Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age Summary (8/10)

“Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age” is a marketing guidebook by Jonah Berger that seeks to explain why certain ideas and products get more word-of-mouth publicity and viral sharing.

Berger proposes a framework, known as STEPPS, which stands for Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, and Stories. These are key characteristics that make an idea or product likely to be talked about and shared.

1. Social Currency: We share things that make us look good or help us compare favorably to others. So, crafting messages that make people feel smart or in the know can provide social currency that motivates sharing.
2. Triggers: Ideas that are top of mind spread. This principle is about keeping a product or idea at the forefront of people’s minds.
3. Emotion: Emotional content often goes viral, so we should aim to create content that pulls at the heartstrings or tickles the funny bone.
4. Public: People tend to follow others, but only when they can see what those others are doing. If a product or idea is designed to show, it’s more likely to be imitated.
5. Practical Value: People like to share useful or valuable information. Hence, useful content gets shared.
6. Stories: Stories are vessels of information, and people are more likely to share a good story.

The book is filled with captivating case studies, scientifically grounded insights, and practical information on how businesses, products, and ideas can become contagious. In essence, “Contagious” offers a set of specific, actionable techniques for helping information spread.

“Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age” brings up numerous case studies to illustrate the principles of the STEPPS model. Here are three of them:

1. The $100 Philly Cheesesteak: In discussing Social Currency, Berger uses the story of Barclay Prime’s $100 cheesesteak. This Philadelphia restaurant created a luxury version of the city’s iconic sandwich, complete with Kobe beef and a small bottle of champagne. The outrageous price and exclusivity offered customers social currency – they could show off that they had tasted the world’s most expensive cheesesteak. The sandwich became a conversation piece, boosting the restaurant’s popularity.
2. The Rebecca Black Phenomenon: To illustrate the concept of Emotion, Berger discusses the viral spread of Rebecca Black’s music video “Friday”. The video, widely regarded as terrible, stirred strong emotions (mostly of annoyance and disbelief), which propelled people to share and comment on it. This drove the video’s views into the hundreds of millions, illustrating how even negative emotions can drive social sharing.
3. The Blendtec’s Will it Blend? Campaign: For the principle of Practical Value, Berger points to Blendtec’s “Will it Blend?” YouTube campaign. The company’s founder, Tom Dickson, blended unusual items, such as iPhones and marbles, to demonstrate the power of Blendtec blenders. This campaign, which started as fun and quirky, offered practical value by effectively demonstrating the product’s utility and durability, leading to a significant increase in sales.

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