Wharton Business School marketing professor, Jonah Berger, recently put out this book on what makes certain ideas catch on. The book follows in the same vein as Chip and Dan Heath’s “Made To Stick” and Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” but with a greater emphasis in marketing. In fact, he even mentions both books as inspiration for his. He lays out 6 principles that make for contagious ideas and gives several illustrations in each area: Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories (which makes the acronym STEPPS).
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It had some interesting point and examples. However, I didn’t feel the principles differed all the greatly from Made to Stick or the Tipping Point. Had I not recently read Made To Stick, I would have likely found the book more enlightening but instead it served to reinforced those same messages without adding a whole lot. But if you have not read Made To Stick, I would go ahead and dive in.
Check out this quick summary from the author: