Investigating the Effective Factors on Electronic Trade by Viral Marketing (Case Study: Clients of Websites in Iran)

While the process of viral marketing is often perceived as a random phenomenon with marketers having little or no control over the process, getting your customers to spread your brand messages throughout a widespread network of buyers makes good business and marketing sense. This paper uses case study examples to explore a number of strategies underpinning this apparently chaotic phenomenon. Further, several suggestions are offered for marketers seeking to use viral marketing to position brands or change a brand’s image, encourage new product trials and increase product uptake rates. In this article, we want to investigate the effect of External factors such as: capturing the imagination, Targeting credible sources, Leveraging combinations of technology and Easy to use product and also internal factors such as: inclusion (the need to be part of a group, the need to be different)and affection on viral marketing. So, our population statistical is client of websites in Iran and the amount of sample according to Cochran formula is 140 person. For testing the data, we use from SPSS 19 with correlation and regression, according to finding all of the hypothesis are accepted

Las técnicas emergentes en comunicación comercial y sus efectos percibidos. Un análisis descriptivo

In this empirical research, perceived effects of a relevant group of new communication tools, with an increasing importance across all kind of organizations, are analyzed. Communication 360, viral communication, mobile communication, engagement marketing or experiential communication are among them, although a broader range of communication techniques have been included in this work. In order to identify the most relevant characteristics of communications effects, a qualitative stage was developed. In a second stage, a structured questionnaire was applied to 237 marketing and communication managers from a variety of industries. According to our empirical findings, there are three different dimensions. First, one of the main classification criteria is strategic oriented versus tactical oriented communication. Secondly, it appears an interesting dichotomy between awareness-oriented communication tools versus those ones focused on creating relations and behavior modification. The third dimension shows a subset of communication tools related to persuasion effects, versus other tools that could cause disorientation and confusion in the target audience.En este trabajo empírico se analizan las percepciones asociadas a los efectos que se pueden atribuir a un conjunto relevante de nuevas técnicas de comunicación, que están adquiriendo una importancia cada vez mayor dentro de las estrategias de todo tipo de organizaciones. Entre ellas se encuentran la comunicación 360º, la comunicación viral, la comunicación móvil, el “engagement marketing” o la comunicación experiencial, aunque el abanico de técnicas estudiadas es mucho mayor. Para poder determinar los efectos asociados al conjunto de técnicas descrito, se realizó una investigación cualitativa que ayudó a definir los ítems más relevantes, y después se realizó una encuesta estructurada a una muestra de 237 directivos y mandos intermedios de marketing y comunicación, de diferentes sectores de actividad. Según los análisis efectuados, se pone de manifiesto que existen tres ejes claros de clasificación. En primer lugar, aparece un primer criterio de diferenciación, basado en la orientación estratégica o táctica en la comunicación. En segundo lugar, también se evidencia una diferenciación evidente entre técnicas con una orientación puramente dirigidas al recuerdo o notoriedad, frente a aquellas cuyos efectos atribuidos tienen más relación con la potenciación de relaciones y la modificación de comportamientos. En tercer lugar, aparece una diferenciación interesante entre las técnicas más orientadas a la producir efectos relacionados con la persuasión, frente a otras que pueden producir confusión en el receptor y que, en principio, deberían ser evitadas.

Motivasi, Sikap, Dan Intensi Pengguna Media Sosial Pada Kampanye Stop Illegal Fishing

