People have been creating sticky ideas since there have been ideas. Sticky ideas are not new. However, a formula for designing an idea, message, product or ad is new. Chip and Dan Heath streamlined an easy way to create a sticky idea. In doing this they examined naturally sticky ideas and created this formula based on qualities these ideas all possessed. The brothers suggest there are not any new ideas just different ways of presenting them. The reasons behind why some ideas stick and others die are important to know because it allows advertisers to know how to craft and present their idea in a way that is successful and memorable.

There are six key principles that make an idea sticky. At least a few of these principles are found in every sticky idea. Sticky ideas are simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and tell a story. Each idea may only contain two or three of these principles but they are there. Every idea relies on these six things because they work (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007).

Sticky ideas are simple. They are not complicated or hard to understand. The Heath brothers relate keeping a message simple to commander’s intent (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 26). The military suggests that when coming up with a commander’s intent that the commanders ask themselves two questions: “If we do nothing else during tomorrow’s mission we must _____________,” and “The single, most important thing we do tomorrow is ____________.” (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 27) However, the brothers do not mean keep ideas dumbed down or short. They mean find the big picture’s core idea. If a company’s message is “Our cookies are the best because we use all-natural ingredients and they’re healthier for you than other processed cookies.” The company should probably make it more compact. “Our cookie company values our customer’s health.” That allows everyone creating new cookie recipes for the company know that they need to pick the healthiest ingredients. This message also communicates that the cookies are healthy and safe to the consumers.

Sticky ideas are unexpected. Sticky ideas make our brains work. They test our “guessing machines.” Brains like patterns. Whenever something challenges a pattern the brain has it grabs attention. Sticky ideas get attention through surprise. They keep attention through a mystery. Almost everyone has sat through the flight safety speech. It’s the same on every flight. When Karen Wood, the flight attendant, inserted some jokes it grabbed people’s attention (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 63). It captured people’s interest because their brain guessed that it would follow the typical safety warning but it did not. In order to keep interest, there needs to be a knowledge gap that people can feel. A perfect example is when Dr. Jenny Dean asked if Ellen, Bradley Cooper, or Samsung owned the photo that was taken at the Oscars. Everyone wanted to know the answer and made guesses as to who owned it. She highlighted a gap we didn’t know was there. She didn’t tell the answer right away. First, she introduced some laws that were clues about who owned the photo. Dean only revealed the owner when she didn’t need our attention anymore. That one question caused us to stay interested throughout the presentation because we wanted answers to fill our knowledge gap.

Sticky ideas are concrete. Most people do not handle ambiguity well. They like having things nailed down. The main goal of making an idea concrete is to help them understand, remember, and coordinate. Some people might understand how much land 20 percent of California is. However, most people do not. They can understand how big a landscape is though. Break ideas down into something more tangible that people can understand. It’s easier to persuade people to protect the Mount Hamilton Wilderness than the hills next to Silicon Valley. People understand Mount Hamilton Wilderness, it’s concrete. It has a name. The hills next to Silicon Valley is too ambiguous to convince people it’s important (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 102).

Sticky ideas are credible. Sticky ideas help people believe. The idea could be presented through an experiment, an absolute authority or an anti-authority (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 132-136). An experiment like swallowing bacteria to prove it causes ulcers or placing quarters on a wet pieces of toilet paper to compare strength is creating credibility people can see. An expert speaking about the type of bacteria that causes ulcers would not have needed to swallow bacteria to prove it. People would believe him because he’s an authority on the topic. Pam Laffin is an antiauthority. She’s believable because she is living proof that smoking is bad for health. Convincing details can also create credibility. The mother that knows her child has a Darth Vader toothbrush must be a good mother otherwise she would not know that detail (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 138-9). Statistics become more impactful if they are made accessible. The number of nuclear warheads does not resonate with most people. It’s too large to picture. If you equate one BB to one warhead and dump them into a bucket it makes it tangible. All of a sudden a large number becomes impactful because people can see it in a representation that makes sense.

Sticky ideas are emotional. Emotional ideas make people care. Feeding people a bunch of statistics about poverty will not make them care. Showing people a specific child that doesn’t ever get enough to eat will make them care more than a bunch of numbers. People feel like they can help one person but they can’t help the masses. The term sportsmanship doesn’t mean much to athletes, coaches or parents anymore. “Honor the game” means basically the same thing as “practice good sportsmanship.” However, “honor the game” holds more weight with participants because they associate that phrase with respecting their sport. Customers are always going to ask “What’s in it for me?” It’s the copywriter’s job to tell them what is in it for them (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 179). In Tempe, Arizona more people were persuaded to get cable television when the ad asked them to visualize their lives with it (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 180-181). The consumer is asking “what’s in it for me if I buy cable TV?” The ad answers that they won’t have to spend as much money on babysitters. They can enjoy a quiet evening in instead of going to the movies. The ad makes it personal. Another way to evoke emotion in ads is to appeal to people’s identity. In the “Don’t Mess with Texas” ad campaign their target audience was Texans. In order to craft a successful campaign the creators had to put themselves into the shoes of a littering Texan (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 196-199). Texans have a lot of pride. They believe Texas is the best state. The best way to convince Texans not to litter is by convincing them and showing them that great Texans don’t litter. The ads feature prominent Texans cleaning up litter or doing other things and then saying “Don’t mess with Texas.” They are leading by example. Willie Nelson is a Texan and he doesn’t litter. Other Texans shouldn’t litter either.

