Contagious
What is it that makes anything popular? Think again if you said advertising. People don't pay attention to commercials; instead, they pay attention to their peers. But why do certain products and ideas get more attention than others? Why are some rumours and stories more contagious than others? And what makes anything go viral on the internet?
Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at Wharton, has spent the last decade trying to answer these concerns. He's looked at why stories from the New York Times are on the paper's Most E-mailed list, why products spread by word of mouth, and how social impact influences everything from the automobiles we purchase to the clothes we wear to the names we give our children.
Berger uncovers the physics underlying word-of-mouth and social transmission in Contagious. Learn how six key factors cause everything from consumer items and legislative efforts to workplace gossip and YouTube videos to become infectious. Learn how a high-end steakhouse grew in popularity thanks to the humble cheesesteak, why anti-drug advertising may have promoted drug usage, and why over 200 million people watched a video about one of the most boring goods on the market: a blender.
Contagious teaches you how to use precise, concrete ways to help knowledge spread—like how to create shareable messages, adverts, and content. Contagious will show you how to make your product or concept catch on, whether you're a huge corporate management, a small business owner seeking to raise awareness, a politician campaigning for office, or a health professional attempting to get the word out.
