A framework for crafting ideas and messages that are understood, remembered, and have lasting impact. Based on decades of research into why some ideas survive and others die.
Core Principle
The Curse of Knowledge is the single greatest barrier to effective communication.
Once we know something, we can't imagine not knowing it. This makes us bad at explaining our ideas to others.
The foundation:
Sticky ideas aren't born — they're made. The SUCCESs framework provides six principles that make any idea more memorable and impactful.
Scoring
Goal: 10/10.
When reviewing or creating messaging (copy, presentations, campaigns, onboarding), rate 0-10 based on SUCCESs principles. A 10/10 means the message is simple, surprising, concrete, credible, emotional, and wrapped in a story; lower scores indicate forgettable communication. Always provide current score and improvements to reach 10/10.
The SUCCESs Framework
Six principles that make ideas stick:
S - Simple
U - Unexpected
C - Concrete
C - Credible
E - Emotional
S - Stories
Not a checklist — a toolkit.
Not every sticky idea uses all six. But the stickiest ideas tend to use most of them.
1. Simple
Core concept:
Find the core of the idea and share it compactly.
Simple ≠ dumbed down.
Simple means finding the essential core and expressing it in a compact way. It means ruthless prioritization.
The Commander's Intent:
Military term: If everything goes wrong, what ONE thing must we accomplish?
For messaging: If people remember ONE thing about your product, what should it be?
The inverted pyramid:
Lead with the most important thing
Add detail in order of decreasing importance
Readers who stop anywhere still got the core
Techniques for simplicity:
Technique
How It Works
Example
Core message
Strip to the essential
Southwest: "THE low-fare airline"
Analogy
Explain new via known
"It's like Uber for dog walking"
Generative
Core idea that generates behavior
"Names, names, names" (local newspaper motto)
Prioritize
Force-rank what matters
"If you say 3 things, you say nothing"
Application to product messaging:
Before (Complex)
After (Simple)
"AI-powered, cloud-native customer engagement platform with omnichannel capabilities"
"Talk to all your customers in one place"
"We leverage machine learning algorithms to optimize conversion funnels"
"We find why visitors don't buy and fix it"
"Enterprise-grade project management with Gantt charts, resource allocation..."
"The simplest way to manage projects"
The test:
Can you explain it to a smart 12-year-old? If not, simplify.
Warning:
Don't oversimplify to the point of meaninglessness. "We make the world better" is simple but empty.
See:
references/simple.md
for simplification exercises and templates.
2. Unexpected
Core concept:
Get attention by breaking patterns. Hold attention by creating curiosity gaps.
Two tasks:
Get attention
→ Surprise (violate expectations)
Hold attention
→ Interest (create curiosity gaps)
Surprise:
Identify the core message
Figure out the counterintuitive implication
Communicate the surprise
Example surprises:
Category
Expected
Unexpected (Sticky)
Product launch
"Introducing our new feature"
"We removed your favorite feature. Here's why."
Statistics
"Obesity is growing"
"A bag of movie popcorn has more fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, Big Mac and fries, and steak dinner — combined"
Value prop
"Save money on insurance"
"15 minutes could save you 15%" (specific, unexpected)
Curiosity gaps:
Open a gap in knowledge → create desire to fill it
"Before I tell you the answer, let me ask..."
Mystery format: Present a puzzle, delay the resolution
Challenge assumptions: "You think X, but actually Y"
Creating curiosity gaps:
Technique
How It Works
Example
Question
Ask what they don't know
"What's the #1 reason startups fail?"
Prediction
Ask them to predict
"How many X do you think...?"
Mystery
Present a puzzle
"Nordstrom once refunded a set of tires. They don't sell tires."
Challenge
Violate assumptions
"Everything you know about X is wrong"
Anti-pattern:
Gimmicky surprise without substance. The surprise must connect to the core message.
See:
references/unexpected.md
for pattern-breaking techniques.
