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[Viral
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[Advancements in communication technology have given rise to the evolution of
a new electronic form of word-of-mouth – Viral marketing (VM). VM is a form
of marketing tactic which encourages individuals to spread a marketing message
to others by means of the internet.]
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Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Table of Content
ABSTRACT _________________________________________________________________ 3
INTRODUCTION ____________________________________________________________ 4
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT:_________________________________________________ 4
VIRAL MARKETING ____________________________________________________________ 4
WORD OF MOUTH______________________________________________________________ 4
TYPES OF VIRAL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS: ______________________________________ 6
THESE ARE FEW TYPES OF VIRAL MARKETING– ________________________________________ 6
RESEARCH FOCUS: __________________________________________________________ 9
LITERATURE REVIEW : _____________________________________________________ 10
WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING:- __________________________________________________ 10
WHAT IS VIRAL MARKETING?_____________________________________________________ 11
VIRAL MARKETING VS. TRADITIONAL WOM: ___________________________________ 13
REVIEW ON PAST WOM AND VMC RESEARCH ___________________________________ 13
METHODOLOGY____________________________________________________________ 18
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: ______________________________________________________ 18
MARKETING RESEARCH ________________________________________________________ 18
QUALITATIVE, QUANTITATIVE AND PLURALISTIC RESEARCH ______________________________ 19
QUANTITATIVE – STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE _______________________________________ 20
Design of survey questions _____________________________________________________ 20
Determination of sample size and target ___________________________________________ 20
Method of data collection _____________________________________________________ 20
GENERAL LIMITATIONS _________________________________________________________ 20
Sample size limitation ________________________________________________________ 20
Additional research on other forms of VMC _________________________________________ 20
Time issue of VMC campaigns __________________________________________________ 21
Geographical constraints ______________________________________________________ 21
LIMITATIONS OF STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE _______________________________________ 21
Nonresponse error ___________________________________________________________ 21
Respondent misunderstanding __________________________________________________ 21
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CONCLUSION OF ANALYSIS __________________________________________________ 22
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LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ___________________________________ 20
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
ABSTRACT
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Advancements in communication technology have given rise to the evolution of a new electronic
form of word-of-mouth – Viral marketing (VM). VM is a form of marketing tactic which
encourages individuals to spread a marketing message to others by means of the internet.
Currently, VM is still considered to be at a premature phase of development, therefore information
about its behavior and magnitude has yet to be clearly set upon and determined. In addition,
limited research has been done on consumer perception and response to such marketing
techniques.
The objective of this project is to explore consumer receptivity, perception
and behavioral response to this relatively new marketing strategy. With the use of a structured
questionnaire conducted with 100 respondents, we analyzed their response and perception with
regards to five different platforms on which viral marketing can take place on the internet, namely:
1) E-mail,
2) Video,
3) Blogs,
4) Social networks.
Employing a pluralistic approach as our research methodology, both the
quantitative and qualitative results worked hand in hand in the analysis of our hypotheses and
provided valuable findings regarding the way consumers view and react towards traditional wordof-mouth and VM.
With this study, we hope to provide new insights on VM as a marketing
tool from a consumer standpoint and serve as a first step for future research on how VM can
successfully reach out, connect with and influence consumers.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT:
With the proliferation of the internet and advancements in communication technology, a new
form of marketing has evolved – Viral marketing (VM). VM is a consumer-to-consumer
marketing tactic which employs the internet to encourage individuals to pass on a marketing
message to others. Similar to a virus, information about a company and its brand message, goods
or services is spread to potential buyers who then pass the information along to other potential
buyers in a way that a vast network is created swiftly.
Viral Marketing
– An attempt to deliver a marketing message
that spreads quickly and exponentially among consumers.
– Today, this often comes in the form of an email message or
Video.
– Contrary to alarmists' fear, viral isn't evil.
It isn't dishonest or unnatural.
– At its best, it is word of mouth enabled, and at its worst,
It‘s just another interruptive marketing message.
Word of Mouth
– It's the actual sharing of an opinion about
a product or service between two or more consumers
– It's what happens when people become
Natural brand advocates
– It's the holy grail of marketers, CEOs and entrepreneurs,
As it can make or break a product.
– The key to its success:
It‘s honest and natural.
