The key elements of viral advertising. From motivation to emotion in the most shared videos

Abstract

Claves de la publicidad viral: De la motivación a la emoción en los vídeos más compartidosDr. ALBERTO DAFONTE-GÓMEZ is Professor in the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising at the University of Vigo (Spain) (albertodafonte@uvigo.es). ABSTRACTFrom its origins in the mid '90, the application of the concept of virality to commercial communication has represented an opportunity for brands to cross the traditional barriers of the audience concerning advertising and turn it into active communicator of brand messages. Viral marketing has been based, since then, on two basic principles: offer free and engaging content that masks its commercial purpose to the individual and use of using a peer-to-peer dissemination system. The transformation of the passive spectator into an active user who broadcasts advertising messages promoted by sponsors, and who responds to needs and motivations of individuals and content features which have been described by previous research in this field, mainly through quantitative methods based on user perceptions. This paper focusses on those elements detected in its previous research as promoters of the sharing action in the 25 most-shared viral video ads between 2006 and 2013 using content analysis. The results obtained show the most common features in these videos and the prominent presence of surprise and joy as dominant emotions in the most successful viral videos. RESUMENDesde sus orígenes a mediados de los noventa, la aplicación del concepto de viralidad a la comunicación comercial ha representado para las marcas una oportunidad para franquear las tradicionales barreras de la audiencia ante la publicidad y convertirla en transmisora activa de los mensajes de la marca. El marketing viral se basa, desde entonces, en dos principios básicos: ofrecer al individuo contenidos gratuitos y atractivos que disfrazan su finalidad comercial y usar un sistema de difusión de usuario en usuario. La transformación del espectador pasivo en usuario activo que difunde mensajes de tipo publicitario promovidos por anunciantes, responde a una serie de necesidades y motivaciones de los individuos y a una serie de características de los contenidos que han sido descritos por la investigación previa en este campo, principalmente a través de metodologías de tipo cuantitativo basadas en las percepciones de los usuarios. El presente artículo analiza, a través de la metodología del análisis de contenido, la presencia de los elementos que trabajos de investigación anteriores han señalado como favorecedores de la acción de compartir en los 25 vídeos publicitarios virales con más «shares» entre 2006 y 2013. Los resultados obtenidos muestran las características más comunes en este tipo de vídeos y la presencia destacada de la sorpresa y la alegría como emociones dominantes en los vídeos virales más exitosos.

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“…In order to create the score card, we took as reference those used by Dobele et al (2007) and by Dafonte-Gómez (2014). For each sample unit, both studies use the "basic" emotions defined by Ekman in the 1970s through a series of studies of facial expression (Ekman & Friesen, 1975) as variables in the emotion category.…”

Viral Marketing Strategies and Customer Buying Behavioural Intentions at Retail Store in Johannesburg

“…In recent years, viral marketing has received the attention of marketing programmes in most retail organisations across the world (Eckler & Bolls, 2011). However, its adoption especially by big retail stores in South Africa, has not been customer-centred, instead it has focused mostly on the supply side.…”

Viral Dissemination of Content in Advertising: Emotional Factors to Reach Consumers

“…For each of the sample units, we registered all the following data: title, year, advertiser, number of shares and duration with the following categories and subcategories as per this abridged version (Table 1). In order to create the score card, we took as reference those used by Dobele et al (2007) and by Dafonte-Gómez (2014). For each sample unit, both studies use the "basic" emotions defined by Ekman in the 1970s through a series of studies of facial expression (Ekman & Friesen, 1975) as variables in the emotion category.…”