Tag: Contagious : Triggers

Virality

A good trigger based on frequency and strength of association

Chris Labs

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 … Continue reading A good trigger based on frequency and strength of association

Virality

Competitors can even be used as a trigger

Chris Labs

How can public health organizations compete against the marketing strength of better-funded rivals like cigarette companies? One way to combat this inequality is to transform a weakness into a strength: by making a rival’s message act as a trigger for your own. A famous antismoking campaign, for example, spoofed Marlboro’s iconic ads by captioning a picture of one Marlboro cowboy talking to another with the words: “Bob, I’ve got emphysema.” So whenever people see a Marlboro ad, it triggers them to think about the antismoking message. Researchers call this strategy the poison parasite because it slyly injects “poinson” (your message) … Continue reading Competitors can even be used as a trigger

Virality

Using trigger words to your advantage

Chris Labs

Most conversations can be described as small talk. These conversations are less about finding interesting things to say to make us look good than they are about filling conversation space. So what do we talk about? Whatever is top of mind if a good place to start. We talk about topics that are usually going on in the surrounding environment. We saw the bulldozers on our drive in, so construction is on our mind. Boring daily activities happen more often than a trip to Disney. These everyday activities make those products (ziplock, moisturizer, etc.) more top of mind and, as … Continue reading Using trigger words to your advantage