Virtual influencers, generated on the computer, are changing the advertising industry. More and more brands utilize virtual instead of human influencers as endorsers for their marketing campaigns for ...a variety of reasons, e.g., better control of the influencer's behavior, cost savings, or zeitgeist motives (desire to be "up to date"). However, there is currently little research on whether significant advertising goals are achieved using virtual influencers. We analyze, in an initial study, whether consumers find such influencers appealing compared to human influencers and whether they are able to identify that the influencer is not real. Our results show that consumers find it difficult to identify virtual influencers as such and that they still have more positive attitudes toward human endorsers in advertising campaigns. However, virtual endorsers can lead to higher perceived ad novelty. In a second study, we further examine whether the advertised product category functions as a moderator. Results show that perceived congruence between virtual influencers and product is dependent on the product category and leads to higher advertising effectiveness. Our studies lead to the implication that marketers should carefully consider the use of virtual influencers in accordance with the aspired advertising goals and brand values.
This study investigates which factors predict whether consumers will pass on viral advertising communications to their friends on a social network site. A conceptual framework consisting of three ...attitudinal and three social predictors of forwarding online content was tested using three real-life advertising campaigns that were spread simultaneously through the Dutch social network site Hyves. Results show that viral advertising pass-on behavior was significantly predicted by a positive attitude toward the brand, the advertisement, and toward viral advertising in general. For two of the three advertisements participants were more likely to forward the advertisement when the advertisement was received from a friend rather than a company. The present study is the first to investigate the predictors of actual pass-on behavior of viral advertisements in the context of a social network site, thereby significantly contributing to existing knowledge on the drivers of viral advertising success.
Half a century of research on celebrity endorsement has led to the advancement of four grand celebrity endorsement theories. Most scholars have adopted the meaning transfer model, proposed 30 years ...ago by Grant McCracken, as the most appropriate theory to explain effective celebrity endorsements. In this conceptual study, we present a literature search and analysis that finds strong support for the validity of all four grand endorsement theories (source credibility, source attractiveness, match‐up hypothesis, and meaning transfer model) and thus show that each theory constitutes an effective construct for a particular set of endorsements. We argue that, contrary to the assertion in the literature, no single theory is able to holistically explain celebrity endorsements. Only a comprehensive framework comprising all theories can explain the great variety of different celebrity endorsements executed in advertising praxis. Moreover, we present a prescriptive framework that allows marketers to identify the most effective celebrity endorsement strategy based on a product's or brand's value proposition, as we believe traditional product categories are no longer an appropriate concept on which to base an effective advertising strategy.
Influencers’ follower count, or indegree, is a key criterion that advertisers use when devising influencer marketing campaigns. However, whether influencers with lower or higher follower count are ...more effective in generating engagement remains an open question. This multimethod research effort—involving an observational field data analysis, based on 802 Instagram marketing campaigns featuring more than 1,700 influencers, together with an eye-tracking study and laboratory experiments—establishes conclusive evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between influencers’ follower count and engagement with sponsored content. A higher follower count implies broader reach but also cues a weaker relationship that reduces followers’ engagement likelihood. That is, engagement first increases, then decreases, as influencer follower count rises. The authors further test the potential moderating effects of two campaign properties: content customization and brand familiarity. Higher content customization and lower familiarity of the sponsored brand signal that influencers value their relationships with followers and thereby flatten the inverted U-shaped relationship. Managers can leverage these novel results and the related actionable guidelines to improve their influencer marketing strategies.
Introduction E-cigarettes are largely unregulated and internet sales are substantial. This study examines how the online market for e-cigarettes has changed over time: in product design and in ...marketing messages appearing on websites. Methods Comprehensive internet searches of English-language websites from May–August 2012 and December 2013–January 2014 identified brands, models, flavours, nicotine strengths, ingredients and product claims. Brands were divided into older and newer groups (by the two searches) for comparison. Results By January 2014 there were 466 brands (each with its own website) and 7764 unique flavours. In the 17 months between the searches, there was a net increase of 10.5 brands and 242 new flavours per month. Older brands were more likely than newer brands to offer cigalikes (86.9% vs 52.1%, p<0.01), and newer brands more likely to offer the more versatile eGos and mods (75.3% vs 57.8%, p<0.01). Older brands were significantly more likely to claim that they were healthier and cheaper than cigarettes, were good substitutes where smoking was banned and were effective smoking cessation aids. Newer brands offered more flavours per brand (49 vs 32, p<0.01) and were less likely to compare themselves with conventional cigarettes. Conclusions The number of e-cigarette brands is large and has been increasing. Older brands tend to highlight their advantages over conventional cigarettes while newer brands emphasise consumer choice in multiple flavours and product versatility. These results can serve as a benchmark for future research on the impact of upcoming regulations on product design and advertising messages of e-cigarettes.
