the point -- these are just my examples; they weren't mentioned in the book - although they would have been good stories for Berger to include. 3) People can become emotional about why some things have become contagious - they can be in awe/angry over ideas and triggered to talk about what they have read in this book. 4) The book is "Public" - its cover is bright orange. Eyeballs will be attracted to it; curiosity will be aroused. 5) The topic attempts to explain a phenomenon of which an understanding would undoubtedly prove of great practical value, especially if you have something to sell/spread. Lastly, 6) it contains (attempts to contain) some entertaining stories to hopefully have a place in your memory prevalent enough for you to tell others about this book.
Now, that, in a nutshell, is the book. That's it. EVERYTHING else - every page after the intro - hammers you over the head with what I've described above, over and over and over again until the insufferable boredom of repetition starts to resemble an old torture technique I watched as a kid in a movie long ago. Thin sheets of wet paper towels are placed one by one slowly over a victim's face. Each sheet is very thin and the victim can breathe through each layer. As each new sheet is applied at slow intervals, it becomes a little bit harder to breathe. This is a drawn out, protracted torture. Finally, the weight of the wet sheets becomes so heavy, the victim, whose breathing has become increasingly labored, eventually suffocates. This book for some awful reason was akin to a literary version of that torture. Books like this usually follow the formulae: tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. Well, in this book, everything you need to know is explained adequately in the introduction. Then the body of the book is layer upon layer of thin wet sheets foisted upon you until you are suffocating from the repetition and hammering of simple ideas - over and over and over again.
If you like Malcolm Gladwell's books, you probably will like this book. I do not like Gladwell's books but I do think Mr. Gladwell is a great story weaver and a strong writer. I cannot say the same for Mr. Berger who authored this book. For the same reason I am not a fan of Gladwell's books, I felt like most of Berger's arguments were oversimplified, heavily subject to anecdotal argumentation, left unsubstantiated or unexplained as to the deeper "why" behind a pattern. Mr. Berger explains patterns well - but they aren't anything startling - yet he fails repeatedly to analyze deeply why the pattern exists. For example, this review is clearly not a positive one yet the author points out that bad book reviews *can* be good publicity if there are triggers to inform people that there exists a book, albeit a badly reviewed book, possessing certain characteristics. He cites a study he conducted in his citations. Nothing further. Where subjects need more flushing out, Berger repeatedly disappoints, yet where he's made a simple point effectively, he proceeds to drown you with it. Well, since negative book reviews "can" sometimes boost reviews, here you go, Mr. Berger - my gift to you in exchange for boring me to death - a bad book review that "can" inspire better sales. People will be curious to see for themselves whether I tend toward hyperbole, if there is any merit to what I have stated. Noise is better than silence; some publicity is better than none. That's common sense for selling something.
There are numerous other uninspiring moments in this book, similar to this. For example, in his discussion relating to "practical value", he instructs us that if you find a good Ethiopian restaurant, you are more likely to share your recommendation of it than you would had you had found a good American restaurant. The reason being you probably have many more friends who like American food than Ethiopian food; therefore, you will feel much more conviction to tell those fewer applicable friends about the Ethiopian restaurant. You simply know too many people who would be interested in American food to compel you to recommend the American restaurant. What an unremarkable observation. Blah.
Another example is when he goes on and on about the fact that things that are remarkable are interesting, moving us to share about it. This is why certain cute or remarkable YouTube videos spread virally; we like to share articles or videos we think our friends or family will find interesting. You need research to make such a statement? Or when he claimed he tested at length whether something that inspires awe in us, will evoke us to tell others about it. Such common sense notions like this are laid out and overanalyzed throughout the book. The author needed to conduct research to discover that awe drives people to share? Come on, dude.
This book is a dumbing-down of common knowledge, contributing to the pain of plowing through the book. If not for my habit of sheer reading discipline despite my extreme boredom, I would not have finished this book. I don't need to be instructed that the Nobel Prize is prestigious along with a paragraph of examples. Why do I need to know it was a cold, wintery day when Daniel Kahneman gave a lecture on bounded rationality? Irrelevant fillers like this spread throughout the book - makes for bad writing. There are interesting nuggets of info through some of Berger's examples/stories but they, in no way, compensate for the fact that this book regurgitates what most marketers already know. Most of the material covered in this book is widely known common knowledge in the industry. He reports on why the status/points system works for airlines. Airlines know it works - that's why they entice frequent fliers with status and levels. Game theory is widely applied in marketing. Video game makers have been applying the psychology of levels/goals attainment in their designs for decades.
Which gets to my second-to-last gripe. In the intro and conclusion he claims that he has used cutting-edge science to demonstrate to us how word of mouth, psychology of sharing, social influence, conformity, herd behavior work. In reality, he simply points out patterns of these behaviors. There is no "cutting-edge science" and disappointingly he tosses aside the wasted opportunity for meaningful analysis. He hasn't sufficiently explained the psychology behind any of the the "why's" that naturally arise from the reading (offering merely superficial explanations).
Lastly, I end with the formatting. First, my extreme dislike for the notes format - extremely aggravating for someone who almost always reads the citations/notes. I would read an argument and wonder what basis the author had to make a certain statement. I'd have to check the back of the book to see if there existed any citation. There was no system to indicate that a citation existed for reference to any statement put forth. Perhaps this is limited to the advance release edition; if so, forgive my criticism.
Also relating to formatting, there were innumerous typos. Again, this may be limited to the copy I read but editing was pitiful in my advance copy.
Social currency
Triggers
Emotion
Public
Practical Value
Stories
If discussing something makes you look interesting or cool or special, then that something provides you with "Social currency'.
If there is built into a product or idea easy cues that can trigger it to come to mind, then it has a strong 'Trigger'.
If the brand/concept can evoke emotions of anger or good will/ happiness (but note NOT sadness - since we don't want our friends/family to be sad and therefore are not inclined to share something likely to invoke sadness), then it has 'Emotion'.
If your product or cause can be broadcast to others, it is 'Public'.
If it provides 'Practical value', it is more likely to be shared.
Lastly, if a memorable story can be spun around it, then it has the added benefit of having a 'Story'.
Now, let's apply STEPPS to the book itself: 1) Clearly, the answer the book claims to explain (Why do certain products and ideas go viral?) has Social Currency -- it's an interesting topic in which most everyone would be interested; and it makes us look interesting in bringing up that we are read on the subject through this "groundbreaking" book (more on this "groundbreaking" claim later). 2) There are Triggers all around us that cue the topic for discussion (you see hipsters all around you and wonder how a lifestyle of skinny-jeans-wearing-gastrointestinal-issues-causing/fixie-rubber-shoe-braking-bike-riding came to be; or maybe how it is that we've gone backwards to wearing heavy Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and why these retro audio phones [form factor] are fashionable; or why you see Toms shoes all about as they really are plain and resemble the old cheap kungfu shoes that are dirt cheap and available in any chinatown (but they have a strong cause behind them- hence
Public' factor)...you get the point -- these are just my examples; they weren't mentioned in the book - although they would have been good stories for Berger to include. 3) People can become emotional about why some things have become contagious - they can be in awe/angry over ideas and triggered to talk about what they have read in this book. 4) The book is "Public" - its cover is bright orange. Eyeballs will be attracted to it; curiosity will be aroused. 5) The topic attempts to explain a phenomenon of which an understanding would undoubtedly prove of great practical value, especially if you have something to sell/spread. Lastly, 6) it contains (attempts to contain) some entertaining stories to hopefully have a place in your memory prevalent enough for you to tell others about this book.
Now, that, in a nutshell, is the book. That's it. EVERYTHING else - every page after the intro - hammers you over the head with what I've described above, over and over and over again until the insufferable boredom of repetition starts to resemble an old torture technique I watched as a kid in a movie long ago. Thin sheets of wet paper towels are placed one by one slowly over a victim's face. Each sheet is very thin and the victim can breathe through each layer. As each new sheet is applied at slow intervals, it becomes a little bit harder to breathe. This is a drawn out, protracted torture. Finally, the weight of the wet sheets becomes so heavy, the victim, whose breathing has become increasingly labored, eventually suffocates. This book for some awful reason was akin to a literary version of that torture. Books like this usually follow the formulae: tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. Well, in this book, everything you need to know is explained adequately in the introduction. Then the body of the book is layer upon layer of thin wet sheets foisted upon you until you are suffocating from the repetition and hammering of simple ideas - over and over and over again.
