Made to Stick

The blog has moved!

Dan Heath — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:47:28 +0000

We’re relocating the blog to our new site: HeathBrothers.com. We will keep all archival blog posts here, but as of Jan 1, 2010, the new posts will only appear at the Heath Brothers site. Come pay us a visit!

The World of 100

Dan Heath — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:14:36 +0000

If the world were a village of 100 people, how many of the 100 would be white? How many would speak Spanish? How many would have a college education? Satisfy your curiosity by checking out “The World of 100,” a series of poster-infographics designed by Tony Ng.

It’s kind of amazing how much easier it is to process this info on the scale of 100 than on the scale of 6 billion, even though the proportions are identical. (Thanks to Andrew L for the link.)

Furniture for White People and Black People

Dan Heath — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:49:19 +0000

This ad for Red House, a furniture store in High Point, NC, pitches racial reconciliation through couches and bedroom sets. The spot’s creators said they were inspired when the Red House staff “pointed out the fact that their employees and customer base were like the ‘Rainbow Coalition,’ and we thought something with a comical racial reconciliation theme would be fun, as well as a conversation starter.”

I suspect there was a lot of controversy about this — you’re walking on thin ice any time you start throwing around sensitive phrases like, ahem, “white people” and “black people.” But I think the spot is clever and clearly tongue-in-cheek. Just goes to show you that an unexpected idea will get noticed — this little homegrown regional TV ad now has a half-million views on Youtube.

(Thanks to Sean for the link.)

On Susan Boyle

Dan Heath — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:03:02 +0000

I’ve received notes about this from several people, and boy, you were right.

This video features Susan Boyle, a contestant on the show Britain’s Got Talent. It’s as sticky as a story gets.

In the book, we talk about “Challenge Plots” — stories in which a protagonist overcomes a formidable challenge and succeeds. David and Goliath is the classic Challenge Plot. Well, Susan Boyle is an up-to-the-minute, emotional, inspirational, Challenge Plot protagonist – and you can get the whole story in 7.5 minutes.

The Dirtiest Hotels in the World

Dan Heath — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:15:57 +0000

This is a brilliant promotion from TripAdvisor. Got it via email and it was the one promo email, out of the last 500, that I’ve clicked thru to see. How can you not? Its strength is its unexpectedness — most companies would be too chicken to try something like this.

From a review of the #1 hotel on the list: “It makes a crack house look like a Hilton. There are mice, roaches, bedbugs,and crack heads all living at this Hell Hole! The hotel itself smells and is filthy from the disgusting bedspread to the filthy bathroom.”

Endless fun and great marketing.

(For you Houstonians out there — this reminds me of the irresistible appeal of dearly departed Marvin Zindler’s TV reports. ”There was SLIIIIIME IN THE ICE MACHINE!”)

The Worst Name of the Year

Dan Heath — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:17:16 +0000

Via the naming firm Eat My Words, the worst name of 2008 was a new “financial literacy” site for children called — wait for it — Shyrk. (I guess Pilfr wasn’t available.)

But then, before the trophy could even be engraved, there was an update:

We were tipped off that Shyrk renamed themselves with an even worse name: iThryv. Whaaaaaat? Did one of their software engineers say, “Hey, we need a name with vowels so let’s get drunk and play Scrabble again”? (Why not iShryk?) The website explains it all by saying “Shyrk changed the name of the corporation to iThryv in an effort to dispel any confusion related to the name of the company versus the name of the product. Now, when someone mentions iThryv — you know they are talking about financial literacy.” HELLO! What about regular literacy?!

Spotty service

Dan Heath — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:16:47 +0000

Hey, just a forewarning that after today, the blog will go quiet until mid-March. Which reminds me of something: You may have noticed by now that my posting tends to be a bit infrequent and erratic. (Sadly, this is also the pace of my good ideas.) So if you check the blog regularly, you may find yourself annoyed that there ain’t much activity.

But wait — there’s a solution to this problem! See that little box to the right that says “enter your email address”? Just pop your email in there and you’ll get all the posts home-delivered, the same day that they go up. All the erratic stickiness with none of the annoyance! Presto.

From the no-brainer file: Starbucks (RED) Card

Dan Heath — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:57:15 +0000

You can now get a (RED) card from Starbucks. Here’s how it works: You can buy the card online, or in a store, and purchase credit on it, just like any other Starbucks card. But there’s a big difference: With every transaction you conduct, five cents is used to buy life-saving medicine for people in Africa who have AIDS. That’s five cents out of their pockets, not yours.

If five cents sounds trivial, keep in mind that, thanks to the people at (RED), almost a quarter of a billion dollars has been sent to buy AIDS medicines, and that extraordinary amount emerged from the sum of ”trivial” transactions just like these. This isn’t even charity, it’s just thoughtful commerce. It’s buying a latte with a (RED) card rather than with dollar bills.

I’ve got a (RED) card in my pocket, and every drink I buy at Starbucks this year will be run through it.

As a final note: Starbucks is the rare global juggernaut that seems to go out of its way to do the right thing. Is there another company with its reach that has a comparable record of Goodness? (Think health benefits for barristas, Free Trade expansion, etc.) Email me with your candidate.

Magnetic duct tape!

Dan Heath — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:59:57 +0000

What else is there to say, really?

Talking strategy at Newsweek

Dan Heath — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:21:02 +0000

Richard Perez-Pena writes that Newsweek’s “ingrained role of obligatory coverage of the week’s big events will be abandoned once and for all,” according to execs.

Let’s leave aside whether this strategic shift makes sense or not. Notice how Newsweek editor Jon Meacham articulates the shift in a way that is concrete, specific, and full of uncommon sense:

“There’s a phrase in the culture, ‘we need to take note of,’ ‘we need to weigh in on,’ ” said Newsweek’s editor, Jon Meacham. “That’s going away. If we don’t have something original to say, we won’t. The drill of chasing the week’s news to add a couple of hard-fought new details is not sustainable.”

If you’re leading a strategic shift in your organization, that’s the way you need to sound. (And for more pontification on this point, see the “Talking Strategy” chapter in the new edition of our book.)