This is an awesome book that highlights what makes ideas “stick.”
The authors, Chip Heath & Dan Heath, break down six key qualities of how an idea is made to stick.
Simplicity - The Heath brothers use the example of proverbs to demonstrate this point. How many proverbs do we know that have been passed down from generation to generation? The example they use is “A Bird in the Hand.” Heath argues that proverbs haven’t had multi-million dollar advertising campaigns, but rather they have stood to the test of time where they survived on their own because they are so simple and so true.
Unexpectedness – A great example of something that is unexpected is the story that spread about the customer service at Nordstrom. In the book, several examples of Nordstrom employees doing unexpected things are shared, including a “Nordie” who ironed a new shirt for a customer who needed it for a meeting that afternoon; the Nordie who cheerfully gift wrapped gifts that a customer had boughten at Macys; the Nordie refunded money for a set of tire chains even though Nordstrom doesn’t sell tire chains. Health says that these are people doing unexpected things, and that is what makes these stories stick.
Concreteness – Naturally sticky ideas are stuffed full of concrete words and images. When we here words and phrases, if they are concrete and have concrete images and ideas, they are more likely to stick. A V8 engine is concrete, but “high-performance” is abstract.
Credibility – Before a player enters the NBA, they must go to a Rookie orientation. The NBA wanted to help their rookies understand the risk of AIDS. One year, despite the secrecy of the meetings, a group of females found the hotel the players were staying at and hung out and flirted with the players. The next morning in the first meeting, the players were sitting down and the ladies walked in. The players were shocked. They were even more surprised when they found out the ladies were HIV Positive. The NBA purposely did this to help the players realize the risk. Suddenly the rookies saw how life could get out of control and how a single night could cause of lifetime of regret. Rather than just telling the rookies about AIDS, the league made it their statement credible by proving it could happen very easily.
Emotional – In the 80s, the state of Texas was trying to get their anti-litter campaign up and running, but was failing miserably. They hired an agency who came up with the term “Don’t mess with Texas.” Their commercials featured Cowboys players, an Astro pitcher, musicians and more athletes – all of which were identified with Texas. Over time, people who were emotional tied to these people began to take the message to heart and began to litter less. The emotional aspect helped the message get to those who couldn’t be reached otherwise.
Stories – Stories help ordinary people connect with the message. Think of Jared, the Subway guy. That is a story people can relate to and see themselves doing it. If Subway would have advertised saying “If you eat our subs everyday you will lose weight,” not many people would have believed it, but Jared came along and was proof that it could be done by telling his story.
