Triggers

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Berger's second principle is Triggers. The idea is that the things we talk about most are not always the things we love most. They are often the things we think about most, and we think about things most when the environment keeps reminding us of them. He uses the example of the song Friday by Rebecca Black. It was widely mocked and largely forgotten. But every Friday, Google searches for the song spiked because the day of the week itself triggered people to think of it and share it. More practically: peanut butter is talked about far more than Disney World, despite Disney World being a more exciting experience. The reason is that people encounter peanut butter in their kitchen multiple times a week. Each encounter is a trigger. Disney World is encountered mainly in memory and when someone mentions it. The daily trigger produces more ongoing word of mouth than the stronger but infrequent experience. For anyone designing a product, campaign, or idea that needs to spread, Triggers raise a practical question: what in the environment will remind people of this? What everyday object, habit, moment, or place can serve as a natural trigger? A product that is linked to something people encounter frequently will generate more ongoing word of mouth than one linked to nothing.