Why "Top 10 Cities" Lists Are Impossible to Resist

Publishers and marketing folks admit that the barrage of lists titled "Top 10 Places To...." is inspired purely by the public's inability to resist clicking them.

1 minute read

October 5, 2010, 9:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

Amy Hoak writes that the quality of such lists is entirely variable, but one thing is for certain- people love a Top 10 Cities story:

"'It's a marketer's dream to generate these lists," said Marian Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America. As soon as you assemble the ranking, you've created a piece of news, she said, and in these times 'there's a proliferation of new media outlets so there is a crying need for more content.'"

Hoak points to lists of the most haunted cities, the manliest cities, the most "sex-happy cities", etc., etc.

FULL STORY: Top 10 Places To (Fill In The Blank)

Tuesday, October 5, 2010 in The Wall St. Journal

Community / Economic Development United States City Rankings Best Cities

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