Value of Sharing: Viral Advertisement

Sharing motivations of viral advertisements by consumers and the impacts of these advertisements on the perceptions for brand will be questioned in this study. Three fundamental questions are answered in the study. These are advertisement watching and sharing motivations of individuals, criteria of liking viral advertisement and the impact of individual attitudes for viral advertisement on brand perception respectively. This study will be carried out via a viral advertisement which was practiced in Turkey. The data will be collected by survey method and the sample of the study consists of individuals who experienced the practice of sample advertisement. Data will be collected by online survey method and will be analyzed by using SPSS statistical package program. Recently traditional advertisement mind have been changing. New advertising approaches which have significant impacts on consumers have been argued. Viral advertising is a modernist advertisement mind which offers significant advantages to brands apart from traditional advertising channels such as television, radio and magazines. Viral advertising also known as Electronic Word-of- Mouth (eWOM) consists of free spread of convincing messages sent by brands among interpersonal communication. When compared to the traditional advertising, a more provocative thematic approach is argued. The foundation of this approach is to create advertisements that are worth sharing with others by consumers. When that fact is taken into consideration, in a manner of speaking it can also be stated that viral advertising is media engineering. The content worth sharing makes people being a volunteer spokesman of a brand and strengthens the emotional bonds among brand and consumer. Especially for some sectors in countries which are having traditional advertising channel limitations, viral advertising creates vital advantages.

Authors:

• Duygu Aydın
• Aşina Gülerarslan
• Süleyman Karaçor
• Tarık Doğan

Keywords:

• Viral advertising
• marketing
• consumers
• brands.

References:

[1] S. Helm, "Viral Marketing - Establishing consumer relationships by
ÔÇÿword-of-mouse", Electronic Markets 10 (3), 2000, pp.158-161.
[2] P. Eckler and P. Bolls, "Spreading the Virus: Emotional Tone of Viral
Advertising and Its Effect on Forwarding Intentions and Attitudes",
Journal of Interactive Advertising, 11 (2), 2011, pp. 1-11.
[3] J.E. Phelps, L. Regina, M. Lynne, P. David and R. Niranjan, "Viral
Marketing or Electronic Word of Mouth Advertising: Examining
Consumer Responses and Motivations to Pass Along E-mail", Journal of
Advertising Research, 44 (4), 2004, pp.333-348.
[4] D. Cruz and C. Fill, "Evaluating Viral Marketing: Isolating the Key
Criteria", Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 26 (7), 2008, pp. 743-
758.
[5] M. Woerndl, "Internet-induced Marketing Techniques: Critical Factors
in Viral Marketing Campaigns", International Journal of Business
Science and Applied Management 3(1), 2008, pp.33-45.
[6] A. De Bruyn, and L. Gary "A Multi-Stage Model of Word-of-Mouth
Influence Through Viral Marketing", International Journal of Research
in Marketing, 25 (3), 2008, pp.151-163.
[7] L. Porter and G. J. Golan, "From Subservient Chickens to Brawny Men:
A Comparison of Viral Advertising to Television Advertising", Journal
of Interactive Advertising, 6 (2), 2006, pp.30-38.
[8] W. Palka, K. Pousttchi, and D.G. Wiedemann, "Mobile Word-of-Mouth
- A Grounded Theory of Mobile Viral Marketing", Journal of
Information Technology, 24 (2), 2009, pp. 172-185.
[9] K.I. Zernigah and K. Sohail, "Consumers- Attitude Towards Viral
Marketing In Pakistan", Management & Marketing Challenges for the
Knowledge Society, 7 (4), 2012, pp. 645-662.
[10] S. Ünal, "Viral Pazarlamanın Sosyal Paylaşım Sitelerine Üye Olan
Kullanıcılar Üzerindeki Etkisini İnceleyen Pilot Bir Çalışma", Öneri
C:9, Say─▒:36, 2011, pp.73-86.
[11] D. Ryan, and C. Jones, Understanding Digital Marketing, London and
Philadelphia, 2009, Kogan Page.
[12] www.tuik.gov.tr, 07.04.2013.