If you like Malcolm Gladwell's books, you probably will like this book. I do not like Gladwell's books but I do think Mr. Gladwell is a great story weaver and a strong writer. I cannot say the same for Mr. Berger who authored this book. For the same reason I am not a fan of Gladwell's books, I felt like most of Berger's arguments were oversimplified, heavily subject to anecdotal argumentation, left unsubstantiated or unexplained as to the deeper "why" behind a pattern. Mr. Berger explains patterns well - but they aren't anything startling - yet he fails repeatedly to analyze deeply why the pattern exists. For example, this review is clearly not a positive one yet the author points out that bad book reviews *can* be good publicity if there are triggers to inform people that there exists a book, albeit a badly reviewed book, possessing certain characteristics. He cites a study he conducted in his citations. Nothing further. Where subjects need more flushing out, Berger repeatedly disappoints, yet where he's made a simple point effectively, he proceeds to drown you with it. Well, since negative book reviews "can" sometimes boost reviews, here you go, Mr. Berger - my gift to you in exchange for boring me to death - a bad book review that "can" inspire better sales. People will be curious to see for themselves whether I tend toward hyperbole, if there is any merit to what I have stated. Noise is better than silence; some publicity is better than none. That's common sense for selling something.
There are numerous other uninspiring moments in this book, similar to this. For example, in his discussion relating to "practical value", he instructs us that if you find a good Ethiopian restaurant, you are more likely to share your recommendation of it than you would had you had found a good American restaurant. The reason being you probably have many more friends who like American food than Ethiopian food; therefore, you will feel much more conviction to tell those fewer applicable friends about the Ethiopian restaurant. You simply know too many people who would be interested in American food to compel you to recommend the American restaurant. What an unremarkable observation. Blah.
Another example is when he goes on and on about the fact that things that are remarkable are interesting, moving us to share about it. This is why certain cute or remarkable YouTube videos spread virally; we like to share articles or videos we think our friends or family will find interesting. You need research to make such a statement? Or when he claimed he tested at length whether something that inspires awe in us, will evoke us to tell others about it. Such common sense notions like this are laid out and overanalyzed throughout the book. The author needed to conduct research to discover that awe drives people to share? Come on, dude.
This book is a dumbing-down of common knowledge, contributing to the pain of plowing through the book. If not for my habit of sheer reading discipline despite my extreme boredom, I would not have finished this book. I don't need to be instructed that the Nobel Prize is prestigious along with a paragraph of examples. Why do I need to know it was a cold, wintery day when Daniel Kahneman gave a lecture on bounded rationality? Irrelevant fillers like this spread throughout the book - makes for bad writing. There are interesting nuggets of info through some of Berger's examples/stories but they, in no way, compensate for the fact that this book regurgitates what most marketers already know. Most of the material covered in this book is widely known common knowledge in the industry. He reports on why the status/points system works for airlines. Airlines know it works - that's why they entice frequent fliers with status and levels. Game theory is widely applied in marketing. Video game makers have been applying the psychology of levels/goals attainment in their designs for decades.
Which gets to my second-to-last gripe. In the intro and conclusion he claims that he has used cutting-edge science to demonstrate to us how word of mouth, psychology of sharing, social influence, conformity, herd behavior work. In reality, he simply points out patterns of these behaviors. There is no "cutting-edge science" and disappointingly he tosses aside the wasted opportunity for meaningful analysis. He hasn't sufficiently explained the psychology behind any of the the "why's" that naturally arise from the reading (offering merely superficial explanations).
Lastly, I end with the formatting. First, my extreme dislike for the notes format - extremely aggravating for someone who almost always reads the citations/notes. I would read an argument and wonder what basis the author had to make a certain statement. I'd have to check the back of the book to see if there existed any citation. There was no system to indicate that a citation existed for reference to any statement put forth. Perhaps this is limited to the advance release edition; if so, forgive my criticism.
Also relating to formatting, there were innumerous typos. Again, this may be limited to the copy I read but editing was pitiful in my advance copy.
July 13, 2018
Contagious is a well-written book for marketers, full of interesting stories. If you are interested why people talk about certain things more than about others this book can explain it perfectly.
Here is a link to the animated summary: https://youtu.be/EatUYmOvUiw
June 11, 2013
Sporting a business degree (advertising/PR/Marketing) under my belt means that I view the world, consumer and otherwise, in a marketing sense. Although I can predict trends and see market value; I was very curious about why ideas and brands affect us. That is where Jonah Berger’s “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” came into the picture.
“Contagious” begins with an almost 30-page introduction which appears to summarize the book instead of provoking interest, causing some trepidation. However, moving past this initial caution opens up a book which combines a business (marketing) how-to, case studies, sociology, and psychology. Using this unique concept, Berger strives to not just describe how to market ideas and brands but why.
The problem within “Contagious” lays in the lack of consistency. Berger’s writing is overly simplified for a general audience appeal. It is bouncy, too vague, and doesn’t dive deep enough or provide ample data; leaving many readers with unanswered questions. This means that much of the information in “Contagious” is either not memorable or is common sense to those who either studied or currently practice marketing. With that being said, there are heavier science sections which creatively combine business with a description of human emotional and psychological responses. Yet, this demonstrates the inconsistency mentioned. Plus, it is very obvious that Berger has knowledge and passion (and I can see why the university course he teaches is enjoyable); I merely don’t think he is an author per se (not because of poor writing but because of poor presentation of stringing together ideas).
On the positive side, Berger doesn’t just present case studies or opinions from sources but has instead conducted a massive amount of primary research (along with his research assistants) which is compelling and will draw the science readers to the pages. This is supplemented by photos and charts/diagrams which add to the substance of the text. Furthermore, the information and studies are very current and recognizable which eliminated the issue of a dated piece (although it will be dated in the future).
Berger has the tendency to be repetitive within each chapter on matters being currently discussed and with re-demonstrating past information. Although this may be to make ideas stick (natch!); it comes off as simply aiming to add pages to “Contagious” and not having enough new and conclusive statistics to share.
“Contagious” doesn’t reveal any new marketing concepts and is simply an update to ideas marketers are already aware of, making “Contagious” a light (albeit, entertaining) read and best suggested as an intro to the field. One must be careful, though, because sometimes Berger is very much “in-the-know” while other times, he is quite out of touch such as when he describes 15-year-old male teenagers watching cartoons on the couch when in actuality, they are more than likely masturbating to porn online.
The stronger portions of “Contagious” are clearly those relating to psychology, sociology, and behavioral economics. Berger appears more adept at these areas than marketing. The conclusion (this includes the Epilogue), however, is weak, unbalanced, and lacking any remarkable traits.
Despite my complaints, “Contagious” is a quick (1-2 days) read (only 200 pages) which will entertain with some useful quips for the entry-level marketer or average reader. It certainly isn’t terrible, it is simply light. “Contagious” is worth reading if you have an interest in the area and plan to follow up with more in-depth reading.
“Contagious” begins with an almost 30-page introduction which appears to summarize the book instead of provoking interest, causing some trepidation. However, moving past this initial caution opens up a book which combines a business (marketing) how-to, case studies, sociology, and psychology. Using this unique concept, Berger strives to not just describe how to market ideas and brands but why.
The problem within “Contagious” lays in the lack of consistency. Berger’s writing is overly simplified for a general audience appeal. It is bouncy, too vague, and doesn’t dive deep enough or provide ample data; leaving many readers with unanswered questions. This means that much of the information in “Contagious” is either not memorable or is common sense to those who either studied or currently practice marketing. With that being said, there are heavier science sections which creatively combine business with a description of human emotional and psychological responses. Yet, this demonstrates the inconsistency mentioned. Plus, it is very obvious that Berger has knowledge and passion (and I can see why the university course he teaches is enjoyable); I merely don’t think he is an author per se (not because of poor writing but because of poor presentation of stringing together ideas).
On the positive side, Berger doesn’t just present case studies or opinions from sources but has instead conducted a massive amount of primary research (along with his research assistants) which is compelling and will draw the science readers to the pages. This is supplemented by photos and charts/diagrams which add to the substance of the text. Furthermore, the information and studies are very current and recognizable which eliminated the issue of a dated piece (although it will be dated in the future).