Media sosial sering digunakan untuk mempromosikan kampanye sosial, contohnya adalah kampanye Stop Illegal Fishing. Untuk meraih kesuksesan pada kampanye ini, beberapa hal yang harus diraih adalah sikap positif pengguna media sosial terhadap kampanye dan intensi yang tinggi untuk memberikan rekomendasi (word of mouth) kepada orang lain. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menganalisis motivasi pengguna apa saja yang memengaruhi sikap pengguna media sosial terhadap kampanye sosial (stop illegal fishing) di media sosial. Selain itu menganalisis sikap pengguna berpengaruh pada intensi pengguna untuk melakukan WOM. Metode yang digunakan untuk menjawab tujuan adalah dengan metode Partial Least Square. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan motivasi pengguna untuk menggunakan media sosial dan terhadap pesan kampanye terbukti secara signifikan berpengaruh positif pada sikap pengguna terhadap kampanye sosial di media sosial. Selain itu peningkatan intensi untuk memberi WOM dipengaruhi secara positif oleh sikap pengguna media sosial. Terdapat perbedaan motivasi yang memengaruhi sikap pengguna media sosial terhadap kampanye pada dua kategori kelompok, yaitu pengguna media sosial yang belum pernah (151 sampel) dan pengguna media sosial yang pernah melihat kampanye Stop Illegal Fishing di media sosial

Mobile Marketing – An empirical study of Smartphone devices as a marketing tool to build brand equity

The purpose of this thesis is to gain deeper understanding of Smartphones as a marketing communication channel and to identify the key success factors. The aim is to be able to develop our own framework for successful mobile marketing, which pitfalls to avoid and which factors to emphasize, by reviewing previous studies and further develop these by applying them to a case study, which will enable a framework tailored for a specific purpose. We will also study the whole development of a mobile marketing campaign from a communication agency perspective, in order to gain deeper understanding of this process. This study is based on a qualitative case study, with an abductive approach, of the development and implementation of a Smartphone app as a marketing tool. A theoretical framework has been developed from a literature review, and further developed from our empirical research. Our theoretical framework begins with a review of common aims with mobile marketing, the possible gains. This section is followed by characteristics of the marketing and the app which has influence on the possible gains. This theoretical base is in the next section expanded to include those factors that has influence on the creation process of the app. The theory chapter is closed with a summarizing table and a process model. The empirical foundation is based on semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and focus groups. The interviews and questionnaires has been made with people involved in the development of the application, and with people that in some way possess a deep understanding of the areas of our study. The result in this study has shown that many successful determinants identified in previous studies still are vital in modern mobile marketing, despite the rapid technological development. Smartphone technology does however open up for unique marketing possibilities which lead up to some minor changes and new considerations in current mobile marketing theory. This study illustrates how critical determinants of mobile marketing, combined with innovative ideas, can tailor mobile marketing towards specific aims as a strategic tool in a companies set of marketing activities

The effect of social media communication on consumer perceptions of brands

Researchers and brand managers have limited understanding of the effects social media communication has on how consumers perceive brands. We investigated 504 Facebook users in order to observe the impact of firm-created and user-generated social media communication on brand equity, brand attitude and purchase intention by using a standardized online survey throughout Poland. To test the conceptual model, we analyzed 60 brands across three different industries: non-alcoholic beverages, clothing and mobile network operators. When analyzing the data, we applied the structural equation modeling technique to both investigate the interplay of firm-created and user-generated social media communication and examine industry-specific differences. The results of the empirical studies showed that user-generated social media communication had a positive influence on both brand equity and brand attitude, whereas firm-created social media communication affected only brand attitude. Both brand equity and brand attitude were shown to have a positive influence on purchase intention. In addition, we assessed measurement invariance using a multi-group structural modeling equation. The findings revealed that the proposed measurement model was invariant across the researched industries. However, structural path differences were detected across the models

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THEY LAUGH: HOW HUMOROUS ADVERTISEMENTS HAVE AN EFFECT ON CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDES, WORD OF MOUTH INTENTIONS, AND PURCHASE INTENTIONS, WITH THE NEED FOR HUMOR PLAYING A MODERATING ROLE

