In this post, Craig talks about 7 ways that famous advertisers and copywriters have changed the world with advertising campaign and have sold millions of units of their products. Continue reading 7 human hijacks – From the marketing legend, Craig Clemens
And tell others to capitalize on the social currency of knowing about it or having it. A great example from McDonald’s: In 1979, McDonald’s introduced Chicken McNuggets. They were a huge hit and every franchise across the country wanted them. But at the time McDonald’s didn’t have an adequate system to meet the demand. So Executive Chef Rene Arend was tasked with devising another new product to give to the unlucky franchises that couldn’t get enough chicken. Arend came up with a pork sandwich called the McRib. […] But then the sales numbers came in, Unfortunately, they were much lower … Continue reading The mere fact that something isn’t readily available can make people value it more…
Well, it is naturally directed toward an interested audience. We don’t share a news story or recommendation with everyone we know. Rather, we tend to select particular people who we think would find that given piece of information most relevant. Word of mouth tends to reach people who are actually interested in the thing being discussed. -Contagious, p.9 Continue reading Why is Word of mouth great?
-Contagious, p.207 Continue reading The six principles that drive things to catch on (STEPPS)
On August 16, 2004, Canadian Ron Bensimhon had broken into the Olympics. He wasn’t actually on the Canadian swim team. When Rom jumped off the springboard, he wasn’t naked, but he wasn’t wearing swim trunks either. He wore a blue tutu and white polka dot tights. And emblazoned across his chest was the name of an Internet casino, GoldenPalace.com. Millions of people were watching, and the story got picked up by news outlets around the world. It also got huger amount of word-of-mouth chatter. Someone crashing the Olympics and diving into a pool in a tutu? What a story. Pretty … Continue reading When trying to generate word of mouth, remember to focus on “What people are talking about”
Lands’ End representative could tell us that they have great customer service, but as we discussed earlier, the fact that they are trying to sell something makes it difficult to believe them. It’s harder to argue with personal stories. -Contagious, p.187 Continue reading People are also less likely to argue against stories than against advertising claims.
Take the shopper discount cards that you get at your local grocery store or pharmacy. These cards are certainly useful. They save consumers money and sometimes even give them free gifts if they have accumulated enough purchases. But one problem is that the practical value is not very visible. The only information people get about how much they saved is hidden among a half dozen other pieces of information on a lenghty receipt. But what if stores made the practical value easier to see? They could put up a sign at checkout that shows other people in line how much … Continue reading Practical value is more effective the easier it is for people to see.
Sharing something useful with others is a quick and easy way to help them out. Even if we’re not in the same place. Parents can send their kids helpful advice even if they are hundreds of miles away. Passing along useful things also strengthens social bonds. If we know our friends are into cooking, sending them a new recipe we found brings us closer together. -Contagious, p.158 Continue reading People share practically valuable information to help others
Take the music industry. It thought it could stop illegal downloads by showing people how big the problem is. So the industry association’s website sternly warns people that “only 36 percent of music acquired by U.S. consumers . . . was paid for” and that in the past few years “approximately 30 billion songs were illegally downloaded.” But I’m not sure that message had the desired effect. If anything, it may have the opposite effect. Less than half of people are paying for their music? Wow. Seems like you’d have to be an idiot to pay for it then, right? … Continue reading If you want to prevent a behavior, make that behavior private…
Every time people use the product or service they also transmit social proof or passive approval because usage is observable. Many companies apply this idea through prominent branding. Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike, and Burberry all garnish their products with brand names or distinctive logos and patterns. But large logos aren’t the only way products can advertise themselves. Take Apple’s decision to make iPod headphones white. When Apple first introduced the iPod, there was lots of competition in the digital music player space. […] But because most devices came with black headphones, Apple’s white headphone cords stood out. -Contagious, p.142 Continue reading Make products that advertise themselves
Roadmap to Billions 