What makes for an effective trigger?

Triggers can help products and ideas catch on, but some stimuli are better triggers than others.

As we discussed, one key factor is how frequently the stimulus occurs. Hot chocolate would also have fitted very well with Kitkat, and the sweet beverage might have complemented the chocolate bar’s favor better than coffee. But coffee is a more effective trigger because people think about and see it much more frequently.

Frequency, however, must also be balanced with the strength of the link. The more things a given cue is associated with, the weaker any given association.

It’s like poking a hole in the bottom of a paper cup filled with water. If you poke just one hole, a strong stream of water will gush out. But poke more holes, and the pressure of the stream from each opening lessens. Poke too many holes and you’ll get barely a trickle from each.

Triggers work the same way. The color red, for example, is associated with many things: roses, love, Coca-Cola, and fast cars, to name just a few. Compare that with how many people think “jelly” when you say “peanut butter” and it will be clear why stronger, more unusual links are better.

-Contagious, p.85