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“Instant Appeal is a cross between Gladwell’s Tipping Point and Levitt’s Freakonomics—it’s brimming with well-researched, counterin­tuitive new insights on the science of mass appeal. A fascinating read.”

—Talane Miedaner, author of the international bestseller Coach Yourself to Success

Why do we favor one brand over another, vote for certain people, and listen to the same songs over and over again? What do the run­away success of E.T., Oprah, and the Cabbage Patch Kids have in common? And how can you use the answers to advance your career, cause, company, or product?

It turns out that mass appeal isn’t about charisma or communication skills or mavens or connectors. The secret to who gets heard, what gets our attention, and who and what has staying power lies in primal conditioning: deeply ingrained codes we all unconsciously share. Based on extensive sociological, biological, and anthropological research, Instant Appeal reveals the eight primal factors that trigger responses deep in our DNA and cause us to develop an unwavering allegiance to a product, a person, or a cause. These universal codes of appeal can be applied to everything from politics to pop cul­ture to con­sumer products, and author Vicki Kunkel reveals the often surprising secrets of persuasion that they wield—secrets that have long been used successfully by top companies, million-dollar motivational speakers, election-winning politicians, and top notch lawyers to advance their businesses and careers.

Instant Appeal provides fascinating examples of primal conditioning at work, including:

• -Why Scrabble was a flop when first introduced, but became an instant hit when reintroduced just three years later
• -How “moral entrepreneurs” use primal factors to persuade us to go to war, buy into a principle, or believe in pandemics that don’t really exist
• -What makes reality TV shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Survivor so popular, and how you can use the technique these shows employ to increase sales
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Filled with intriguing explanations of the phenomena associated with immediate and lasting attraction, this book will reveal how you can use the human universals of “instant appeal” to win people over and achieve success in any arena. For example, you’ll find out how seating your audience in a certain way (based on basic anthropological preferences) will cause people to be more receptive…how to align product design with “primal comfort factors” to make products more appealing…what small changes in verbal and written communications encourage more sales, “buy-ins,” and agreements…and other ways you can take advantage of primal codes to be more persuasive and catapult your business or career.

A remarkable exploration of the hidden causes underlying the choices we make, Instant Appeal is an eye-opening look at what really works and what doesn’t when it comes to making impressions and getting the results you want.

Vicki Kunkel is a nationally recognized expert on the subject of mass appeal. As CEO of an international executive branding agency, she has creatively applied the primal fac­tors of appeal to the personal brands and communication styles of Fortune 500 executives, politicians, and lawyers. Vicki received the “Women with Vision” award from the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois for her breakthrough research on mass appeal and the success she’s had in applying it to court cases, executive branding campaigns, social causes, political campaigns, and product launches. She lives in suburban Chicago. Her website is www.beapowerplayer.com.