Contagious Why Things Catch On

The New York Times bestseller that explains why certain products and ideas become popular.

What makes things popular? If you said advertising, think again. People don't listen to advertisements, they listen to their peers. But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?

Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger has spent the last decade answering these questions. He's studied why New York Times articles make the paper's own Most E-mailed list, why products get word of mouth, and how social influence shapes everything from the cars we buy to the clothes we wear to the names we give our children.

In Contagious, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumors and YouTube videos. Learn how a luxury steakhouse found popularity through the lowly cheesesteak, why anti-drug commercials might have actually increased drug use, and why more than 200 million consumers shared a video about one of the most seemingly boring products there is: a blender.

Contagious provides a set of specific, actionable techniques for helping information spread--for designing messages, advertisements, and content that people will share. Whether you're a manager at a big company, a small business owner trying to boost awareness, a politician running for office, or a health official trying to get the word out, Contagious will show you how to make your product or idea catch on.

"Jonah Berger is as creative and thoughtful as he is spunky and playful. Looking at his research, much like studying a masterpiece in a museum, provides the observer with new insights about life and also makes one aware of the creator's ingenuity and creativity. It is hard to come up with a better example of using social science to illuminate the ordinary and extraordinary in our daily lives."--Dan Ariely, James B. Duke professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University and bestselling author of Predictably Irrational

"Jonah Berger is the rare sort who has studied the facts, parsed it from the fiction--and performed groundbreaking experiments that have changed the way the experts think. If there's one book you're going to read this year on how ideas spread, it's this one."--Dave Balter, CEO of BzzAgent and Co-founder of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association

"The book is just plain interesting. Berger's cases are not only topical and relevant, but his principles seem practical and are easily understood. . . . I have a strong feeling that this book will catch on."--Ben Frederick, The Christian Science Monitor

"Jonah Berger knows more about what makes information 'go viral' than anyone in the world."--Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University and author of Stumbling on Happiness

"For nonexperts who puzzle about the best way to make an impact in a world of social media addicts with short attention spans, it provides plenty to think about. . . . If there were a 'like' button underneath it, you'd probably find yourself clicking it."--Maija Palmer, Los Angeles Times

"Why do some ideas seemingly spread overnight, while others disappear? How can some products become ubiquitous, while others never gain traction? Jonah Berger knows the answers, and, with Contagious, now we do, too."--Charles Duhigg, author of the bestselling The Power of Habit

"If you are seeking a bigger impact, especially with a smaller budget, you need this book. Contagious will show you how to make your product spread like crazy."--Chip Heath, co-author of Made to Stick and Decisive

"Think of it as the practical companion to Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point."--Tasha Eichenseher "Discover "

"[Berger] sheds new light on phenomena that may seem familiar, showing with precision why things catch on. . . . As a playbook for marketers, Contagious is a success."--Danielle Sacks "Fast Company "

"Contagious contains arresting -- and counterintuitive -- facts and insights. . . . Most interesting of all are the examples Berger cites of successful and unsuccessful marketing campaigns."--Glenn C. Altschuler "The Boston Globe "

"An infectious treatise on viral marketing. . . . Berger writes in a sprightly, charming style that deftly delineates the intersection of cognitive psychology and social behavior with an eye toward helping businesspeople and others spread their messages. The result is a useful and entertaining primer that diagnoses countless baffling pop culture epidemics."--Publishers Weekly

"An exegesis on how ideas really 'go viral' (hint: the internet gets too much credit) by a marketing wunderkind."--Details

"A provocative shift in focus from the technology of online transmission to the human element and a bold claim to explain 'how word of mouth and social influence work . . . [to] make any product or idea contagious."--Kirkus Reviews

Introduction: Why Things Catch On -- Why $100 is a good price for a cheesesteak -- Why do some things become popular? -- Which is more important, the message or the messenger? -- Can you make anything contagious? -- The case of the viral blender -- Six key STEPPS -- 1. Social Currency -- When a telephone booth is a door -- Ants can lift fifty times their own weight -- Why frequent flier miles are like a video game -- When it's good to be hard to get -- Why everyone wants a mix of tripe, heart, and stomach meat -- The downside of getting paid -- We share things that make us look good -- 2. Triggers -- Which gets more word of mouth, Disney or Cheerios? -- Why a NASA mission boosted candy sales -- Could where you vote affect how you vote? -- Consider the context -- Explaining Rebecca Black -- Growing the habitat: Kit Kat and coffee -- Top of mind, tip of tongue -- 3. Emotion -- Why do some things make the Most E-Mailed list? -- How reading science articles is like standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon -- Why anger is like humor -- How breaking guitars can make you famous -- Getting teary eyed about online search -- When we care, we share -- 4. Public -- Is the Apple logo better upside down than right side up? -- Why dying people turn down kidney transplants -- Using moustaches to make the private public -- How to advertise without an advertising budget -- Why anti-drug commercials might increase drug use -- Built to show, built to grow -- 5. Practical Value -- How an eighty-six-year-old made a viral -video about corn -- Why hikers talk about vacuum cleaners -- E-mail forwards are the new barn raising -- Will people pay to save money? -- Why $100 is a magic number -- When lies spread faster than the truth -- News you can use -- 6. Stories -- How stories are like Trojan horses -- Why good customer service is better than any ad -- When a streaker crashed the Olympics -- Why some story details are unforgettable -- Using a panda to make valuable virality -- Information travels under the guise of idle chatter -- Epilogue -- Why 80 percent of manicurists in California are Vietnamese -- Applying the STEPPS -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index.