Berger has the tendency to be repetitive within each chapter on matters being currently discussed and with re-demonstrating past information. Although this may be to make ideas stick (natch!); it comes off as simply aiming to add pages to “Contagious” and not having enough new and conclusive statistics to share.
“Contagious” doesn’t reveal any new marketing concepts and is simply an update to ideas marketers are already aware of, making “Contagious” a light (albeit, entertaining) read and best suggested as an intro to the field. One must be careful, though, because sometimes Berger is very much “in-the-know” while other times, he is quite out of touch such as when he describes 15-year-old male teenagers watching cartoons on the couch when in actuality, they are more than likely masturbating to porn online.
The stronger portions of “Contagious” are clearly those relating to psychology, sociology, and behavioral economics. Berger appears more adept at these areas than marketing. The conclusion (this includes the Epilogue), however, is weak, unbalanced, and lacking any remarkable traits.
Despite my complaints, “Contagious” is a quick (1-2 days) read (only 200 pages) which will entertain with some useful quips for the entry-level marketer or average reader. It certainly isn’t terrible, it is simply light. “Contagious” is worth reading if you have an interest in the area and plan to follow up with more in-depth reading.
June 16, 2014
This is a fun book, full of ideas for advertising new ideas or products. It contains many good anecdotes about promotions that worked and didn't work. For example, there is a description of a youtube video that went viral, that advertised a blender--and boosted sales enormously. Then there is a video that went viral, and advertised a casino--but didn't boost sales at all. Why not? The video had absolutely nothing to do with the casino--it was just a catchy video!
The author, Jonah Berger, is a professor at Wharton. He has studied how messages become "viral". He claims that most communications about products are not through the Internet, but are through word of mouth, person-to-person. Berger describes six STEPPS (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotions, Public, Practical Value and Stories) that can help to promote a product. Much of the book is just plain common sense. Nothing very deep here--but it is an entertaining book.
The author, Jonah Berger, is a professor at Wharton. He has studied how messages become "viral". He claims that most communications about products are not through the Internet, but are through word of mouth, person-to-person. Berger describes six STEPPS (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotions, Public, Practical Value and Stories) that can help to promote a product. Much of the book is just plain common sense. Nothing very deep here--but it is an entertaining book.
April 1, 2022
Loved it! Nu e o carte care sa revolutioneze felul in care creezi continut, dar e atat de plina de povesti inspirationale si atat de bine explicat totul incat eu as pune-o musai pe lista de lecturi a oricarui creator de continut. E in acelasi timp studiu sociologic si carte care aduna studii de caz si cred ca e chiar perfecta pentru perioadele acelea in care ai impresia ca tu nu o sa reusesti niciodata sa creezi content viral.
December 15, 2020
This was the first of many reads recommended by Udacity in a marketing course I’m talking. Needless to say after it I’m going to read all every book on the reading list
August 1, 2013
Jonah Berger has given us a very good read that builds on "Switch" and "The Tipping Point." In essence we are introduced to a means to put into practice what were simply observations in the Heath's and Gladwell's separate takes on how to influence others. Those of us who work across sectors in community are always trying to find the magic formula for engaging and moving our respective audiences to action.
For Berger, there are six essential factors that contribute to contagious ideas: think of them as the STEPPS to having your ideas catch on. Not all elements are necessary for an idea to catch on, but a combination of some or all these elements would certainly increase the likelihood. (A key note here is that this is not all about virality in an Internet context -- according to Berger only 7% of real world contagion occurs on the web; the vast majority of ideas that catch on are still transported word of mouth.) A quick look at some of the most successful viral campaigns reveals each of these elements at work.
Social currency. We share things that make us look good or help us compare favorably to others. Exclusive restaurants utilize social currency all the time to create demand. In community: involvement in an effort to solve seemingly intractable problems would provide social currency, but if jargon makes it too hard to explain either the issue or the solution we preclude virality.
Triggers. Ideas that are top of mind spread. Like parasites, viral ideas attach themselves to top of mind stories, occurrences or environments. For example, Mars bar sales spiked when in 1997 when NASA's Pathfinder mission explored the red planet. In community: think of how to frame your ideas in order that they might have triggers for the larger community. For example: your work on poverty reduction might have more triggers if you were also able to talk about it in economic development or community betterment terms.
Emotion. When we care, we share. Jonah analyzed over six months of data from the New York Times most emailed list to discover that certain high arousal emotions can dramatically increase our need to share ideas - like the outrage triggered by Dave Carroll's "United Breaks Guitars" video. In community: we've been fairly adept at the first part of the equation - care - but we have had more difficulty with creating the vehicle for sharing, be it a video, website or story.
Public. People tend to follow others, but only when they can see what those others are doing. There is a reason why baristas put money in their own tip jar at the beginning of a shift. Ideas need to be public to be copied. In community: the question should be: what is the behavior we want repeated and how to we publicly model it.
Practical. Humans crave the opportunity to give advice and offer tips (one reason why advocate marketing works - your best customers love to help out), but especially if they offer practical value. It's why we `pay it forward' and help others. Sharing is caring. In community: have you provided your advocates with a story, checklist or tool to share that brings practical value. Many communities have developed a "kindergarten-readiness checklist" for this purpose.
Stories - People do not just share information, they tell stories. And stories are like Trojan horses, vessels that carry ideas, brands, and information. To benefit the brand, stories must not only be shared but also relate to a sponsoring company's products. Thus the epic failure of viral sensations like Evian's roller baby video (50M views) that did little to stem Evian's 25% drop in sales.
As you are developing your marketing campaign or community engagement strategy, you should put it through the test of the STEPPS elements. It will move you from your frame of reference to your audiences' and that is the being of being contagious!
For Berger, there are six essential factors that contribute to contagious ideas: think of them as the STEPPS to having your ideas catch on. Not all elements are necessary for an idea to catch on, but a combination of some or all these elements would certainly increase the likelihood. (A key note here is that this is not all about virality in an Internet context -- according to Berger only 7% of real world contagion occurs on the web; the vast majority of ideas that catch on are still transported word of mouth.) A quick look at some of the most successful viral campaigns reveals each of these elements at work.
Social currency. We share things that make us look good or help us compare favorably to others. Exclusive restaurants utilize social currency all the time to create demand. In community: involvement in an effort to solve seemingly intractable problems would provide social currency, but if jargon makes it too hard to explain either the issue or the solution we preclude virality.
Triggers. Ideas that are top of mind spread. Like parasites, viral ideas attach themselves to top of mind stories, occurrences or environments. For example, Mars bar sales spiked when in 1997 when NASA's Pathfinder mission explored the red planet. In community: think of how to frame your ideas in order that they might have triggers for the larger community. For example: your work on poverty reduction might have more triggers if you were also able to talk about it in economic development or community betterment terms.
Emotion. When we care, we share. Jonah analyzed over six months of data from the New York Times most emailed list to discover that certain high arousal emotions can dramatically increase our need to share ideas - like the outrage triggered by Dave Carroll's "United Breaks Guitars" video. In community: we've been fairly adept at the first part of the equation - care - but we have had more difficulty with creating the vehicle for sharing, be it a video, website or story.
Public. People tend to follow others, but only when they can see what those others are doing. There is a reason why baristas put money in their own tip jar at the beginning of a shift. Ideas need to be public to be copied. In community: the question should be: what is the behavior we want repeated and how to we publicly model it.
Practical. Humans crave the opportunity to give advice and offer tips (one reason why advocate marketing works - your best customers love to help out), but especially if they offer practical value. It's why we `pay it forward' and help others. Sharing is caring. In community: have you provided your advocates with a story, checklist or tool to share that brings practical value. Many communities have developed a "kindergarten-readiness checklist" for this purpose.
Stories - People do not just share information, they tell stories. And stories are like Trojan horses, vessels that carry ideas, brands, and information. To benefit the brand, stories must not only be shared but also relate to a sponsoring company's products. Thus the epic failure of viral sensations like Evian's roller baby video (50M views) that did little to stem Evian's 25% drop in sales.
As you are developing your marketing campaign or community engagement strategy, you should put it through the test of the STEPPS elements. It will move you from your frame of reference to your audiences' and that is the being of being contagious!
March 29, 2013
You'd think a book that explores the mechanics of going viral would be, well, interesting -- that it would embody the concept it was exploring. I found this dull and not terribly informative. I noticed that a number of reviewers received free copies -- I assume the publisher was attempting to generate some buzz. I paid for my copy and wish I'd spent the money on something more, well, buzz-worthy.