Sticky ideas are often times a story. Stories can be used to simulate how someone should act. The nurse that trusted her instincts and acted against the doctor’s orders ended up saving a child’s life is a great example of conveying a message through a story (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 204-205). This story leaves the lesson that going with your instincts can be better than what you are taught. Stories can also be used to inspire people to action. Jared lost 245 pounds eating Subway sandwiches. People watch his story and think if he can lose 245 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches then it must be effective and healthy for everyone. This story inspired people to buy Subway sandwiches because Jared’s weight loss story inspired them to lose weight on Subway too.

Sticky ideas can influence sales to go up or down. Sticky ideas first and foremost create awareness. If people aren’t aware of a product, then they can’t buy it. Creating awareness is often the first step in creating a successful business which is why ad campaigns often focus on it. Once the public has a general awareness of an idea or brand they can decide whether or not to look further into it. However, if there is not a significant amount of interest buzzing around a topic then the majority of people will not know about it. If people do not know they cannot impact sales.

Sticky ideas do not just increase sales. They can decrease sales as well. The anti-smoking campaign that Pam Laffin starred in drove down cigarette sales. The metaphor that compares all of the saturated fat in the popcorn to the fat in an entire day’s worth of decadent food caused popcorn sales to plummet. It even caused the movie theaters to change the oil they pop the popcorn in. Sticky ideas generate interest because they are designed to grab people’s attention and keep it. The TV commercial with catchy background music that gets stuck in your head might cause consumers to google the ad or the product. After examining the product they might decide to buy. Sticky ideas influence sales because each principle of SUCCESs targets the right audience in the best way when used correctly.

Stickiness changes the way that companies create messages. The company might choose to send their message through a convincing story instead of just stating their goal outright. We want people to quit smoking because it is bad for them. This sentence is much less convincing than a story about the negative effects of smoking told by an antiauthority figure like Pam Laffin. Pam is stickier than a general statement. People are desensitized to most statements in advertising. They blend in. Smoking is bad. This burger tastes good. They’re boring. Pam Laffin is not boring. She stands out as the reason not to smoke.

Messaging might also be sent through a metaphor. Art Silverman set out a medium bag of popcorn next to a spread of a day’s worth of food (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 7). Then Silverman says there are 37 grams of saturated fat in the bag of popcorn. All of the other food combined has 37 grams of saturated fat. If the message had just been 37 grams of saturated fat is too much then most people wouldn’t have paid much attention. But, the metaphor made it tangible and personal. A person could eat one medium bag of popcorn or they could eat an entire day’s worth of food to reach 37 grams of saturated fat. Most people are going to choose the entire day’s worth of food.

Stickiness impacts the scope of the message sent out. Most companies have several long-term goals. These companies can be successful in achieving these long-term goals if they have a core message that everything boils down to. Southwest Airlines is THE low cost airline (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 29). Every choice Southwest makes is influenced by that statement. Passengers would like to have a light meal offered on shorter flights. That’s great but does that align with staying THE low cost airline? No, it doesn’t so they didn’t do that. It’s a simple message that can be easily communicated to all of their staff that would help them create ideas for the airline to be better. If the idea helps Southwest remain THE low cost airline then pitch the idea. If it doesn’t help then don’t pitch that idea. This guiding principle helps let others know what they should do.

The message itself does impact sales. The presentation is what makes it sticky. We are THE low cost airline impacts what Southwest offers. The amenities and the cost of the flight impact people to buy or not. The messaging creates reasons people should or should not buy things. The 37 grams of saturated fat in popcorn is much too high. This message influenced people not to buy popcorn at the movie theater. Eventually, this message caused the movie theater to change the popcorn they sell. They started popping it in a healthier oil like vegetable oil so that people would start buying their popcorn again. The consumers sent a message to the movie theater that they would not buy popcorn with that much fat in it. If the movie theater wants them to buy popcorn they need to make it healthier. Simple and concrete messages are going to influence sales more than ambiguous messages. Most people do not handle ambiguity well. It is much easier to handle concrete and tangible facts. The simpleness of an idea needs to inform people the main idea or purpose of a product and then show the consumer why they need or don’t need it. 37 grams of saturated fat is an unhealthy amount. Do not eat popcorn made with coconut oil. It is simple and concise. It is easier to act on ideas you understand.

In order to make something stickier, people should follow the SUCCESs principles. The Heath brothers already studied tons of successful ideas to find out why they were successful. They’ve already done the grunt work to learn why certain ideas stick and others die. There’s always more to be learned, but Made to Stick is a good place to start. Learning from others’ successes and failures is an easy way to predict whether an idea or ad will be successful or not. The most important thing to make an idea stick is to strip down a complex or unclear message or idea to its core. People cannot act on an unclear message. However, the audience does get a say in what the message means. They can interpret the message differently or transform the phrase (C. Heath & D. Heath, 2007, p. 238). Durocher said, “Nice guys! Look over there. Do you know a nicer guy than Mel Ott? Or any of the other Giants? Why, they’re the nicest guys in the world! And where are they? In seventh place!” This quote went through several transformations before becoming “Nice guys finish last.” Both quotes have the same meaning but Durocher didn’t change the quote. His audience did. If the audience changes the message but the meaning stays the same then keep their message. It sticks, so use it.

It is important to know why some ideas stick and others die. In any field communicating with others is a must. In everyday life, people have to explain things in a way that helps people care, remember, understand, agree, believe, or act on an idea. By knowing the reasons behind great ideas people can create a way to deliver a message that will stick.

Sources

Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. New York:

Random House.