We all have heard of the hilarious Panda Cheese commercial in which a panda screws everyone who says no to panda products. People loved the ad so much that the brand enjoyed world wide recognition. On the other hand commercials by GoldenPalace.com was a complete miss, it just failed to persist their brand name in customer’s mind by Fool in the pool marketing stunt.
So, what makes things popular? Why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?
In the age of social media where everyday we get to see viral trends, what makes them viral?
My 2nd book of the year was, Contagious : Why things catch on.
I picked this book when I saw the author if this book Jonah Berger in a documentary The YouTube Revolution. As I am trying to set up a company, understanding the science behind virality will only help.
Contagious gives nice representation of the science behind viral things in the form of a framework he calls STEPPS.
S : Social Currency
T : Triggers
E : Emotion
P : Public
P : Practical Value
S : Stories
Each of the element of this framework represents on its own a very powerful factor of making things viral.
Book explains case studies of many products and businesses, and how the elements of STEPPS helped their brand go viral.
Be it 100$ cheese-steak that was a perfect example of social currency making a local restaurant popular or “Will It Blend?” video series on youtube making Belndtec’s blenders popular worldwide. STEPPS can be found in every viral marketing campaign.
The thought that was intriguing was, How will STEPPS combine with traditional marketing strategies like SWOT and PEST frameworks . In my opinion it will only increase the chances of the campaign going viral.
Contagious explains very effectively, how STEPPS play major role in making people to share, to remember and to talk about something. Each element is described a great marketing campaign story that just cements the concepts in your mind.
Overall, it was a great read for everyone. Not very technical that you’ll need google to seek the meaning of marketing jargon, but still technical enough to give you knowledge you want.
My 3rd book of the year is, The Lean StartUp by Eric Ries. A nice book on how startups that are successful perform with their business models and operations.
Priyank Verma 
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