I noticed something peculiar nearly a week ago. Popcorn.

Like most college freshmen waiting for school to start, I acquired a summer job working as a stockman at a local grocery store. While working I discovered that an off brand of popcorn the store sold had suddenly changed the design of its box. It still had the brand symbol of a man in a cowboy hat smiling in a golden circle and of course pictures of the popcorn contained in the cardboard after being popped. The words on the front had changed now so that instead of just saying "White Cheddar Style" as it had before it now read "Cheddar Delight" with Delight in a larger and brighter font than anything else on the box. This brand of popcorn had never sold well, but in the first three days after the change in design the store was actually sold out! What happened?

This was the Trigger Word in action. Trigger words are a pretty basic concept that anyone in marketing, writing or journalism takes advantage of whether they know it or not and that consumers are constantly falling for. When trying to sell a product or compel people to read an article, the first thing that those being marketed towards are going to notice will be the words used to explain the product or summarize the article. If the consumers are not immediately captivated by the words, there is little to no hope that they will care enough to investigate the product/article further. The key to ensure that consumers do take notice of the product or article and do feel compelled to read or purchase it is to use words that evoke a response from the consumer, a trigger to start the reaction.

The popcorn is a primary example of this. Before the changing of the box there was little to distinguish the box of popcorn from that of the other basic boxes. If people bought the popcorn it was not because they truly took notice of the product and its individual value, it was because of it being the price or flavor they desired or they needed that specific size. The popcorn fit into a niche at the store that ensured that when someone needed that specific variety for that specific price it would be bought and because of this though the popcorn did not sell often it sold with consistency. Now with the change of the box to include the new words the purchasing of the popcorn skyrocketed.

When consumers walked through looking at the varieties of white cheddar popcorn they were immediately drawn to the bright font yelling "Delight" at them. Delight is a great trigger word because it is a word that most people know but that also is stronger than a basic word like "good" or "tasty". The consumer immediately knew just from this one word that they were guaranteed a feeling of Delight from the product. They would then explore the product further to see that it was the desired price and size they wished for, only making it more marketable. Where things really get interesting is what happened two days ago when we stocked more of the popcorn. It was not selling as fast as it had previously despite the changes. It was still bought more than before the box had been altered, but it seemed that those who had bought it the days before had learned that it was well, the same basic popcorn as before just a different box.

Trigger Words can be constantly seen in commercials, articles, news reports, book titles and so on. No fast food chain is ever going to just straight up show their hamburger with the price and then cut off. They will tell you it is "fresh" "tasty" "new" "savory" "flavorful" "bursting with flavor" "juicy" and a million other words that are specifically aimed to make you drool and want a bite of that burger. Trigger Words cover almost the entire spectrum of emotion to exploit consumers. In News Reports that are trying to grab attention they will call situations "shocking" "terrifying" "riveting" and anything else that makes your jaw drop and heart skip a beat. Charity foundations will try to make you feel sorry for others and wish to donate with "compassion" and "heartfelt" statements. Political papers will evoke anger by describing the "wicked" "evil" "ruthless" actions of their enemies. There is no limit to what these Trigger Words can accomplish as long as they are aimed at the right people at the right time.

Words are more powerful than we give them credit for. So next time you are trying to convince someone of something keep in mind what you're saying, and next time you are on the other end watching that commercial or news feed make sure to be cautious.