Contagious Why Things Catch On Review

"Virality isn’t born, it's made," a quote I couldn’t help but highlight as I read through Jonah Berger’s bestselling novel, "Contagious: Why Things Catch On." Berger, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of Business, began developing this book after noticing a gap in the market: while there were many academic books that spanned how to get people to remember your product, little research had been developed on how to achieve virality or make your product, ideas, and content spread.In a short synopsis, Berger highlights six simple principles of contagiousness that he developed after analyzing hundreds of contagious products, ideas, and content. Woven together, these principles spell STEPPS, a blueprint for viral content.

Principle 1: Social Currency

As humans, social currency is one of the driving forces behind what we choose to share with others. The idea that what we talk about influences our status is part of the reason Berger highlights the importance of leveraging our product or idea to give people ways of improving their status by sharing your idea.

Principle 2: Triggers

 As we learned in psychology, a conditioned stimulus can eventually trigger a conditioned response. Berger asks us to design products and ideas that can trigger cues in the environment, “top of mind leads to tip of tongue.”

Principle 3: Emotion 

After carefully analyzing thousands of NY Times articles, Berger was perplexed when he found that science-related articles were coming up as the most shared content. The answer to its virality led to the development of this principle. If you can incite emotions like awe from your audience, it can increase sharing. Though after further research, Berger came to the realization that not every emotion is viral worthy. For example, content developed by the NY Times that discussed sickness was much less likely to be shared because it doesn’t necessarily add to viewers' social currency. On the contrary, blending an iPhone, which was an advertisement created by a blending company, was more likely to be shared.

Principle 4: Public 

This principle focuses on creating behavioral residue that stays in the consumer’s mind that leads to further publicity. Ken Segall, Steve Jobs’ right-hand man, was the creative director at Apple. Segall and Steve Jobs' careful consideration in the direction the Apple logo should face on the then newly released MacBook laptops was nothing short of revolutionary. The decision to face the logo opposite of the user when they first open it is so that it can create behavioral residue for the observing world. So, when one sees the MacBook in use, they see the logo clearly and it creates more publicity.

Principle 5: Practical Value

 Useful things are important to consumers. In this way, sharing practically valuable knowledge and products is important to the notion of virality. One way we can achieve practical value is through promotional offerings that are visible to the consumer. Of the six principles, Berger states that this may be the easiest to apply as almost every idea or product has some sort of usefulness to it.

Principle 6: Stories 

To highlight the importance of stories throughout history, Berger discusses the infamous story of the Trojan Horse which has been passed down for thousands of years. An event that happened around 1170 BCE is shared today to highlight lessons including being wary of your enemies and who you accept gifts from. Berger argues that stories are vessels that bring all the above principles together and vessels to virality that transcend time.

Upon completing "Contagious: Why Things Catch On," I was truly taken aback by the profound insights into the ideologies surrounding virality presented in the initial chapters. Before delving into this book, I had never fully considered how the concept of social currency influences our subconscious decisions about what information we deem worthy of sharing. Jonah Berger's exploration of this phenomenon illuminated a fundamental aspect of our consumer behavior—our powerful inclination toward word of mouth.

Berger compellingly argues that, unless an idea or product elicits awe or appeals to our intellectual capacities, we are less likely to engage in the act of sharing— choosing to step away from our power to influence as consumers. The book provided undeniable examples that convincingly supported this theory. A standout illustration in the book of this was the surprising story on the virality of a blender or more specifically its ability to evoke intense emotion and contribute to the social currency of discussing a smoothie blender capable of blending an iPhone.

Berger's exploration of historical instances further reinforced the consistency of this principle. It made me contemplate how this insight could be harnessed as a powerful tool in shaping consumer behavior. In the future, as a business owner, I would give serious thought to wielding social currency as a strategic lever. One effective approach would be through a meticulously designed marketing campaign that not only promotes the product or idea but also trains the target audience to act in a specific manner, fostering a culture of sharing and engagement. Overall this book challenged and reshaped my perspective, emphasizing the crucial role of social currency in driving virality. It has inspired me to consider innovative ways to leverage this understanding in business endeavors, recognizing that influencing what people share is a key aspect of harnessing the influence of word of mouth.