Notes from Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath, applied to a real estate developer.
Why do so many good ideas never reach a wider audience? And why do absurd, half-true, or unimportant ideas sometimes spread fast? The answer, the Heath brothers argue, is in how the idea is packaged and presented.
After years of analyzing the most viral concepts in modern history, they distilled six attributes into the acronym SUCCES. For a residential developer trying to make project messaging memorable, the framework is one of the most useful copywriting tools available.
Simple
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” is a simple idea with depth. Variations of it exist in almost every language. It has survived centuries.
In one sentence, several ideas work together: the idea is visual (“you can picture it”), it expresses one core idea (“A is better than B”), and it is compact (short ideas are easier to remember).
For a developer, the takeaway: your project’s core message should be reducible to one short, vivid sentence. If a salesperson can’t say it cleanly to a buyer at a dinner party, the message is not simple enough.
Unexpected
Why is it hard to stop watching a movie you like before the end? Behavioral economist George Loewenstein’s Gap Theory: we feel curiosity when we sense a gap in our knowledge of something we care about.
The mechanic of an unexpected ending: there has to be a setup, then a gap that creates intrigue, then a resolution that doesn’t match the obvious answer.
For a developer’s marketing, the version is simpler. Lead with something that violates the buyer’s expectation: “We’re slower than the national builders. Here’s why that’s worth waiting for.” Or: “We don’t run TV ads. We invest the same budget into the homes themselves.” The unexpected angle creates the gap. The follow-through closes it.
Concrete
Concrete ideas stick better than abstract ones. Memory works through links, and concrete imagery gives the brain more places to attach.
Two practical rules:
- Avoid abstraction. “Heart” is easier to remember than “truth.” For a developer, “school district your kids can stay in for the next decade” is easier to remember than “long-term value.”
- Make ideas perceivable through the senses. Floor plans, model homes, virtual tours, walkability maps all do concrete work that abstract amenity lists can’t.
Credible
We trust ideas that align with how we already think the world works. Three ways to add credibility:
- Social forces. We believe more when our friends, family, or community already believe.
- Authority. We trust experts. For a developer, real testimonials from named owners, third-party recognition, and a delivery track record buyers can verify all transfer credibility.
- Specific details. Concrete details validate the rest of the story. “We delivered 87 homes on time across three communities, with 94% NPS” lands differently than “we have a great delivery record.”
Emotional
“They laughed when I sat down at the piano… until I started to play.” That headline is a marketing classic because it triggers two emotions in eight words: the shame of being laughed at, and the pride of silencing the room with talent.
Most decisions are emotional first and rationalized after. The best marketers and salespeople are emotionally fluent.
Emotions that move buyers: transcendence (helping others), self-realization (becoming who you want to be), recognition, beauty, belonging, learning, security, basic needs. For a residential buyer, security and belonging dominate. The home decision is about safety and being in the right community for the family.
Speak to that. Lists of features speak to none of it.
Stories
Our lives are stories. Our beliefs are stories. When we experience something, we wrap it in a story to remember it. Stories inspire, teach, connect, transcend time.
Three kinds of story tend to stick:
- Adversity. Someone overcame a challenge. Think Rocky.
- Connection. Barriers between people came down. Think Romeo and Juliet.
- Creativity. A discovery moment, an “aha.” Think MacGyver.
For a developer, the founder’s story almost always falls into one of these three. Tell it. Owner stories often combine adversity and connection (“we were tired of the city, found this community, and our kids made friends in a week”). Capture and share them.
For more on storytelling specifically, see Storytelling for Real Estate Developers and How to Build a StoryBrand.
Conclusions
Combining all six attributes (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Story) is hard. If it were easy, every idea would be sticky. It isn’t.
Two prerequisite questions before you apply SUCCES to any campaign or post:
- Who is this idea for?
- Why should they care?
With clear answers to those two, the SUCCES filter sharpens fast. This sits inside the MERCA Emotion block in our framework — message that lands because it is built around what the buyer is already feeling.