February 18, 2017
Думаю, що не скажу нічого нового, означивши "Заразливого" як дуже прикольну книжку. І дуже корисну. Особливо якщо ви працюєте, приміром, у книжковому бізнесі і ваше маленьке (ба навіть середнячкове) видавництво не має окремого маркетолога в штаті. Ну або ви маєте свій маленький бізнес - мрію життя і теж не маєте "спеціально навченої людини", а продавати ж треба... У сучасному світі взагалі ВСЕ треба продавати, що цукерки, що книжки, що свої фантастичні ідеї або чудові вміння.
Що робить у своїй книжці Йона Бергер. Він бере успішні приклади продавання, мегауспішні приклади, і розбирає їх по гвинтиках: чого ж воно спрацювало?...( Ну, бо не завжди спрацьовує. Буває, мудохаєтесь, думаєте, робите, а не йде.) Точніше навіть, розказує, як вони з колєгами шукали, чого ж воно спрацювало, до чого прийшли і де помилялися (що теж важливо). І от саме цей виклад у вигляді історії спрацьовує. Власне, автор застосовує свої ж результати праці (розділ 7 - Історії).
Загалом зміст книжки можна звести до підсумкової таблички на ст 211. Я б навіть її сюди вставила як картинку, але не вставляється, але грамотно користуватися нею без всієї історії (див. абзац вище), якщо ви тільки не "спеціально навчений" маркетолог буде не так просто. Тим більше, що історія написана легко і дохідливо, для практиків-підприємців, як далеко не завжди мають за плечима багаж спеціальної освіти.
Наостанок кілька слів про переклад. Я навіть мала у ФБ дискусію на тему використання в одному місці в цій книжці слів "кількоро" і "запопасти". Не філюйтеся, це найекзотичніші слова в цьому перекладі, загалом він дуже стандартний в плані мови.
Втім, принагідно таки скажу: якось так вийшло, що я не помітила того переломного моменту, коли читачі, завваживши в перекладі незвичайне слово, перестали шукати його значення у словниках і збагачувати власний лексичний запас, а масово почали розказувати, що їм впарюють слова, якими вони не користуються. Щоразу коли бачу срачі на цю тему, тішуся, що старенький Микола Лукаш з його хоббі колекціонування рідкісних слів і впихання їх у свої переклади, умер до ери фейсбуку, бо був би нині обстьобаний і обпльований. Так і хочеться сказати "отаммося" :)))
Словом, читайте всі цю книжку, бо це цікаво. Во!
Що робить у своїй книжці Йона Бергер. Він бере успішні приклади продавання, мегауспішні приклади, і розбирає їх по гвинтиках: чого ж воно спрацювало?...( Ну, бо не завжди спрацьовує. Буває, мудохаєтесь, думаєте, робите, а не йде.) Точніше навіть, розказує, як вони з колєгами шукали, чого ж воно спрацювало, до чого прийшли і де помилялися (що теж важливо). І от саме цей виклад у вигляді історії спрацьовує. Власне, автор застосовує свої ж результати праці (розділ 7 - Історії).
Загалом зміст книжки можна звести до підсумкової таблички на ст 211. Я б навіть її сюди вставила як картинку, але не вставляється, але грамотно користуватися нею без всієї історії (див. абзац вище), якщо ви тільки не "спеціально навчений" маркетолог буде не так просто. Тим більше, що історія написана легко і дохідливо, для практиків-підприємців, як далеко не завжди мають за плечима багаж спеціальної освіти.
Наостанок кілька слів про переклад. Я навіть мала у ФБ дискусію на тему використання в одному місці в цій книжці слів "кількоро" і "запопасти". Не філюйтеся, це найекзотичніші слова в цьому перекладі, загалом він дуже стандартний в плані мови.
Втім, принагідно таки скажу: якось так вийшло, що я не помітила того переломного моменту, коли читачі, завваживши в перекладі незвичайне слово, перестали шукати його значення у словниках і збагачувати власний лексичний запас, а масово почали розказувати, що їм впарюють слова, якими вони не користуються. Щоразу коли бачу срачі на цю тему, тішуся, що старенький Микола Лукаш з його хоббі колекціонування рідкісних слів і впихання їх у свої переклади, умер до ери фейсбуку, бо був би нині обстьобаний і обпльований. Так і хочеться сказати "отаммося" :)))
Словом, читайте всі цю книжку, бо це цікаво. Во!
September 17, 2016
Um livro com ótimas ideias, recomendado para criadores, que é longo demais para o que precisa transmitir. Jonah Berger trabalhou com quais tipos de notícias do NYTimes mais foram compartilhadas (trabalho que citei no Nerdologia, inclusive) e pode falar como poucos sobre o que é mais compartilhado na internet. E dá ótimos insights sobre como informação útil, que desperta emoções motivadoras e boas histórias são compartilhadas.
Isso tudo poderia ser resumido em muito menos páginas. Boas ideias, como executá-las e pronto. Mas o autor passa um tempo enorme descrevendo exemplos, situações, recapitulando e etc. Nessas horas, ouvir acelerado mais do que se paga. O contrário do The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life When Robots Rule the Earth, onde que tive que ouvir normal para captar tudo, de tanta informação nova. Pelo menos é uma leitura acessível a todo tipo de interessado.
Isso tudo poderia ser resumido em muito menos páginas. Boas ideias, como executá-las e pronto. Mas o autor passa um tempo enorme descrevendo exemplos, situações, recapitulando e etc. Nessas horas, ouvir acelerado mais do que se paga. O contrário do The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life When Robots Rule the Earth, onde que tive que ouvir normal para captar tudo, de tanta informação nova. Pelo menos é uma leitura acessível a todo tipo de interessado.
January 17, 2023
"Why do some products, ideas, and behaviors succeed when others fail?"
Contagious was a decent look into the science behind social contagions. The book is my second from the author, after his 2016 book Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior, which I really enjoyed.
Author Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.Dr. Berger has spent over 15 years studying how social influence works and how it drives products and ideas to catch on. He’s published dozens of articles in top-tier academic journals, consulted for a variety of Fortune 500 companies, and popular outlets like the New York Times and Harvard Business Review often cover his work.
Jonah Berger:
Berger gets the writing here off to a good start with a well-written intro. He talks about the unlikely success of a $100 Philly cheesesteak sandwich at the Philidelphia restaurant Barclay Prime.
The writing here is well done. Berger brings psychology and social psychology to bear here in his examination of what causes trends, products, and styles to hit their so-called "tipping points."
The book includes many case studies from recent history to illustrate the points being made.
Berger lays out 6 principles of contagiousness, which he expands upon in the book:
He drops this quote that identifies the book's possible audience:
People are inherently pro-social. Our social wiring is a fundamental aspect of the human psyche. This can be leveraged to help spread awareness in a concept Berger calls "social currency":
Some more of what is touched on here includes:
• Scarcity; McDonald's "McRib" sandwich.
• Emotional appeal; the power of awe.
• The concept of "social proof" in decision making; Movember, logos on clothing.
• "Behavioural residues"; the "Livestrong" wristband. Branded shopping bags and free swag.
• Price reference points, behavioural economics; Daniel Kahneman.
• Practical value; sharing useful content with friends and family.
***********************
Contagious was a fun short read. I would recommend it to anyone interested.
4 stars.
Contagious was a decent look into the science behind social contagions. The book is my second from the author, after his 2016 book Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior, which I really enjoyed.
Author Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.Dr. Berger has spent over 15 years studying how social influence works and how it drives products and ideas to catch on. He’s published dozens of articles in top-tier academic journals, consulted for a variety of Fortune 500 companies, and popular outlets like the New York Times and Harvard Business Review often cover his work.
Jonah Berger:
Berger gets the writing here off to a good start with a well-written intro. He talks about the unlikely success of a $100 Philly cheesesteak sandwich at the Philidelphia restaurant Barclay Prime.
The writing here is well done. Berger brings psychology and social psychology to bear here in his examination of what causes trends, products, and styles to hit their so-called "tipping points."
The book includes many case studies from recent history to illustrate the points being made.
