Contagious Research Assignment
For this assignment, I want you to take something that is not currently popular (or mainstream) and explain how you would remarket or change this thing to make it go “viral” using the theories given in Contagious. There are many different places where these theories can be applied. To give you some ideas, you could . . .
Look at a cause/policy/organization/idea that’s not getting the attention or support it deserves
Take a movie (or other piece of entertainment) that flopped
Find a team struggling for publicity
Use a brand/product not getting recognition.
Look at what you encounter in your everyday life for inspiration. What problems would you like to see fixed or made better? You may not use a topic or example already given in the readings.
You will complete this essay in two parts. The first part will be to prepare an online version of your research for the general public, similar to what you did for the First Person Article, where you should include multimedia (photos, videos, etc.). The second part is to take your online version and “convert” it to a scholarly article written for an academic audience in either APA or MLA format. (I’ll teach you some quick tricks; it’s easier than you think!)
Your essay should be about 1,800 words and must use Contagious plus other credible sources to provide the information needed in each of the four sections of your essay, which are:
The following six theories provide context and understanding for why some things "catch on" and others don't, taken from:
Berger, J. (2013). Contagious: Why things catch on. New York: Simon & Schuster.
What Contagious theory would apply for the following examples?
Useful Library Resources: