MM Tut 7&8 PDF - Marketing Tutorials

## Tutorial 7 ### Akina and Berger (2007): “Valuable Virality" - Defined as content that is both widely shared (viral) and beneficial to the brand (valuable). - Viral content must enhance brand evaluation and purchase likelihood, not just reach large audiences. ### Types of Advertising Appeals...

## Tutorial 7 ### Akina and Berger (2007): “Valuable Virality" - Defined as content that is both widely shared (viral) and beneficial to the brand (valuable). - Viral content must enhance brand evaluation and purchase likelihood, not just reach large audiences. ### Types of Advertising Appeals - **Emotional Appeals:** Use drama, mood, and music to elicit emotions and are more likely to be shared. - **Informative Appeals:** Focus on product features and benefits, increasing brand evaluation and purchase intent. - **Emotional Integral Appeals:** Combine emotional engagement with brand relevance to achieve both high sharing and strong brand outcomes. ### Figure 1 **Ad Appeal Type and Brand Integralness Are Negatively Correlated** **Brand Intergralness** A scatter plot with the x-axis labeled **Ad Appeal Type** ranging from Informative to Emotional, and the y-axis labeled **Brand Intergralness** ranging from 40 to 70. The scatter points cluster around a downward sloping line. ### Key Insights - Emotional appeals generate higher sharing due to their engaging and surprising nature. - Informative appeals build trust and provide valuable information, improving brand-related outcomes. - Emotional integral ads strike a balance, enhancing both virality and brand evaluation by embedding the brand meaningfully in the ad narrative. ### Mechanisms Driving Effectiveness - **Inferences About Persuasion:** Emotional integral ads are perceived as less manipulative, fostering positive brand impressions. - **Brand Knowledge:** Ads that make the brand integral increase consumer understanding and recall of the brand's attributes. ### What is valuable virality? - Valuable virality refers to the creation of advertising content that not only spreads widely through social sharing but also provides tangible benefits to the brand, such as improved brand evaluation, increased purchase intent, or stronger brand knowledge. ### What are the different types of advertising appeals? - **Emotional Appeals:** Engage emotions like happiness, surprise, or awe. - **Informative Appeals:** Offer detailed, logical information about product features and benefits. - **Emotional Integral Appeals:** Combine emotional engagement with a clear and relevant connection to the brand. ### How do these different advertising types shape valuable virality? - **Emotional Appeals:** Drive higher shares due to their engaging and entertaining nature but may lack direct brand impact if the brand is not central to the narrative. - **Informative Appeals:** Strengthen brand trust and knowledge but may limit sharing as they lack emotional resonance. - **Emotional Integral Appeals:** Achieve a dual effect by enhancing both virality (through emotional engagement) and brand outcomes (by making the brand a meaningful part of the story). ## Kaplan and Haenlein (2011): "Two hearts in three-quarter time: How to waltz the social media/viral marketing dance" ### What is Viral Marketing? - Viral marketing is a form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWoM) where a marketing message spreads exponentially, often through social media. - It relies on social media platforms to reach a wide audience quickly, leveraging user-generated content and sharing mechanisms. - The term was first introduced by Jeffrey Rayport in 1996, likening the spread of marketing messages to viral epidemics. ### Relationship Between Viral Marketing, Word-of-Mouth, and Social Media **Figure 1. Relationship between word-of-mouth and viral marketing** **Word-of-Mouth** + **Exponential growth** = **Viral Marketing** **Word-of-Mouth (WoM)** - Sharing of information between individuals, traditionally face-to-face or via small networks. - Effective in influencing consumer behavior and decision-making (e.g., reducing perceived risk or time spent on choices). - Electronic WoM (eWoM) accelerates diffusion through digital channels and is easier to monitor. **Social Media** - Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are ideal for viral marketing due to their broad reach and interconnectivity. - Viral marketing campaigns often merge with social media strategies, as these platforms amplify the spread of content. ### The Three Basic Criteria for Viral Marketing Success **Figure 2. The three basic conditions for creating a viral marketing epidemic** - **Environment:** - Size of initial seeding population < 150 (Dunbar's number) - Luck to be in the right place at the right time - **Message:** - Memorable - Interesting - **Messengers:** - **Market Mavens:** (Receive) - **Salespeople:** (Amplify) - **Social Hubs:** (Distribute) * **Viral marketing epidemic** ### The Right Messengers - **Market Mavens:** Early adopters with extensive knowledge who introduce messages to their network. - **Social Hubs:** Individuals with a large number of connections who disseminate the message widely. - **Salespeople:** Persuasive communicators who amplify the message, making it more relatable and convincing. ### The Right Message: - The message should be memorable, interesting, and emotionally engaging. - Stories, humor, surprise, and positive rumors can make messages more shareable. - Emotional triggers like joy, fear, or disgust enhance virality. ### The Right Environment: - Success depends on seeding the message strategically across different subcultures and ensuring it reaches disconnected groups. - Timing, luck, and a conducive environment (e.g., a trending platform) also play a significant role. ## Types of Viral Marketing Campaigns **Figure 3. The four groups of social media viral marketing campaigns** | Outcome | Negative | Positive | | -------- | -------- | -------- | | **Customers** | **Nightmares** (e.g., the case of JetBlue) | **Triumphs** (e.g., Burger King's Whopper Sacrifice campaign) | | **Company** | **Homemade issues** (e.g., Charlie's and Jeremy's Sony PSP blog) | **Strokes of luck** (e.g., the Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment) | **Initiator of viral marketing campaign** - **Nightmares:** Negative outcomes caused by customer backlash or mismanagement (e.g., JetBlue's operational issues in 2007). - **Strokes of Luck:** Unexpected, positive outcomes initiated by customers (e.g., Diet Coke and Mentos experiment). - **Homemade Issues:** Failures caused by dishonest or poorly executed campaigns (e.g., Sony's fake PSP blog). - **Triumphs:** Well-planned and successful campaigns that enhance brand perception (e.g., Burger King's Whopper Sacrifice). **Triumphs are generally the most beneficial.** ### Rules for Creating a Viral Marketing Campaign 1. **Complement the Marketing Mix:** Viral efforts must align with product quality, pricing, and distribution strategies. 2. **Use Traditional Advertising:** Combine viral campaigns with other marketing efforts (e.g., TV ads, sponsorships) to sustain momentum. 3. **Avoid Overplanning:** Let the campaign develop organically without micromanaging or overly controlling its dynamics. 4. **Be Cautious with Provocation:** Ensure messages are engaging without crossing into inappropriate or offensive territory. 5. **Acknowledge Luck and Uncertainty:** Success is partly influenced by timing, trends, and uncontrollable factors. **Figure 4. Five pieces of advice when spreading a virus** - Viral marketing is only as good as the remaining marketing mix. - Successful viral marketing requires a little bit of luck and gut feeling. - Viral marketing needs to be backed-up by traditional forms of communication. - Highly provocative and edgy messages are a double-edged sword. - Excessive planning and intervention kills any viral marketing campaign. ### Practical Applications of Viral Marketing - Companies like Pepsi, Burger King, and Evian have successfully leveraged viral marketing to create significant brand awareness at relatively low costs. - Missteps, such as those by Heinz Ketchup or Microsoft, highlight the risks of poorly executed campaigns. - Viral marketing's reliance on audience participation makes it unpredictable, but its cost-effectiveness and reach make it a valuable tool in the digital age. ### Challenges and Future of Viral Marketing - Viral marketing may lose effectiveness over time as audiences become resistant, similar to how telemarketing has declined. - Ethical considerations, such as avoiding deceptive practices, remain critical for maintaining trust with consumers. - While still in its growth stage, viral marketing offers companies a unique opportunity to engage audiences innovatively and cost-effectively. ## Tutorial 8 ### Leung et al. (2022a): "Does Influencer Marketing Really Pay Off?" ### Key Insights on Influencer Marketing (IM) - Influencer marketing is highly effective when executed correctly, with a 1% increase in IM spend leading to a 0.46% rise in engagement. - Brands often miss optimization opportunities; proper resource allocation could improve engagement by up to 16.6%. ### Key Influencer Characteristics Impacting Effectiveness - **Number of followers:** Larger audiences enhance credibility and engagement. - **Posting Frequency:** Moderate activity (around five posts per week) balances presence and follower interest. - **Follower-Brand Fit:** A moderate overlap in interests (around 9%) between the influencer's audience and the brand's domain ensures engagement without saturation. - **Influencer Originality:** Authentic and unique content fosters higher trust and engagement, achieving up to 15.5% higher ROI. ### Content Strategy Considerations - **Tone and Positivity:** Moderate positivity is more effective than extreme enthusiasm, which may appear insincere. - **Inclusion of Links:** Posts with links to brand websites or social media achieve higher engagement. - **Focus Areas:** Posts promoting existing products tend to perform better than those announcing new product launches. ### Strategic Recommendations: - Select influencers with the right follower base, activity level, and originality. - Strike a balance in tone and content positivity. - Combine IM efforts with long-term strategies to build sustainable brand trust and loyalty. ### What Drives Influencer Marketing ROI? **A recent analysis identified seven key variables that impact engagement.** | Influencer characteristic | Effect on ROI | | -------- | -------- | | **1. Number of followers** | +9.2%* | | **2. Posting frequency** | Goldilocks effect** | | **3. Follower-brand fit** | Goldilocks effect** | | **4. Originality** | +15.5%* | **Post characteristic** | Influencer characteristic | Effect on ROI | | -------- | -------- | | **5. Positivity** | Goldilocks effect** | | **6. Includes link to brand** | +11.4% | | **7. Announces a new product** | -30.5% | *Change in ROI corresponding to a one-standard-deviation increase. **The highest ROI was achieved with a medium level of these characteristics -not too little, not too much. Source: Fine F. Leung, Jonathan Z. Zhang, Flora F. Gu, Yiwei Li. and Robert W. Palmatier HBR ## Leung et al. (2022b): "Online Influencer Marketing (OIM)" ### Definition and Scope of OIM - OIM leverages online influencers' follower networks, positioning, content, and trust to promote brand offerings and enhance marketing communication effectiveness. - Differentiates from traditional marketing approaches by emphasizing engagement, authenticity, and influencer-created content. ### Key Features of OIM - **Resource Utilization:** Firms benefit from influencers' reach, trust, and distinct personal branding. - **Content Freedom:** Unlike celebrity endorsements, influencers retain significant control over content creation, enhancing authenticity but posing risks. ### Theoretical Framework - **Social Capital Theory:** OIM is rooted in leveraging influencers' social capital, which includes: - **Structural Capital:** Network reach and information diffusion. - **Relational Capital:** Trust built through personal relationships with followers. - **Cognitive Capital:** Shared meanings and identity between influencers and their followers. ### Benefits of OIM - **Targeting Benefits:** Access to homogenous and dynamically changing audience segments. - **Positioning Benefits:** Influencers' personal branding enhances brand positioning and differentiation. - **Trust and Engagement:** Authentic interactions foster consumer trust and long-term loyalty. ### Risks of OIM - **Content Control:** Limited oversight can lead to misaligned messaging. - **Retention Challenges:** Dynamic audience changes may affect campaign consistency. ### Strategic Guidelines - Choose influencers based on fit and alignment with brand goals. - Monitor and guide influencer content without stifling originality. - Measure performance and integrate influencer content into broader marketing campaigns. **Fig. 1 Effect of online influencer marketing on marketing communication effectiveness** - **Online Influencer Marketing** - Targeting Benefits (P1) - Segment Homogeneity - Segment Dynamism - Positioning Benefits (P2) - Market Acceptance - Distinctiveness - Feedback Reflectivity - Creativity Benefits (P3) - Content Originality - Content Relevance - Trust Benefits (P4) - Perceived Authenticity - Communal Relationship - Content Control Threat (P5) - Content Incongruence - Customer Retention Threat (P6) - Inability to Retain Customers - **Marketing Communication Effectiveness**