How to make your ideas stick?
No, not with glue. Or plaster. Or nails. You definitely can’t use ideas to hang posters. Or can you?
As it happens, with a sticky idea like Blu Tack, you can. Blu Tack as a brand has become a general term for that putty-like substance used to stick up posters or notices on a wall. In a similar way, at its core, stickiness refers to ideas that have staying power.
(Agency: The Brand Agency)
A lot of my time is spent planning and writing content. The same goes for my colleagues and clients. What astounds me is the sheer volume of content (text and imagery) produced every day, globally.
Unsurprisingly, a 2020 study by ContentSquare concluded that two-thirds of all online content goes unseen. So, where does it all go? Some of this content is poorly targeted, some posted at the wrong time. Moreover, we have the attention span of goldfish in a sea of information: naturally, some messages fall through the cracks. If, however, your message reaches its audience, you will want it to have maximum impact.
With limited face-to-face meetings, more companies are turning to digital-only strategies. Digital-only meaning multi-channel online campaigns, with a core idea (typically merging PR and advertising) broadcast through video, influencers, articles, websites, podcasts, webinars – you name it.
As our time and ability to focus are limited, the well-targeted, outstanding ideas will continue to be the ones that get noticed.
The great news is good ideas are not restricted to a specific format or channel.
So, how do you make yours stick?
Always start with insight and only continue with ideas:
Insight = a core truth (or two) about your audience and product /company/cause
Idea = a point of view or a notion, based on insight, you want to convey
Six principles of stickiness
(As in Heath & Heath: Made to Stick, 2007)
1. Simplicity – The idea can be expressed simply and succinctly.
My all-time favorite B2C concept, Volkswagen's 1959 “Think Small” campaign, is simply clever.
The core truth was that for the American audience the Volkswagen Beetle was a small, slow and ugly foreign car. By admitting that truth, and explaining why it was a good thing (combining text and design), DBB turned the VW Bug into an icon.
(Agency: DBB)
2. Surprise – The idea has an element of surprise that grabs your attention.
The unexpected makes us look and think twice.
The WWF Bluefin Tuna Ad campaign encourages businesses in the food industry to think twice before buying or selling endangered species.
(Agency: Ogilvy)
3. Concreteness – The idea is specific and concrete. It uses plain language or imagery.
Focus on clarity.
How you use language matters. Be specific. Be concrete. Get understood.
(Source: https://twitter.com/FASDNetworkSCal/status/1242837566421741570/photo/1)
4. Credibility – The idea is believable, communicated by a trusted source or as an appeal to common sense.
In a world of “alternative facts”, we naturally turn to people and media we trust. The source can be someone you know from social media, a public figure, or for example a researcher or a colleague in your field.
General Electric’s (G.E.) collaboration with the actress and feminist activist, Lena Dunham, is an illustrative example of a B2B influencer campaign.
G.E. set up a campaign, working with Lena Dunham’s online publication, Lenny Letter. The focus of the campaign was to encourage more women to enter tech industry.
The campaign included an interview between Lena Dunham and GE Vice Chair, Beth Comstock. The interview covered women in the media, what a career in science looks like and how G.E. encourages women in tech.
5. Emotion – The idea creates an emotional response.
Nike is a fearless leader making a stand for social justice.
Nike’s partnership with Colin Kaepernick resulted in a campaign that was, although divisive, also emotional, credible, repeatable, shareable, and told an enigmatic story about a fight for racial equality.
(Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Portland)
6. Story – The idea is expressed in the context of a story that increases the memorability and retelling.
All great ideas have a story to tell.
Stories are the original method of passing down information and a good one can get you engaged, evokes emotion, and provides a rich context to enhance learning.
Nike as a brand, has used the power of stories from the very get-go. Just do it. Speaking for every person’s right to get involved in sports and the wider society. What do you tell your friends who hesitate? Just do it.
These stories have built a brand that takes a strong stance on social issues. Nike gets involved. Nike gets noticed. Nike takes part in the cultural and political discourse through stories about people.
Sticky is memorable
Like Nike’s Just Do it, these ideas become lodged in the cultural consciousness and are repeated, even decades after launch.
In this vein, I would love to add a seventh principle to the list. That principle would be the principle of time. All the sticky ideas I’ve just presented, have encapsulated something fundamental about the cultural and political atmosphere of their time.
We are all humans communicating with other humans. The super-power of sticky ideas comes from expressing part of our shared experience and imagination. They make us feel connected.
Technologies and habits will keep changing. And it makes me think of our collective resilience at times of change. We will always invent new ways to solve problems not only as individuals and companies but also as a collective.
Let’s stick with it.
Written by:
Vilhelmiina Vulli, Creative Project Manager
vilhelmiina.vulli@thepoint.fi
Books used for guidance:
Malcom Gladwell (2000), The Tipping Point
Heath & Heath (2007), Made to Stick: Why some ideas survive, and others die (2007)
Lidwell, Holden, Butler (2003) Universal Principles of Design