Berger lays out 6 principles of contagiousness, which he expands upon in the book:
"SIX PRINCIPLES OF CONTAGIOUSNESS
Principle 1: Social Currency
Principle 2: Triggers
Principle 3: Emotion
Principle 4: Public
Principle 5: Practical Value
Principle 6: Stories
These principles can be compacted into an acronym. Taken together they spell STEPPS. Think of the principles as the six STEPPS to crafting contagious content. These ingredients lead ideas to get talked about and succeed. People talked about the hundred-dollar cheesesteak at Barclay Prime because it gave them Social Currency, was Triggered (high frequency of cheesesteaks in Philadelphia), Emotional (very surprising), Practically Valuable (useful information about high quality steakhouse), and wrapped in a Story. Enhancing these components in messages, products, or ideas will make them more likely to spread and become popular. I hope that ordering the principles this way will make them easier to remember and use."
He drops this quote that identifies the book's possible audience:
"The book is designed with two (overlapping) audiences in mind. You may have always wondered why people gossip, why online content goes viral, why rumors spread, or why everyone always seems to talk about certain topics around the water cooler. Talking and sharing are some of our most fundamental behaviors. These actions connect us, shape us, and make us human. This book sheds light on the underlying psychological and sociological processes behind the science of social transmission.
This book is also designed for people who want their products, ideas, and behaviors to spread. Across industries, companies big and small want their products to become popular. The neighborhood coffee shop wants more customers, lawyers want more clients, movie theaters want more patrons, and bloggers want more views and shares. Nonprofits, policy makers, scientists, politicians, and many other constituencies also have “products” or ideas that they want to catch on. Museums want more visitors, dog shelters want more adoptions, and conservationists want more people to rally against deforestation."
People are inherently pro-social. Our social wiring is a fundamental aspect of the human psyche. This can be leveraged to help spread awareness in a concept Berger calls "social currency":
"Just as people use money to buy products or services, they use social currency to achieve desired positive impressions among their families, friends, and colleagues.
So to get people talking, companies and organizations need to mint social currency. Give people a way to make themselves look good while promoting their products and ideas along the way. There are three ways to do that: (1) find inner remarkability; (2) leverage game mechanics; and (3) make people feel like insiders."
Some more of what is touched on here includes:
• Scarcity; McDonald's "McRib" sandwich.
• Emotional appeal; the power of awe.
• The concept of "social proof" in decision making; Movember, logos on clothing.
• "Behavioural residues"; the "Livestrong" wristband. Branded shopping bags and free swag.
• Price reference points, behavioural economics; Daniel Kahneman.
• Practical value; sharing useful content with friends and family.
***********************
Contagious was a fun short read. I would recommend it to anyone interested.
4 stars.
January 9, 2013
“Contagious, Why Things Catch On” by Jonah Berger, published by Simon and Schuster.
Category – Business
I can’t remember the last time a business book had me up all night reading. Although I am retired I found this book fascinating on several levels.
Jonah Berger is a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has studied Marketing and has come up with six elements that will make a product “Contagious”. The basic idea is to make a product “viral”, that is, to have the product spread either through word of mouth, “You Tube”, or any other method of getting your message out to the public. It is also noteworthy that many of these methods are very cost efficient.
Probably the best way to interest one in the book is to cite a few examples:
How about a hot dog restaurant in New York that has a secret restaurant in the back that is only advertised by word of mouth. The secret is you have to go into a phone booth and dial a number and a door will open giving you access to the restaurant. Oh, and at the end of the meal you are given a business card with the name of the restaurant on it, “Please Don’t Tell” and a phone number, tell me you wouldn’t tell your friends. What caused a spike in the sell of “Mars” bars in 1997? NASA was sending Pathfinder to “Mars”. A jump in sales that cost the company nothing, and by the way the “Mars” was not named for the planet but the company’s founder, Franklin Mars.
A very entertaining, informative, interesting, and easy read, a book that should be read by anyone in business.
Category – Business
I can’t remember the last time a business book had me up all night reading. Although I am retired I found this book fascinating on several levels.
Jonah Berger is a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has studied Marketing and has come up with six elements that will make a product “Contagious”. The basic idea is to make a product “viral”, that is, to have the product spread either through word of mouth, “You Tube”, or any other method of getting your message out to the public. It is also noteworthy that many of these methods are very cost efficient.
Probably the best way to interest one in the book is to cite a few examples:
How about a hot dog restaurant in New York that has a secret restaurant in the back that is only advertised by word of mouth. The secret is you have to go into a phone booth and dial a number and a door will open giving you access to the restaurant. Oh, and at the end of the meal you are given a business card with the name of the restaurant on it, “Please Don’t Tell” and a phone number, tell me you wouldn’t tell your friends. What caused a spike in the sell of “Mars” bars in 1997? NASA was sending Pathfinder to “Mars”. A jump in sales that cost the company nothing, and by the way the “Mars” was not named for the planet but the company’s founder, Franklin Mars.
A very entertaining, informative, interesting, and easy read, a book that should be read by anyone in business.
October 12, 2024
ماهو سبب انتشار بعض الأشياء بطريقة فيروسية؟
هل هناك خلطة معينة أم أن الأمر من قبيل الصدفة؟
يقدم الكاتب من خلال هذا الكتاب 6 خطوات أو عوامل إن توافر بعضها في الأشياء والمنتجات فإنها تنتشر كالنار في الهشيم وهذه العناصر هي كالتالي:
1.العملة الإجتماعية فالناس تحب أن تشارك الأشياء التي تجعلهم يظهرون بمظهر جيد أمام الآخرين
2.المحفزات ماهي التحفيزات أو التلميحات التي تجعل الناس يفكرون في منتجك أو فكرتك.
مثل فكرة شرب القهوة مع أكل الشوكولاته، كلما فكرالناس في شرب القهوة فإنه يتناولون قالب من الشوكولاته معها.
3. العاطفة هل الحديث عن منتجك يثير العاطفة لدي الناس سواء عاطفة إيجابية أو سلبية
4.العلن هي فكرتك مرئية وسهل ملاحظتها بسهولة، كيف تجعل الخاص علني؟
5. القيمة الفعلية هل الحديث عن منتجك أو فكرتك يساعد الناس على مساعدة الآخرين؟
6. القصص هل منتجك أو قصتك يشتمل على حكاية سيحب الناس مشاركتها فيما بعد.
في المجمل الكتاب مفيد وبه معلومات جيدة، كما يتضح الجهد البحثي الطويل الذي خاصه الكاتب من أجل أن يصل لهذه الخلاصة، كما أعجبني بشدة تنوع الكاتب وإلمامه بأكثر من جانب لإثراء المحتوي، فتجده يحكي قصص عن التاريخ، الفن، العلامات التجارية الشهرية، كما أن بعض الأمثلة المذكورة كانت ملهمة بالنسبة لي ولكن أشعر أن النقاط الست مازالت قاصرة لم تعطيني أسباب كافية لتفشي الأشياء، أريد معرفة أكثر عمقًا مما قدمه هذا الكاتب، كما كنت أتوقع أشبه بمانويل جاهز للتطبيق للمساعدة في تفشي الأفكار والمنتجات.
هل هناك خلطة معينة أم أن الأمر من قبيل الصدفة؟
يقدم الكاتب من خلال هذا الكتاب 6 خطوات أو عوامل إن توافر بعضها في الأشياء والمنتجات فإنها تنتشر كالنار في الهشيم وهذه العناصر هي كالتالي:
1.العملة الإجتماعية فالناس تحب أن تشارك الأشياء التي تجعلهم يظهرون بمظهر جيد أمام الآخرين
2.المحفزات ماهي التحفيزات أو التلميحات التي تجعل الناس يفكرون في منتجك أو فكرتك.
مثل فكرة شرب القهوة مع أكل الشوكولاته، كلما فكرالناس في شرب القهوة فإنه يتناولون قالب من الشوكولاته معها.
3. العاطفة هل الحديث عن منتجك يثير العاطفة لدي الناس سواء عاطفة إيجابية أو سلبية
4.العلن هي فكرتك مرئية وسهل ملاحظتها بسهولة، كيف تجعل الخاص علني؟
5. القيمة الفعلية هل الحديث عن منتجك أو فكرتك يساعد الناس على مساعدة الآخرين؟
6. القصص هل منتجك أو قصتك يشتمل على حكاية سيحب الناس مشاركتها فيما بعد.
