Marketing Management Tutorial 7&8

Akina and Berger (2007): Valuable Virality

• Defined as content that is widely shared (viral) and beneficial to the brand (valuable).
• Viral content must improve brand evaluation and purchase likelihood, not just reach a large audience.

Types of Advertising Appeals

• Emotional Appeals: Employ drama, mood, and music to evoke emotions, increasing likelihood of sharing.
• Informative Appeals: Focus on product features and benefits to increase brand evaluation and purchase intent.
• Emotional Integral Appeals: Combine emotional engagement with brand relevance to maximize both sharing and brand impact.

Key Insights (Figure 1)

• Emotional appeals generate higher sharing due to their engaging, surprising nature.
• Informative appeals build trust and provide valuable info, improving brand outcomes.
• Emotional integral ads strike a balance, boosting both virality and brand evaluation.

Mechanisms of Effectiveness

• Inferences About Persuasion: Emotional integral ads are perceived as less manipulative, fostering positive brand impressions.
• Brand Knowledge: Integral ads increase consumer understanding and recall of brand attributes.

What is Valuable Virality?

• Valuable virality creates advertising content that spreads widely and offers tangible benefits, like improved brand evaluation, heightened purchase intent, or stronger brand knowledge.

Different Advertising Appeals

• Emotional Appeals: Elicit emotions such as happiness, surprise, or awe.
• Informative Appeals: Offer detailed, logical info on product/service features and benefits.
• Emotional Integral Appeals: Combine emotional engagement with a clear and relevant brand connection.

Kaplan and Haenlein (2011): Social Media/Viral Marketing

• Viral marketing is a form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWoM) where marketing messages spread exponentially, often through social media.
• It leverages user-generated content and social media platforms for rapid message dissemination.
• The term was first introduced by Jeffrey Rayport, drawing parallels with viral epidemics.

Word-of-Mouth (WoM)

• Sharing information between individuals (face-to-face or via networks).
• Effective in influencing consumer behavior.
• Electronic WoM (eWoM) accelerates diffusion through digital channels, facilitating monitoring.

Social Media and Viral Marketing

• Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are suitable for viral marketing due to broad reach and interconnection.
• Viral marketing campaigns often incorporate social media strategies to amplify content spread.

The Three Basic Criteria for Viral Marketing Success

• The Right Messengers: Market mavens, social hubs, and salespeople are key.
• The Right Message: Messages should be memorable, interesting, emotionally engaging (e.g., stories, humor, surprise).
• The Right Environment: The message must be strategically seeded across different subgroups, ensuring reach and conducive environment (i.e., trending platforms).

Types of Viral Marketing Campaigns

• Nightmares: Negative outcomes caused by customer backlash or management issues.
• Strokes of Luck: Unexpected positive outcomes initiated by customers.
• Homemade Issues: Failures caused by poorly executed campaigns.
• Triumphs: Well-planned, successful campaigns that enhance brand perception.

Rules for Creating a Viral Marketing Campaign

• Complement the marketing mix.
• Use traditional advertising.
• Avoid overplanning.
• Be cautious with provocation.
• Acknowledge luck and uncertainty.

Leung et al. (2022a): Influencer Marketing

• Influencer marketing is highly effective correctly executed.
• A 1% increase in influencer marketing spend results in a 0.46% rise in engagement.
• Brands often miss engagement optimization.
• Influencer characteristics impacting effectiveness include the number of followers, posting frequency, follower-brand fit, and influencer originality.

Leung et al. (2022b): Online Influencer Marketing (OIM)

• OIM leverages online influencers' networks, positioning, content, and trust for brand promotion via communication effectiveness.
• This differentiates it from traditional marketing.
• Key features are resource utilization (influencers' reach, trust, and branding), content freedom, theoretical frameworks (social capital theory), and benefits.
• Benefits include targeting homogenous/dynamic audience segments, positioning benefits, trust, and engagement.

Risks and Guidelines for OIM

• Content control* :Misaligned messaging.
• Retention Challenges* :Dynamic audience changes.
• Strategic Guidelines*: Choose influencers based on brand goals, use creative/original content, and broadly measure campaign performance.