<\/span><\/h3>\nIn this section, Berger links two sayings together: “Top of mind, means the tip of the tongue”. Berger explains that to have a viral concept, there must be at least one common trigger for viewers to get excited about and remain at the front of their minds indefinitely. For example, there are a series of popular commercials that went viral about the Trivago company.<\/p>\n
Trivago is one of many companies that assists users in finding hotels and vacation packages. At the end of each commercial, they would add “Hotel?: Trviago” or any variation. A popular meme that is still seen today exists where users list certain pain points, and then end them with the above phrase, such as:<\/p>\n
Can’t sleep: drink warm milk<\/p>\n
Keep waking up: meditate before bed<\/p>\n
Hotel: Trivago<\/p>\n
A seemingly nonsensical addition to a list, usage of the Trivago site soared pre-pandemic. You also cannot forget the popular music video “Friday” by Rebecca Black. Notoriously known for a hilariously poorly made video and production, it went viral due to the trigger word “Friday” where users kept coming back every Friday to watch the video, see the people partying, and then engaging in comments with others about the video.<\/p>\n
A marketer’s job at any stage is finding the mechanism of thought that will spark the next big idea that will go viral. When attempting to do this, remember to never force anything, always keep it simple and as history, shows, a low budget does not take away from your message.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Stories Paint A Better Picture<\/span><\/h3>\nIt is estimated that people began telling stores when the fire was invented. The time people went to bed was extended by a few more hours as work could get done by firelight.<\/p>\n
The warmth of the fire drew people together, and stories began: about hunting, about adventures in the world, and parables that were cautionary tales to learn something. As mentioned in the summary, stories are still the best way people know how to explain the world. Viral stories became myths and grand tales of success that may even contain larger-than-life concepts. Some are still alive and well today, such as Homer’s Illiad.<\/p>\n
The most memorable part about stories aren’t the most entertaining, but the ones that contain a message to be deciphered, or even an evident word of caution. Jonah places a huge emphasis on this section of the book as there are many anecdotes and examples to explain this concept.<\/p>\n