9. Power of Habit Chapter 2

 - Hopkins, an "ad man", was convinced to take on Pepsodent toothpaste. This became a great financial decision, because Americans, who had previously had high dental hygiene issues and did not brush their teeth, were influenced to start using the toothpaste by his ads. Hopkins said he was able to do this because a craving is what powers the habit loop. 

- Hopkins found a cue that would help influence people to buy the toothpaste. He chose to focus on tooth film, something that is natural and everything has and toothpaste does not actually help with. However, he chose to market Pepsodent as a beauty product that would get rid of the film. 

- Hopkins says that basic human psychology is to give people a simple and obvious cue, and a clear reward for following it. 

- In 1996, a team at Proctor & Gamble were designing the ad campaign for one of the company's most promising products and they were at the brink of failure. They were marketing what would eventually become febreze, but they had no idea how to get people to buy it. 

- They marketed it as something to get rid of embarrassing or bad smells, gave away samples, put advertisements in mailboxes and made sure it was easily available in grocery stores. Sales started small and got smaller and they started visiting house wives who received free samples. 

- They realized that people couldn't smell bad smells in their own houses. The product's cue was hidden from the people who needed it, because they couldn't smell the bad smells. 

- A scientist named Schultz did an experiment with a monkey, where the monkey would have to touch a lever every time a shape appeared on a screen and get a reward of blackberry juice, which the monkey, named Julio, enjoyed. Schultz noticed that Julio's brain patterns began to have a spike every time he got an award, and eventually began to anticipate getting an award and spiking even when he just saw the shapes. 

- Schultz adjusted the experiment so that the juice did not appear every time, or it would arrive later, or watered down. If the juice didn't arrive, Julio got frustrated and would crave the juice, pressing the lever for it again and again even if the opportunity of other food would appear. 

- Habits are powerful because they create neurological cravings 

- researchers at New Mexico State University wanted to know why people exercise. They found that most people start on a whim, but continue because of a craving for a specific reward. They realized that a simple cue and reward is not enough, and that people also need to crave the reward and establish a pattern where they consistently get the reward. 

- The febreze team changed their ads so that they were aimed at making the product a nice, clean reward for cleaning the rest of the house. Sales erupted. 

- It turns out dozens of other toothpaste companies used similar techniques to Hopkins and none of theirs worked. It was because after using Pepsodent, the toothpaste left a slight cool tingling sensation that customers began to crave and would remember not having brushed their teeth.