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Contents
Introduction: Why Things Catch On
Why $100 is a good price for a cheesesteak . . . Why do some things
become popular? . . . Which is more important, the message or the
messenger? . . . Can you make anything contagious? . . . The case of
the viral blender . . . Six key STEPPS.
1. Social Currency
When a telephone booth is a door . . . Ants can lift fifty times their
own weight. . . . Why frequent flier miles are like a video game . . .
When it’s good to be hard to get . . . Why everyone wants a mix of
tripe, heart, and stomach meat . . . The downside of getting paid . . . We
share things that make us look good.
2. Triggers
Which gets more word of mouth, Disney or Cheerios? . . . Why a
NASA mission boosted candy sales . . . Could where you vote affect
how you vote? . . . Consider the context . . . Explaining Rebecca
Black . . . Growing the habitat: Kit Kat and coffee . . . Top of mind, tip
of tongue.
3. Emotion
Why do some things make the Most E-Mailed list? . . . How reading
science articles is like standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon . . .
Why anger is like humor . . . How breaking guitars can make you
famous . . . Getting teary eyed about online search . . . When we care,
we share.
4. Public
Is the Apple logo better upside down than right side up? . . . Why
dying people turn down kidney transplants . . . Using moustaches to

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make the private public . . . How to advertise without an advertising
budget . . . Why anti-drug commercials might increase drug use . . .
Built to show, built to grow.
5. Practical Value
How an eighty-six-year-old made a viral video about corn . . . Why
hikers talk about vacuum cleaners . . . E-mail forwards are the new
barn raising . . . Will people pay to save money? . . . Why $100 is a
magic number . . . When lies spread faster than the truth . . . News you
can use.
6. Stories
How stories are like Trojan horses . . . Why good customer service is
better than any ad . . . When a streaker crashed the Olympics . . . Why
some story details are unforgettable . . . Using a panda to make
valuable virality . . . Information travels under the guise of idle chatter.
Epilogue
Why 80 percent of manicurists in California are Vietnamese . . .
Applying the STEPPS.
Acknowledgments
Readers Group Guide
Questions for Discussion
Expand Your Book Club
A Conversation with Jonah Berger
About Jonah Berger
Notes
Index

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To my mother, father, and grandmother.
For always believing in me.

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Introduction: Why Things Catch On
By  the  time  Howard  Wein  moved  to  Philadelphia  in  March  2004,  he
already had lots of experience in the hospitality industry. He had earned an
MBA  in  hotel  management,  helped  Starwood  Hotels  launch  its  W  brand,
and managed billions of dollars in revenue as Starwood’s corporate director
of  food  and  beverage.  But  he  was  done  with  “big.”  He  yearned  for  a
smaller,  more  restaurant-focused  environment.  So  he  moved  to  Philly  to
help  design  and  launch  a  new  luxury  boutique  steakhouse  called  Barclay
Prime.
The  concept  was  simple.  Barclay  Prime  was  going  to  deliver  the  best
steakhouse  experience  imaginable.  The  restaurant  is  located  in  the  toniest