في المجمل الكتاب مفيد وبه معلومات جيدة، كما يتضح الجهد البحثي الطويل الذي خاصه الكاتب من أجل أن يصل لهذه الخلاصة، كما أعجبني بشدة تنوع الكاتب وإلمامه بأكثر من جانب لإثراء المحتوي، فتجده يحكي قصص عن التاريخ، الفن، العلامات التجارية الشهرية، كما أن بعض الأمثلة المذكورة كانت ملهمة بالنسبة لي ولكن أشعر أن النقاط الست مازالت قاصرة لم تعطيني أسباب كافية لتفشي الأشياء، أريد معرفة أكثر عمقًا مما قدمه هذا الكاتب، كما كنت أتوقع أشبه بمانويل جاهز للتطبيق للمساعدة في تفشي الأفكار والمنتجات.
September 16, 2014
Sock puppets move on......
Contagious: Why Things Catch On
So I won this in a goodreads give away.
It was an interesting book, if only because it solidified the fact that I would never want to work within any profession where this book is applicable.
It serves its purposes (FOR ME) in explaining in a very, very basic manner the tactics used to establish the worthiness/useability of a product.
I assume it's very practical for any business person, and I assume it will be picked up and use in numerous classrooms.
the SSTEPS model:Social Currency; triggers; emotions; public; practical values; stories. Is very practical, and has small utility for those NOT in PR firms, biz people etc. That said it's always interesting why one product is well received over another, and what standards (cost, especially) are determined by way of a very simple and predictable (now that I read the book) process. The use of well known products are utilized to further help the reader understand the books content.
He also pulls from existing, current information, such as books, and literature that we all, at some point, have either seen on the rack, or have purchased ourselves. Example... the tipping point.
It's also research based, so that is a strength of the book. Chapter notes (at the end of the book) are similar to any sort of journal/text book that you may be used to. It breaks the chapters into sections, and allows one to further his or her reading. For this reason, it may be particularly useful in an education setting.
There are some funny and delightful parts to this book; seriously. It is also written in very simple terms (as mentioned before), which makes it a bit dry and boring. Examples are used, throughout, like I said, and this increases the reader's ability to understand the concepts discussed.
 
Ultimately I found it boring, and the writing style dry. I approached this novel like I would any text book, and it met those expectations. The information, while informative didn't appear to be that novel or innovative, and it was my perception that it took existing literature/information (note: I don't mean plagiarized) on the topic and put it together into a catchy model. It probably won't contribute much to an academic setting, and while I am not certain, I strongly believe a more comprehensive book exists. This will most likely be one of those tag along secondary books marked as 'optional' on a syllabus.
the two rating is only because I typically review books according to there useability in MY LIFE. This an issue many friends/PR persons etc of this author tend to piss and moan about. All those little shits and their lovely degrading comments will be deleted.. So don't waste your time. eventually it will just force me to mark this book as a one.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On
So I won this in a goodreads give away.
It was an interesting book, if only because it solidified the fact that I would never want to work within any profession where this book is applicable.
It serves its purposes (FOR ME) in explaining in a very, very basic manner the tactics used to establish the worthiness/useability of a product.
I assume it's very practical for any business person, and I assume it will be picked up and use in numerous classrooms.
the SSTEPS model:Social Currency; triggers; emotions; public; practical values; stories. Is very practical, and has small utility for those NOT in PR firms, biz people etc. That said it's always interesting why one product is well received over another, and what standards (cost, especially) are determined by way of a very simple and predictable (now that I read the book) process. The use of well known products are utilized to further help the reader understand the books content.
He also pulls from existing, current information, such as books, and literature that we all, at some point, have either seen on the rack, or have purchased ourselves. Example... the tipping point.
It's also research based, so that is a strength of the book. Chapter notes (at the end of the book) are similar to any sort of journal/text book that you may be used to. It breaks the chapters into sections, and allows one to further his or her reading. For this reason, it may be particularly useful in an education setting.
There are some funny and delightful parts to this book; seriously. It is also written in very simple terms (as mentioned before), which makes it a bit dry and boring. Examples are used, throughout, like I said, and this increases the reader's ability to understand the concepts discussed.
 
Ultimately I found it boring, and the writing style dry. I approached this novel like I would any text book, and it met those expectations. The information, while informative didn't appear to be that novel or innovative, and it was my perception that it took existing literature/information (note: I don't mean plagiarized) on the topic and put it together into a catchy model. It probably won't contribute much to an academic setting, and while I am not certain, I strongly believe a more comprehensive book exists. This will most likely be one of those tag along secondary books marked as 'optional' on a syllabus.
the two rating is only because I typically review books according to there useability in MY LIFE. This an issue many friends/PR persons etc of this author tend to piss and moan about. All those little shits and their lovely degrading comments will be deleted.. So don't waste your time. eventually it will just force me to mark this book as a one.
November 25, 2017
Умно и стегнато написана книга за механизмите, които могат да помогнат на дадено съдържание или идея да станат популярни (или вирусни, ако следваме онлайн терминологията). В нея няма да се натъкнете на излишни приказки и преповтаряне на очевидни неща, нито на готови рецепти за мигновен успех, защото такива няма. Ако някой твърди обратното, значи е откровен лъжец или най-малкото манипулатор.
Джона Бъргър представя конкретни примери от практиката, които са разгледани детайлно и техният успех е анализиран елемент по елемент интересно и достъпно. Няма суха терминология, няма скука. Изведени са и основните принципи, които биха подпомогнали набирането на популярност на дадена стока, кампания, идея. Не всички са задължителни разбира се, но е добре да се имат предвид при структурирането на маркетингова кампания. Не всички са общовалидни, но това мисля всеки интелигентен читател ще го разбере веднага.
"Заразително: защо нещата набират популярност" не е предназначена единствено и само за професионалистите в областта на маркетинга и рекламата. Тя би била интересна на всеки, който е поне малко изкушен в психологията на тълпата или просто му е любоптино защо толкова хора купуват точно това кенче с бира или точно този десерт. Интересно е да видите и дали самите вие не сте попадали в умелия капан на изкусно поднесената реклама.
Джона Бъргър представя конкретни примери от практиката, които са разгледани детайлно и техният успех е анализиран елемент по елемент интересно и достъпно. Няма суха терминология, няма скука. Изведени са и основните принципи, които биха подпомогнали набирането на популярност на дадена стока, кампания, идея. Не всички са задължителни разбира се, но е добре да се имат предвид при структурирането на маркетингова кампания. Не всички са общовалидни, но това мисля всеки интелигентен читател ще го разбере веднага.
"Заразително: защо нещата набират популярност" не е предназначена единствено и само за професионалистите в областта на маркетинга и рекламата. Тя би била интересна на всеки, който е поне малко изкушен в психологията на тълпата или просто му е любоптино защо толкова хора купуват точно това кенче с бира или точно този десерт. Интересно е да видите и дали самите вие не сте попадали в умелия капан на изкусно поднесената реклама.
March 7, 2016
Great marketing book and a good way to see why some of the dollars you spend are not working. It's interesting to take the 6 factors discussed and review them against your corporate advertising. Does your company have any ideas that fit those factors that would make them great items to share and if not, how can you start too.
Also liked the discussion on vaccines where one physicians publication started tons of rumblings in the medical field around it being a cause of a neurodisorder. This was uncovered later that his study was incorrect and the physician lost his license (story folks forgot). The shareable content however lived on forgetting the part that it's untrue.
In the last section of the book it went into a couple of examples on where great ads produced great memories. However, what is often is mixed as if the great ad actually highlighted the product.
Well written and I plan to check out a couple more titles by the author.
Also liked the discussion on vaccines where one physicians publication started tons of rumblings in the medical field around it being a cause of a neurodisorder. This was uncovered later that his study was incorrect and the physician lost his license (story folks forgot). The shareable content however lived on forgetting the part that it's untrue.
In the last section of the book it went into a couple of examples on where great ads produced great memories. However, what is often is mixed as if the great ad actually highlighted the product.
Well written and I plan to check out a couple more titles by the author.
April 12, 2013
الكتاب رائع قيم. فيه من المعلومات المتسلسلة والمعروضة بشكل ممتازما يجعله وافيا في مجاله. وممتعا لقارئه.
اثني كثيرا على اسلوب الكاتب في نقاش الأفكار المطروحة ومن ثم طرح الأسئلة بشكل تحفيزي لمزيد من البحث والتركيز.
