Modeling the Elements and Effects of 
Global Viral Advertising Content: 
A Cross-cultural Framework

Abstract

With advancements in information and communication technology, a lot of changes have come in the way the products are being promoted by the marketers across the globe. Viral marketing incites the consumers to disseminate marketing content through various modes and one of which includes viral advertisements. The study analysed the content of global advertisements to explore the dominating factors in the ad content which makes them viral across the globe. Survey was conducted online among the respondents of Indian and American origin for measuring the effectiveness of the dominating elements on brand attitude and respondents’ intentions to purchase the advertised brand and to share the corresponding advertisements. Structural equation modeling (SEM), a multivariate technique, was used on two samples to measure effectiveness of advertising content across two countries. The content analysis results show that although a standardized advertising strategy is used across the global level, but as indicated by the distinctions revealed from the empirical analysis of choices of two cultures, it can be inferred that advertisement should be fairly similar across the different cultures. The study leaves an implication for the advertisers to customize their advertising content in compliance with the uniqueness of culture in different countries.

The influence of advertising appeals on viral advertising, brand awareness, and purchase intention: The moderator role of hedonic personality

“…Moran et al (2014) added that the message that generates by market or social by nature considered more believable and trustworthy than marketer-initiated messages. Sharma & Kaur (2018) who researched global advertising content to explore what factors made the viral content throughout the world, concluded that most of the global advertisements used transformational appeals with positive emotional content in the form of happiness, joy or gladness as the advertisement appeal strategy which then influence consumers intention to purchase and their viral intentions. The success of viral messages determined by entertainment, social needs, and consumer engagement (East et al, 2016).…”

Decoding the DNA of Viral Video Ads

“…Since the day it was born as a kind of email advertising in the beginning (Petrescu & Korgaonkar, 2011;Sharma & Kaur, 2018, viral advertising has made an indelible mark in the advertising industry (Phelps et al, 2004;Sharma & Kaur, 2018). Named in analogy to viruses due to their 'contagious' nature (Berger, 2013), viral advertising can be easily transmitted by and among the digital media users acting as 'disseminators' (Golan & Zaidner, 2008;Kaur et al, 2022;Miquel-Romero & Adame-Sánchez, 2013;Porter & Golan, 2006).…”

“…Named in analogy to viruses due to their 'contagious' nature (Berger, 2013), viral advertising can be easily transmitted by and among the digital media users acting as 'disseminators' (Golan & Zaidner, 2008;Kaur et al, 2022;Miquel-Romero & Adame-Sánchez, 2013;Porter & Golan, 2006). Defined as 'unpaid peer-to-peer communication of provocative content originating from an identified sponsor using the internet to persuade or influence an audience to pass along the content to others' (Porter & Golan, 2006, p. 29), viral advertising in turn attracts the attention of the advertisers because it can be cost-effective in this way without forcing the advertisers to make their ads reach more people (Çiftçi & Özdemir, 2022;Golan & Zaidner, 2008;Miquel-Romero & Adame-Sánchez, 2013;Phelps et al, 2004;Porter & Golan, 2006;Sharma & Kaur, 2018;Shirkhodaee & Rezaee, 2013). Furthermore, viral ads have the main function of brand-building (branding) rather than call to action and informing (Çiftçi & Özdemir, 2022;Golan & Zaidner, 2008;Ketelaar et al, 2016;Porter & Golan, 2006;Segev & Fernandes, 2022;Sharma & Kaur, 2018).…”

“…Defined as 'unpaid peer-to-peer communication of provocative content originating from an identified sponsor using the internet to persuade or influence an audience to pass along the content to others' (Porter & Golan, 2006, p. 29), viral advertising in turn attracts the attention of the advertisers because it can be cost-effective in this way without forcing the advertisers to make their ads reach more people (Çiftçi & Özdemir, 2022;Golan & Zaidner, 2008;Miquel-Romero & Adame-Sánchez, 2013;Phelps et al, 2004;Porter & Golan, 2006;Sharma & Kaur, 2018;Shirkhodaee & Rezaee, 2013). Furthermore, viral ads have the main function of brand-building (branding) rather than call to action and informing (Çiftçi & Özdemir, 2022;Golan & Zaidner, 2008;Ketelaar et al, 2016;Porter & Golan, 2006;Segev & Fernandes, 2022;Sharma & Kaur, 2018). They are also claimed to be mostly preferred by the advertisers and advertising professionals for their advantages such as entertainment, credibility, likeability, non-interruptiveness and high engagement levels (Dafonte-Gómez et al, 2020;Kaur et al, 2022;Petrescu & Korgaonkar, 2011;Phelps et al, 2004;Sharma & Kaur, 2018Shirkhodaee & Rezaee, 2013).…”

“…Furthermore, viral ads have the main function of brand-building (branding) rather than call to action and informing (Çiftçi & Özdemir, 2022;Golan & Zaidner, 2008;Ketelaar et al, 2016;Porter & Golan, 2006;Segev & Fernandes, 2022;Sharma & Kaur, 2018). They are also claimed to be mostly preferred by the advertisers and advertising professionals for their advantages such as entertainment, credibility, likeability, non-interruptiveness and high engagement levels (Dafonte-Gómez et al, 2020;Kaur et al, 2022;Petrescu & Korgaonkar, 2011;Phelps et al, 2004;Sharma & Kaur, 2018Shirkhodaee & Rezaee, 2013). In this regard, it can be asserted that there are many factors playing a critical role in the success of the advertisement which is principal and essential for the advertisers and advertising professionals to acquire such benefits and advantages.…”