Reading for 9/10

Dan and Chip Heath's Made to Stick is a book about why some ideas thrive while others fail.  What makes something a sensation? In Chapter 6, entitled "Stories," they delve into the potential for success when stories are utilized in campaigns.  The one in particular that jumped out for me was the one of Jared and his "Subway diet."  Most of us remember Jared and his extreme weight loss through eating Subway's line of healthy sandwiches and the tremendous amount of success it brought the company.  Jared became a national sensation and everyone knew his story.  What I didn't know was how it came to light.  Jared didn't set out to became a weight loss icon and Subway didn't set out to find create one, but through the grace of chance and people sticking by a good idea when they find one, Jared's story beat the odds.  It was his tale that inspired people to write about him, then to relate to him, and then to care about him.  All Jared ever wanted was to lose weight.

I think the reason this story is included in this chapter is not only because it was such a success, but also because it demonstrates perfectly the Heath brother's recipe for "SUCCESs" (p 222).  The tale is "Simple," "Unexpected," "Concrete," "Credible," "Emotional," and a "Story" (p 222-223). It showcases every point the authors have been making about what makes something "stick." It's a story like Jared's that has all the appeal and potential to reach millions of people, and that's why it did.  This is so important to the Heath brother's point that you will get much farther in a campaign or marketing idea if you keep in mind that people relate to other people, not to checklists.  This is why the "7 under 6" campaign before Jared didn't take off, but he did.  No one cares about a set of numbers, they care about an ordinary person who did an extraordinary thing.