اثني كثيرا على اسلوب الكاتب في نقاش الأفكار المطروحة ومن ثم طرح الأسئلة بشكل تحفيزي لمزيد من البحث والتركيز.
October 19, 2017
Когато получиш такава сърдечна и откровена препоръка, каквато аз получих за тази книга, не ти остава нищо, освен да я потърсиш веднага и да я прочетеш.
"Заразително" е книга за стъпките, които една идея извървява, за да стане вайръл. Защо и как се случва това? Всъщност нещата звучат очевидно, но се оказва, че не са. Механизмите за въздействие са уникално интересни и лесни за изпълнение. Разбира се, има променливи в уравненията, но тук вече идват личната креативност и находчивост.
Надявам се, че скоро ще имам време да напиша по-просторен текст за книгата, но в момента само минавам да кажа, че ще ви е полезна и интересна.
"Заразително" е книга за стъпките, които една идея извървява, за да стане вайръл. Защо и как се случва това? Всъщност нещата звучат очевидно, но се оказва, че не са. Механизмите за въздействие са уникално интересни и лесни за изпълнение. Разбира се, има променливи в уравненията, но тук вече идват личната креативност и находчивост.
Надявам се, че скоро ще имам време да напиша по-просторен текст за книгата, но в момента само минавам да кажа, че ще ви е полезна и интересна.
July 10, 2019
This was an entertaining read and it was the perfect book for my day. The author did his own narration for the audio and he did a great job. He sounded personable without coming across as overbearing or super geeky. It felt like I was attending a class. He offered some stories about brands that one could easily identify with. Now I didn't read this thinking I would walk away with earth shattering information, so I can understand why some may have been disappointed with this book. But for me, it was stars.
August 29, 2013
Great overview of viral marketing, good stories, credible research, engaging style.
December 10, 2012
Contagious is one of those books that is destined to become essential business reading, especially for the marketer. In some ways, it reminded me of "Made to Stick" and the Tipping Point, but it did have it's own messaging. (By the way, the author Jonah Berger was mentored by Chip Heath, the author of Made to Stick)
The book focuses on the reasons why things stick through the six elements of the STEPPS model presented in the book:
Social Currency - we share things that make us look good
Triggers - Top of mind, tip of tongue
Emotion - When we care, we share
Public - Built to show, built to grow
Practical Value - News people can use
Stories - Information travels under the guise of idle chatter
The thing that I really liked about this books is that the author presents practical examples of why things work and why they do not. It makes it into a translatable model that anyone can use.
The research is fantastic and it has a lot of great examples throughout. Well worth the read.
Reader received a complimentary copy from Good Reads First Reads.
The book focuses on the reasons why things stick through the six elements of the STEPPS model presented in the book:
Social Currency - we share things that make us look good
Triggers - Top of mind, tip of tongue
Emotion - When we care, we share
Public - Built to show, built to grow
Practical Value - News people can use
Stories - Information travels under the guise of idle chatter
The thing that I really liked about this books is that the author presents practical examples of why things work and why they do not. It makes it into a translatable model that anyone can use.
The research is fantastic and it has a lot of great examples throughout. Well worth the read.
Reader received a complimentary copy from Good Reads First Reads.
June 22, 2017
کتاب تقریبا کوتاهیه و با توجه با تاریخ نگارش این کتاب، میشه گفت که کتاب بروزی در این زمینه هستش. دسته بندی موضوعی کتاب خوب صورت گرفته. نویسنده تاپیک اصلی رو به شش بخش مختلف تقسیم کرده و هر بخش رو به صورت جدا توضیح داده، مثال زده و داستان هایی که در اون زمینه وجود داره رو بیان کرده. همچنین نویسنده در متن اصلی، از منابعی که برای نوشتن متنش استفاده کرده نام برده و بخشی از اون متن رو هم ذکر کرده. البته تنها نکته ای که به نظرم جالب نبود در این اثر، این بود که سبک نوشتاری این کتاب مثل کتاب های آموزش مارکتینگ و فروش کالا هستش تا یه کتاب راهنما و پر فروش. البته همچنان با این وجود باز هم خوندنش سخت نیست و راحت به پایان میرسه.
Six Principles:
1. Social Currency - How does it make people look to talk about a product or idea?
2. Triggers - How do we remind people to talk about our products and ideas?
3. Emotion - When we care, we share.
4. Public - Can people see when others are using our product or engaging in our desired behavior?
5. Practical Value - How can we craft content that seems useful?
6. Stories - What broader narrative can we wrap our idea in?
Six Principles:
1. Social Currency - How does it make people look to talk about a product or idea?
2. Triggers - How do we remind people to talk about our products and ideas?
3. Emotion - When we care, we share.
4. Public - Can people see when others are using our product or engaging in our desired behavior?
5. Practical Value - How can we craft content that seems useful?
6. Stories - What broader narrative can we wrap our idea in?
October 8, 2017
This book about marketing and how it works on people. Of course not all advertising works and there are examples of some of those. I did not know most of the references that the author mentioned. His book is for the world of the materialistic and I am not one of them. I was hoping for more of a book to understand "why" people fall for the gimmicks, want status symbols, and buy what they buy. I don't get trends/fads or why so many people buy the things they do. I wanted to get inside their heads not hear how to sell it to them. The book is good enough for what it is. Basically one man's rules on how to swindle people through advertising because they make it so easy to do.
March 14, 2024
الكتاب "معدي" يسرد رحلة هوارد واين بدايةً من خبرته الواسعة في صناعة الفنادق، حيث حاز على درجة الماجستير في إدارة الفنادق وشارك في إطلاق علامة W لشركة Starwood Hotels. بالرغم من نجاحه في إدارة مليارات الدولارات كمدير للأغذية والمشروبات، إلا أن شغفه بالبيئة الأصغر حجمًا والتركيز على المطاعم دفعه إلى انتقال إلى فيلادلفيا.
في فيلادلفيا، سعى واين لتحقيق طموحه من خلال مساهمته في تصميم وإطلاق مطعم لحوم فاخر يحمل اسم Barclay Prime. يظهر الكتاب كيف تمثل هذه الخطوة تحولًا في حياته المهنية وكيف استجاب لرغبته في بيئة أكثر تركيزًا على الجوانب الفاخرة والتجربة الغذائية المميزة.
كتاب ملهم
في فيلادلفيا، سعى واين لتحقيق طموحه من خلال مساهمته في تصميم وإطلاق مطعم لحوم فاخر يحمل اسم Barclay Prime. يظهر الكتاب كيف تمثل هذه الخطوة تحولًا في حياته المهنية وكيف استجاب لرغبته في بيئة أكثر تركيزًا على الجوانب الفاخرة والتجربة الغذائية المميزة.
كتاب ملهم
October 11, 2017
It's not particularly well written, nor is it (despite its claims) in the least scientific, but this book offers lots of cute stories and plenty of click-bait YouTube fodder. It's an extremely lightweight read. In a few years it will seem fiercely dated, but at least the advertising principles won't stop working, whatever the medium.
May 22, 2022
Книгата успява да обясни какви н��ща са нужни един продукт/реклама да стане viral. При това го прави по един много сбит и лишен от сложна терминология начин. Всяка част от книгата е обяснение с ясни примери от заобикалящата ни среда. След като я прочетете ще успеете да видите някои от описаните техники, без дори да сте знаели, че се прилагат.
February 6, 2017
A very useful book for anyone wishing to have an impact with ideas.
You can have a pretty good overview of the book in this 4 minute video I made with a summary on it.
Hope you enjoy:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W7bCVId...
You can have a pretty good overview of the book in this 4 minute video I made with a summary on it.
Hope you enjoy:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W7bCVId...
April 4, 2013
*A full executive summary of this book is available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/04/03...
It is only recently, with the rise of the internet, that the term ‘viral’ has gone, well, viral. But the phenomenon of social pandemics—ideas, products and behaviors, that catch on and spread quickly and widely—has been around presumably as long as sociality itself. The phenomenon is interesting in its own right, for it says something meaningful about our psychology and how we interact. However, understanding how social pandemics work also holds great practical value, for when public service messages, charity campaigns or products and services go viral, the effect has a big impact on behavior and the bottom line.