Introduction/Main Objectives: Even thought there is a risk from using humor as an advertising campaign strategy in industries which rely on trust and their technological prowess, like the telecommunications sector, the fact that there are a great number of humorous advertisements arranged by telecommunications companies in Indonesia needs to be researched. Background Problems: This research aims to narrow the phenomenon by investigating the effect of humorous advertisements with the need for humor as a moderating role on consumers’ attitudes, consumers’ intent to purchase, and their word of mouth intention. Novelty: By adding the need for humor in a moderating role, and the word of mouth intention as an endogenous variable, this research aims to extend the existing models of humorous advertising’s effectiveness. Research Methods: The research was designed to focus on consumers who can be classified as young adults (18 to 34 years old) and are not users of the mobile SIM card brands that the ad they perceived as funny ones. The researcher conducted a survey with a five point Likert scale, an online questionnaire, and purposive sampling as the primary data collection methods. Finding/Results: The result shows that although a humorous advertisement has a significant impact on the attitude toward the advertisement and the word of mouth intention, the humorous advertisement has no significant impact on the attitude toward the brand and the consumers’ intent to purchase. The need for humor failed to moderate the relationship between the humorous advertisement and the attitude toward the advertisement in this study.  Conclusion: The researcher concludes that the impact of a humorous advertisement was limited to only entertaining the consumers, and to encourage their word of mouth intention, not their purchase intention

The cognitive and affective antecedents to consumer behavior towards on-demand transportation services in Egypt

In the recent few years, smartphones have shaped and assisted in the creation of new business models to formulate and develop some additional dimensions such as shared-economy or shared-mobility. Since transportation is one of the most essential aspects of shared-economy, it is vital to this study to focus and investigate the consumers’ intention to use the new commuting services provided by Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) in Egypt. Consequently, this research aims to examine and understand the cognitive and affective antecedents to consumers’ behavior towards TNCs in Egypt. Therefore, the model of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) has been applied to understand and explain the factors that influence the behavioral intention (BI) to use TNCs services. The factors of Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions (FC), Hedonic Motivation (HM), Price Value (PV), and Habit (HT) tested through surveying 200 respondents thru online (Google Forms) and offline (Self-Administered Questionnaires) techniques. The results showed that consumers’ intention to use TNCs services in Egypt, was positively affected by the factors of (performance expectancy, social influence, price value, and habit). However, the variables of (effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and hedonic motivation) showed a negative influence on the intention to use TNCs services in Egypt. Thus, upon the evaluation of the gathered data and discovered findings, the market acceptance and share of TNCs services can be increased if these services considered the factors affecting the consumers\u27 intention that mentioned earlier

Younger Persons are More Likely to Adopt the Mobile Wallet than Older Persons, or are they? The Moderating Role of Age.

Smartphones, when loaded with a secure software application, can act as a mobile wallet. When face-to-face in a retail store, consumers are able to swipe their phone over the terminal and complete payment without having to produce the physical card. The number of terminals that accept contactless payments in the USA is growing as the country moves to the adoption of the ‘chip and pin’ standard. Consumers can choose from wallet providers such as Google, PayPal and ApplePay. This research seeks to explain the factors that influence adoption. Data from an empirical study of US consumers is analyzed with PLS and the influence of trust, word of mouth and facilitating conditions are determined to be significant. After segmenting the data into two groups based on age and with the help of multigroup analysis, age is determined not to be a moderating factor for owners of smartphones

Do the Means and the Source Matter? A Study on the Actual Usage of Digitally Disseminated Coupons

How to effectively distribute coupons digitally to consumers who may exercise them remains an enduring, yet important, issue to address. In this study, we seek to answer two questions. First, would the dissemination of product discount coupons through mobile technology, such as the mobile phone network via the short-message-service (SMS), yield different effects on consumers, compared to a more traditional communication technology such as e-mail? Second, does the source, that is, the merchant or referral from peers, matter to a consumer? We build on the theoretical lens of cognitive effort (technology) and social capital (source) to theorize and empirically validate the conjectures through a real-world field experiment spanning four weeks. In terms of technology, the results indicate no significant difference in terms of the usage rate of coupons between the two technological means through which the coupons were disseminated. However, in terms of the source, we observed a higher propensity of using coupons received from a peer as compared to coupons received from a merchant. Furthermore, the forwarding rate of the discount coupons was significantly higher via e-mail as compared to SMS. Implications for research and practice are discussed