Law Two: The Stickiness Factor

1. Law Two: The Stickiness Factor "The specific quality that a message needs to be successful is the quality of 'stickiness.' Is the message-or the food, or the movie, or the product-memorable? Is it so memorable, in fact, that it can create change, that it can spur someone to action?"

2. What is the Stickiness Factor? • It is how well an idea or product stays in the mind of the viewer or consumer. • These techniques are usually subliminal and subconsciously occur to us. However, they have a huge affect. • Two of the most popular examples of the stickiness factor in children’s television are Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues.

3. Sesame Street • Originally aired on November 10, 1969, Sesame Street was the first children’s television show to successfully use the stickiness factor. • Sesame Street’s main purpose was to educate children of all different racial backgrounds. • To do so, it needed to captivate and “stick” to the minds of its viewers.

4. Sesame Street (cont.) • Numerous runs of trial and error through the “Distracter” test. • Use of timed segments • Simplification of content • Using a mixture of fantasy and reality.

5. Pitfalls of Sesame Street • Used adult humor and witty comments. • Hard for kids to pick up on certain visual clues. • Children weren’t taking that much away from the program.

6. Blue’s Clues • A former member of the Sesame team, Todd Kessler set out to create the “stickiest” children’s program. • What made Blue’s Clues better than Sesame Street: • Consistent, running story line • Smaller cast • Timed pauses • Repetitive showings

7. Breakdown of Blue’s Clues • First, let’s watch a short clip. • http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xowlpb_blue-s-clues-se03ep09-pool-party-mirrored_shortfilms

8. Breakdown (cont.) • Notice how Steve is constantly interacting with the viewer. • This makes it hard to get distracted. • Steve “stuck” to the kids’ minds because he engaged them. • This is the concept that Blue’s Clues accentuated from Sesame Street.