3. Concrete
Core concept:
Use sensory language and specific details instead of abstract concepts.
Abstract kills memorability.
The more concrete and specific your idea, the stickier it becomes.
Abstract vs. Concrete:
Abstract
Concrete
"Improve customer experience"
"Customers get their order in 30 minutes, still hot"
"Increase engagement"
"Users open the app 8 times a day"
"Optimize efficiency"
"Reduce report generation from 4 hours to 10 minutes"
"World-class support"
"Call us and a human answers in under 60 seconds"
"Scalable solution"
"Handle 10,000 users on day one without code changes"
The Velcro theory of memory:
Concrete ideas have more "hooks" for memory
"Bicycle" is easier to remember than "vehicle" (you can picture it)
Sensory details create mental images
Techniques for concreteness:
Technique
How It Works
Example
Specific numbers
Replace "a lot" with exact figures
"2,347 customers" not "thousands"
Sensory language
Engage senses
"Crispy, not crunchy"
Concrete example
Replace category with instance
"Like John, a 35-year-old teacher in Denver"
Demonstration
Show, don't tell
Product demo > feature list
Before/after
Tangible transformation
"Before: 4 hours. After: 10 minutes."
Application to product messaging:
Features → Outcomes (what it does → what changes for user)
Percentages → Real numbers ("saves 40%" → "saves 16 hours/month")
Categories → Specific examples ("restaurants" → "pizza shops in Brooklyn")
See:
references/concrete.md
for concreteness exercises.
4. Credible
Core concept:
Help people believe your idea using internal and external credibility.
External credibility:
Source
How It Works
Example
Authorities
Expert endorsement
"Recommended by Harvard Business Review"
Anti-authorities
Real people with experience
"Here's what a customer with the same problem found"
Credentials
Verifiable achievements
"10 years experience, SOC 2 certified"
Internal credibility (more powerful):
Technique
How It Works
Example
Vivid details
Specificity implies truth
"On Tuesday at 3pm, in the conference room on the 4th floor..."
Statistics
But make them human-scale
Not "$1B market" but "1 in 4 businesses"
The Sinatra Test
One example so good it proves everything
"If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere"
Testable credential
Let them verify
"Try it free for 14 days"
Human-scale statistics
Relate numbers to experience
Not "10TB of data" but "every book ever written, 100 times"
The Sinatra Test:
One reference so impressive it handles all objections
"We secured the White House" = instant security credibility
"We handle Super Bowl traffic" = instant scalability credibility
"Used by Apple, Google, and Microsoft" = instant quality credibility
Making statistics sticky:
Don't: "37 grams of saturated fat"
Do: "More saturated fat than a Big Mac, fries, and milkshake combined"
Rule:
Put statistics in a context people understand
See:
references/credible.md
for credibility-building techniques.
5. Emotional
Core concept:
Make people feel something. People act on emotion, not analysis.
Mother Teresa principle:
"If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will."
Key insight:
Statistics numb. Stories about individuals inspire action.
Emotional appeals:
Approach
How It Works
Example
Individual focus
One person's story > statistics
"Meet Sarah, who..." > "10,000 people affected"
Self-interest
"What's in it for me?"
WIIFM (features → personal benefits)
Identity
"What would someone like me do?"
"Texans don't litter" (Don't Mess with Texas)
Maslow's hierarchy
Appeal to the right level
Security, belonging, esteem, self-actualization
The identity approach:
People make decisions based on identity, not calculation
"What would a person like me do in this situation?"
Frame your product as consistent with who they want to be
Examples:
Identity Frame
Product
Message
"I'm an innovative leader"
SaaS tool
"For teams that move fast"
"I care about my health"
Food product
"Made with ingredients you can pronounce"
"I'm a serious professional"
B2B service
"The tool Fortune 500 CTOs rely on"
Avoiding the "semantic stretch":
Don't over-abstract the emotion
"Support the troops" > "Support our national defense infrastructure"
Keep it personal and specific
See:
references/emotional.md
for emotional appeal frameworks.