On the mechanical side of things, understanding why something goes viral is straightforward enough: it must be something that has an impact, and that people are eager to talk about or imitate. But this just forces us to ask: what is it that makes something impactful, and ripe for sharing or imitating? We may think that our intuitions can carry us some way toward answering this. Nevertheless, getting something to go viral is certainly no easy task (as many a would-be influencer has come to find); and therefore, we may benefit from a more methodical, scientifically-minded attempt to understand the phenomenon. It is just such a project that Wharton marketing professor and writer Jonah Berger has been engaged in for much of his career, and in his new book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, Berger reports on his findings.
Berger’s research has revealed that there are 6 main factors that help explain social pandemics. They are 1. Social Currency; 2. Triggers; 3. Emotion; 4. Public; 5. Practical Value; and 6. Stories
When it comes to social currency, this refers to how good or important something makes us look for sharing it. We want to look bright, funny, entertaining, knowledgeable, prestigious etc. in the eyes of others; and therefore, we are more likely to mention those things that make us appear so. Certain talking points are naturally more interesting than others, just as certain characteristics are naturally more noteworthy; however, ideas, products and behaviors can all be presented or manipulated in certain ways to allow them to partake more of each (for example, a blender may not appear so interesting, but highlighting just how powerful it is by way of having it mash-up an iPod can make it appear a whole lot more interesting—and hence more worthy of sharing).
When it comes to triggers, this refers to stimuli in the environment that are associated with other phenomena, and that remind us of them. For example, peanut butter is highly associated with jelly, and so the mention of the former often ‘triggers’ the thought of the latter. Ideas, products and behaviors that are naturally associated with triggers that we encounter more often are more likely to be brought to mind than others, thus increasing the chances that they will be both talked about and influence our behavior, and hence spread. Natural associations often work best; however, associations between unrelated items can also be established through clever advertising campaigns (such as the Kit-Kat bar being associated with a coffee break).
When it comes to emotion, this refers to the fact that phenomena that evoke highly arousing emotions, both positive and negative (such as awe, excitement, anger and anxiety), are more likely to be shared, and hence spread; while phenomena that evoke less arousing emotions (such as sadness and contentment) are less likely to be shared. The share-ability of things that evoke highly arousing emotions helps explain why Susan Boyle went viral.
When it comes to public, this refers to how prevalent something is in the public eye. Things that are highly public and visible are more likely to be talked about and imitated than those that are more private. Nevertheless, there are ways to bring private phenomena into the public sphere. For example, donating to a charity tends to be a rather private affair. However, both the Movember movement in support of colon cancer (featuring the highly conspicuous mustache), and Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong campaign in support of cancer (featuring the yellow wrist-band), managed to bring charitable support into the public sphere, thus contributing to the success of these campaigns.
Practical value refers to the fact that people like to be helpful to others, and so anything that is particularly useful is more likely to be shared than that which is less so. This helps explain why so many articles on health and education matters are so widely shared, and also why an otherwise nondescript video about shucking corn (called ‘Clean Ears Everytime’) went viral on YouTube.
When it comes to stories, this refers to the fact that people tend to enjoy telling and hearing stories. Therefore, ideas, products and behaviors that are wrapped in narratives (and especially compelling narratives) are more likely to be shared than those that are just presented as information. Google’s ‘Parisian Love’ commercial, The Dove ‘Evolution’ commercial, and Panda’s ‘Never say no to Panda’ campaign are all good examples of products being wrapped in compelling narratives.
Berger's book is a very easy read, and he does a good job of using academic studies and interesting real-world examples to help prove his points. None of the theory here will be new to anyone who is steeped in the marketing/advertising industry (as is clear from other reviews). And much of it will even strike the rest of us as being somewhat self-evident after the fact. Nevertheless, it is not likely that many of us will have explored the subject with so much rigor, and this is valuable in itself. Altogether a very enjoyable read about an interesting subject. A full executive summary of the book is available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/04/03... A podcast discussion of the book will be available soon.
It is only recently, with the rise of the internet, that the term ‘viral’ has gone, well, viral. But the phenomenon of social pandemics—ideas, products and behaviors, that catch on and spread quickly and widely—has been around presumably as long as sociality itself. The phenomenon is interesting in its own right, for it says something meaningful about our psychology and how we interact. However, understanding how social pandemics work also holds great practical value, for when public service messages, charity campaigns or products and services go viral, the effect has a big impact on behavior and the bottom line.
On the mechanical side of things, understanding why something goes viral is straightforward enough: it must be something that has an impact, and that people are eager to talk about or imitate. But this just forces us to ask: what is it that makes something impactful, and ripe for sharing or imitating? We may think that our intuitions can carry us some way toward answering this. Nevertheless, getting something to go viral is certainly no easy task (as many a would-be influencer has come to find); and therefore, we may benefit from a more methodical, scientifically-minded attempt to understand the phenomenon. It is just such a project that Wharton marketing professor and writer Jonah Berger has been engaged in for much of his career, and in his new book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, Berger reports on his findings.
Berger’s research has revealed that there are 6 main factors that help explain social pandemics. They are 1. Social Currency; 2. Triggers; 3. Emotion; 4. Public; 5. Practical Value; and 6. Stories
When it comes to social currency, this refers to how good or important something makes us look for sharing it. We want to look bright, funny, entertaining, knowledgeable, prestigious etc. in the eyes of others; and therefore, we are more likely to mention those things that make us appear so. Certain talking points are naturally more interesting than others, just as certain characteristics are naturally more noteworthy; however, ideas, products and behaviors can all be presented or manipulated in certain ways to allow them to partake more of each (for example, a blender may not appear so interesting, but highlighting just how powerful it is by way of having it mash-up an iPod can make it appear a whole lot more interesting—and hence more worthy of sharing).
When it comes to triggers, this refers to stimuli in the environment that are associated with other phenomena, and that remind us of them. For example, peanut butter is highly associated with jelly, and so the mention of the former often ‘triggers’ the thought of the latter. Ideas, products and behaviors that are naturally associated with triggers that we encounter more often are more likely to be brought to mind than others, thus increasing the chances that they will be both talked about and influence our behavior, and hence spread. Natural associations often work best; however, associations between unrelated items can also be established through clever advertising campaigns (such as the Kit-Kat bar being associated with a coffee break).
When it comes to emotion, this refers to the fact that phenomena that evoke highly arousing emotions, both positive and negative (such as awe, excitement, anger and anxiety), are more likely to be shared, and hence spread; while phenomena that evoke less arousing emotions (such as sadness and contentment) are less likely to be shared. The share-ability of things that evoke highly arousing emotions helps explain why Susan Boyle went viral.
When it comes to public, this refers to how prevalent something is in the public eye. Things that are highly public and visible are more likely to be talked about and imitated than those that are more private. Nevertheless, there are ways to bring private phenomena into the public sphere. For example, donating to a charity tends to be a rather private affair. However, both the Movember movement in support of colon cancer (featuring the highly conspicuous mustache), and Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong campaign in support of cancer (featuring the yellow wrist-band), managed to bring charitable support into the public sphere, thus contributing to the success of these campaigns.
Practical value refers to the fact that people like to be helpful to others, and so anything that is particularly useful is more likely to be shared than that which is less so. This helps explain why so many articles on health and education matters are so widely shared, and also why an otherwise nondescript video about shucking corn (called ‘Clean Ears Everytime’) went viral on YouTube.
When it comes to stories, this refers to the fact that people tend to enjoy telling and hearing stories. Therefore, ideas, products and behaviors that are wrapped in narratives (and especially compelling narratives) are more likely to be shared than those that are just presented as information. Google’s ‘Parisian Love’ commercial, The Dove ‘Evolution’ commercial, and Panda’s ‘Never say no to Panda’ campaign are all good examples of products being wrapped in compelling narratives.
Berger's book is a very easy read, and he does a good job of using academic studies and interesting real-world examples to help prove his points. None of the theory here will be new to anyone who is steeped in the marketing/advertising industry (as is clear from other reviews). And much of it will even strike the rest of us as being somewhat self-evident after the fact. Nevertheless, it is not likely that many of us will have explored the subject with so much rigor, and this is valuable in itself. Altogether a very enjoyable read about an interesting subject. A full executive summary of the book is available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/04/03... A podcast discussion of the book will be available soon.
December 1, 2020
Ce limbaj accesibil, ce povești interesante, ce comparații care fac sens. Da, asta cred că-i treaba cu această carte: face mai mult sens decât ai crede. Super lectură pentru pasionații de marketing și pentru cei interesați de cum merg lucrurile în lumea.
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