News stories, advertising campaigns, and political propaganda often repeat misleading claims, increasing their persuasive power. Repeated statements feel easier to process, and thus truer, than new ...ones. Surprisingly, this illusory truth effect occurs even when claims contradict young adults’ stored knowledge (e.g., repeating The fastest land animal is the leopard makes it more believable). In four experiments, we tackled this problem by prompting people to behave like “fact checkers.” Focusing on accuracy at exposure (giving initial truth ratings) wiped out the illusion later, but only when participants held relevant knowledge. This selective benefit persisted over a delay. Our findings inform theories of how people evaluate truth and suggest practical strategies for coping in a “post-truth world.”
What Makes Online Content Viral? BERGER, JONAH; MILKMAN, KATHERINE L.
Journal of marketing research,
04/2012, Letnik:
49, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Why are certain pieces of online content (e.g., advertisements, videos, news articles) more viral than others? This article takes a psychological approach to understanding diffusion. Using a unique ...data set of all the New York Times articles published over a three-month period, the authors examine how emotion shapes virality. The results indicate that positive content is more viral than negative content, but the relationship between emotion and social transmission is more complex than valence alone. Virality is partially driven by physiological arousal. Content that evokes high-arousal positive (awe) or negative (anger or anxiety) emotions is more viral. Content that evokes low-arousal, or deactivating, emotions (e.g., sadness) is less viral. These results hold even when the authors control for how surprising, interesting, or practically useful content is (all of which are positively linked to virality), as well as external drivers of attention (e.g., how prominently content was featured). Experimental results further demonstrate the causal impact of specific emotion on transmission and illustrate that it is driven by the level of activation induced. Taken together, these findings shed light on why people share content and how to design more effective viral marketing campaigns.
This study aims to deepen the understanding of evaluating TV ad spots by their immediate effects on important online activities. The authors merged minute-by-minute brand search and price search data ...with spot-level TV advertisement data for the three leading pickup truck brands in the United States over an 11-month period. They presented a generalizable modeling framework and used it to estimate the size and variation of immediate online responses to TV ads. The average elasticity of brand search to a brand’s own national ads is .09, and the average elasticity of price search to a brand’s own national ads is .03. Given ad audience size, immediate search responses vary with ad creative characteristics, audience category interest, slot of the break, program genre, and time factors. Overall, the results show that ordinary TV ads lead to a variety of immediate online responses and that advertisers can use these signals to enrich their media planning and campaign evaluations.
•More than 150 tests for mechanical characterization of extrudable foamed concrete.•Different reinforcement strategies to enhance the flexural strength through fibers.•Short polymer fibers embedded ...in the lightweight cementitious paste and GFRP mesh.•Different curing conditions and fiber contents were investigated.•Optimum reinforcement arrangement with and without GFRP mesh was identified.
An extensive experimental campaign was carried out to investigate the mechanical strength of fiber-reinforced lightweight foamed concrete. The considered foamed concrete was prepared with a viscosity enhancing agent that increases the cohesion and consistency of the cement paste at the fresh state (extrudable foamed concrete). The flexural strength was evaluated on almost 60 small-scale prismatic beam specimens, and the compressive strength on 100 cubic specimens in accordance with two different testing standards for comparative purposes. The effects of three different curing conditions (air, cellophane and water), three target dry densities (400, 600, 800 kg/m3), three fiber contents (0.7%, 2.0%, 5.0%), and the presence of an additional glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer (GFRP) mesh in the tensile zone of the beams (besides the short fibers) were analyzed. The polymer fibers increased the flexural capacity of the beams, especially for the low-density specimens and for the higher contents of fibers (2.0% and, above all, 5.0%), but had a negligible influence on the compressive strength. The additional GFRP mesh combined with the short fibers improved the flexural capacity considerably in all the examined conditions, turning out to be the best strategy for obtaining high mechanical strengths associated with low densities typical of ultra-lightweight concrete elements.
We are going about the way we measure the return on investment in social media completely backwards. Effective social media measurement should start by turning the traditional ROI approach on its ...head. That is, instead of emphasizing their own marketing investments and calculating the returns in terms of customer response, managers should begin by considering consumer motivations to use social media and then measure the social media investments customers make as they engage with the marketers brands. Handling the measurements this way makes much more sense. It takes into account not only short term goals such as increasing sales in the next month via a social media marketing campaign, or reducing costs next quarter due to more responsive online support forums, but also the long-term returns of significant corporate investment in social media. The authors show how you can implement this new kind of measurement and point to the benefits of doing so.
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