Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

the way up until Election Day.
    But what leads someone to talk about something soon after it occurs? And are these the same things that drive them to keep talking about it for weeks or months after?
    To answer these questions, we divided the data on each BzzCampaign into two categories: immediate and ongoing wordof mouth. Then we looked at how much of each type of buzz different types of products generated.
    As we suspected, interesting products received more immediate word of mouth than boring products. This reinforces what we talked about in the Social Currency chapter: interesting things are entertaining and reflect positively on the person talking about them.
    But interesting products did not sustain high levels of word-of-mouth activity over time. Interesting products didn’t get any more ongoing word of mouth than boring ones.
    Imagine I walked into work one day dressed as a pirate. A bright red satin bandana, long black waistcoat, gold earrings, and a patch over one eye. It would be pretty remarkable. People in my office would probably gossip about it all day. (“What in the world is Jonah doing? Casual Friday is supposed to be relaxed, but this is taking it too far!”)
    But while my pirate getup would get lots of immediate word of mouth, people probably wouldn’t keep talking about it every week for the next two months.
    So if interest doesn’t drive ongoing word of mouth, what does? What keeps people talking?
    FROM MARS BARS TO VOTING: HOW TRIGGERS AFFECT BEHAVIOR
    At any given moment,some thoughts are more top of mind, or accessible, than others. Right now, for example, you might be thinking about the sentence you are reading or the sandwich you had for lunch.
    Some things are chronically accessible. Sports fanatics or foodies will often have those subjects top of mind. They areconstantly thinking of their favorite team’s latest stats, or about ways to combine ingredients in tasty dishes.
    Butstimuli in the surrounding environment can also determine which thoughts and ideas are top of mind. If you see a puppy while jogging in the park, you might remember that you’ve always wanted to adopt a dog. If you smell Chinese food while walking past the corner noodle shop, you might start thinking about what to order for lunch. Or if you hear an advertisement for Coke, you might remember that you ran out of soda last night. Sights, smells, and sounds can trigger related thoughts and ideas, making them more top of mind. A hot day might trigger thoughts about climate change. Seeing a sandy beach in a travel magazine might trigger thoughts of Corona beer.
    Using a product is a strong trigger. Most people drink milk more often than grape juice, so milk is top of mind more often. But triggers can also be indirect. Seeing a jar of peanut butter not only triggers us to think about peanut butter, it also makes us think about its frequent partner, jelly. Triggers are like little environmental reminders for related concepts and ideas.
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    Why does it matter if particular thoughts or ideas are top of mind? Because accessible thoughts and ideas lead to action.
    Back in mid-1997,the candy company Mars noticed an unexpected uptick in sales of its Mars bar. The company was surprised because it hadn’t changed its marketing in any way. It wasn’t spending additional money on advertising, it hadn’t changed its pricing, and it hadn’t run any special promotions. Yet sales had gone up. What had happened?
    NASA had happened. Specifically, NASA’s Pathfinder mission.
    The mission was designed to collect samples of atmosphere, climate, and soil from a nearby planet. The undertaking took years of preparation and millions of dollars in funding. When the lander finally touched down on the alien landscape, the entire world was rapt, and all news outlets featured NASA’s triumph.
    Pathfinder’s destination? Mars.
    Mars bars are named after the company’s founder, Franklin Mars, not the planet. But the media attention the