6. Stories
Core concept:
Stories are flight simulators for the brain. They teach people how to act.
Why stories work:
Simulate experience (mental rehearsal)
Inspire action (not just understanding)
Are memorable (narrative structure)
Bypass resistance (people don't argue with stories)
Three story plots that work:
Plot
Structure
When to Use
Example
Challenge
Protagonist overcomes obstacle
Inspire courage, perseverance
"We started in a garage..."
Connection
People bridging a gap
Inspire tolerance, teamwork
"A customer helped another customer..."
Creativity
Novel solution to problem
Inspire innovation, thinking
"We tried X, Y, Z... then discovered..."
Story structure for product messaging:
Character:
Who is the customer? (relatable)
Problem:
What challenge did they face? (emotional)
Journey:
What did they try? (concrete)
Solution:
How did your product help? (specific)
Outcome:
What changed? (measurable + emotional)
Example:
"Sarah ran a 10-person design agency. Her team spent 4 hours every Friday compiling client reports from 5 different tools. She'd tried hiring an intern, building spreadsheets, even a custom tool. Nothing worked. Then she found [Product]. Now reports generate in 10 minutes. Last Friday, her team left at 3pm for the first time in years."
Spotting stories in the wild:
Customer support tickets (problems + resolutions)
Sales calls (objections + breakthroughs)
User interviews (before/after moments)
Internal Slack (team wins)
See:
references/stories.md
for story templates and collection methods.
The Curse of Knowledge
The biggest enemy of sticky ideas.
Definition:
Once you know something, you can't imagine not knowing it.
How it manifests:
Using jargon your audience doesn't know
Skipping context that seems "obvious"
Assuming your audience sees the same things you do
Over-abstracting because you know the specifics
Solutions:
Test messaging with outsiders (not your team)
Use concrete language, not abstractions
Tell stories, not bullet points
Ask: "Would my mom understand this?"
Sticky Messaging Audit
Rate your message on each principle:
Principle
Question
Score (1-10)
Simple
Is there ONE clear core message?
Unexpected
Does it break a pattern or create curiosity?
Concrete
Can you picture it? Are there specific details?
Credible
Why should someone believe this?
Emotional
Does it make you feel something?
Stories
Is there a narrative or character?
Scoring:
50-60: Extremely sticky (rare, aim for this)
35-49: Strong (most good messaging lands here)
20-34: Average (forgettable, needs work)
Below 20: Won't stick (fundamental rework needed)
Applying SUCCESs to Product
Landing Pages
Simple:
One clear value proposition above the fold
Unexpected:
Counterintuitive claim or statistic
Concrete:
Specific outcome ("save 4 hours/week" not "save time")
Credible:
Customer logos, specific testimonials
Emotional:
Customer story or pain point
Stories:
Customer transformation narrative
Product Demos
Simple:
Show ONE core workflow, not every feature
Unexpected:
Start with the "aha moment" not a tour
Concrete:
Use real data, not "Lorem ipsum"
Credible:
Show how [specific company] uses it
Emotional:
Connect to the pain they feel today
Stories:
"Let me show you what happens when [customer] has this problem..."
JFK moonshot, Subway diet, Don't Mess with Texas
Further Reading
This skill is based on Chip and Dan Heath's research on sticky ideas. For the complete framework:
"Made to Stick"
by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
"Switch"
by Chip Heath & Dan Heath (companion: how to make change stick)
About the Authors
Chip Heath
is a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and
Dan Heath
is a senior fellow at Duke University's CASE center. Together they have written four New York Times bestsellers.
Made to Stick
spent over 2 years on the bestseller list. Their research spans organizational behavior, decision-making, and how to make ideas have lasting impact. The SUCCESs framework is used by educators, marketers, nonprofits, and product teams worldwide.