With consumers showing increasing resistance to traditional forms of advertising such as TV or
newspaper ads, marketers have turned to alternate strategies, including viral marketing. Viral
marketing exploits existing social networks by encouraging customers to share product
information with their friends. Previously, a few in depth studies have shown that social networks
affect the adoption of individual innovations and products. But until recently it has been difficult
to measure how influential person-to-person recommendations actually are over a wide range of
products. Moreover, is noted that ―there needs to be a greater understanding of the contexts in
which Viral marketing strategy works and the characteristics of products and services for which it
is most effective. This is particularly important because the inappropriate use of viral marketing
can be counterproductive by creating unfavorable attitudes towards products. What is missing is
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– The most powerful medium on the planet
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
an analysis of Viral marketing that highlights systematic patterns in the nature of knowledgesharing and persuasion by influencers and responses by recipients in online social networks.‖
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Although word of mouth can be a powerful factor influencing purchasing decisions, it can be
tricky for advertisers to tap into. Some services used by individuals to communicate are natural
candidates for Viral marketing, because the product can be observed or advertised as part of the
communication. Email services such as Hotmail and Yahoo had very fast adoption curves
because every email sent through them contained an advertisement for the service and because
they were free. Hotmail spent a mere $50,000 on traditional marketing and still grew from zero
to 12 million users in 18 months. The Hotmail user base grew faster than any media company in
history – faster than CNN, faster than AOL, even faster than Seinfeld‘s audience. By mid-2000,
Hotmail had over 66 million users with 270,000 new accounts being established each day.
Google‘s Gmail also captured a significant part of market share in spite of the fact that the only
way to sign up for the service was through a referral. Most products cannot be advertised in such
a direct way. At the same time the choice of products available to consumers has increased
manifolds thanks to online retailers who can supply a much wider variety of products than
traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Not only is the variety of products larger, but one observes a
‗fat tail‘ phenomenon, where a large fraction of purchases are of relatively obscure items.
OnAmazon.com, somewhere between 20 to 40 percent of unit sales fall outside of its top
100,000 ranked products. Rhapsody, a streaming-music service, streams more tracks outside than
inside its top 10,000 tunes. Some argue that the presence of the long tail indicates that niche
products with low sales are contributing significantly to overall sales online. We find that
product purchases that result from recommendations are not far from the usual 80-20 rule. The
rule states that the top twenty percent of the products account for 80 percent of the sales. In our
case the top 20% of the products contribute to about half the sales.
The new wave of viral marketing has become the defining marketing trend of the decade.
Following the VM campaign success of companies such as Burger King, Hotmail and Procter &
Gamble, many marketers have also jumped onto the bandwagon. When executed effectively,
viral marketing campaigns can create an instantaneous buzz and help to boost the promotion of
brands, products and services.
However, at this point of time, VM is a fairly new topic and facts about its nature,
characteristics and dimensions have yet to be agreed and established. The aim of our study is to
explore VM from a consumer‘s point of view and provide insights into how internet users view,
perceive and react towards the notion of VM.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Types of Viral Marketing Campaigns:
These are few types of Viral Marketing–
Pass-along: A message which encourages the user to send the message to others. The crudest
form of this is chain letters where a message at the bottom of the e-mail prompts the reader to
forward the message
Incentivized viral: A reward is offered for either passing a message along or providing
someone else's address. This can dramatically increase referrals. However, this is most
effective when the offer requires another person to take action.
Undercover: A viral message presented as a cool or unusual page, activity, or piece of news,
without obvious incitements to link or pass along. In Undercover Marketing, it is not
immediately apparent that anything is being marketed
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"Edgy Gossip/Buzz marketing" ads or messages that create controversy by challenging the
borders of taste or appropriateness. Discussion of the resulting controversy can be considered
to generate buzz and word of mouth advertising. Prior to releasing a movie, some Hollywood
movie stars get married, get divorced, or get arrested, or become involved in some
controversy that directs conversational attention to them.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
User-managed database: Users create and manage their own lists
Of contacts using a database provided by an online service provider. By inviting other
members to participate in their community, users create a viral, self-propagating chain of
contacts that naturally grows and encourages others to sign up as well.
Which companies have used viral marketing to spread their brand to the
masses? Here are some viral examples:1. Hotmail- Hotmail is one of the most classic examples of successful viral marketing. They
offered free e-mail to the masses, and simply attached a signature at the bottom of each email message that promoted their free service. Every single e-mail sent by a Hotmail user
contained this message, thus spreading it like a virus. Recipients would see the ad, and as a
result, they too signed up for Hotmail.
2. Subservient Chicken- Burger King‘s 2004 viral marketing campaign for their chicken
sandwiches shows just how fun going viral can be. The Subservient Chicken was a man
dressed in a chicken outfit who would perform whatever action you commanded him to. Just
one day after the site‘s launch, one million people had already given their commands to the
subservient chicken.
3. Watchmen- One of the examples on this list, Watchmen‘s viral campaign has consisted of
fake newscasts and mock PSAs. Judging from the buzz online, these videos are doing their
job. Fans are pumped up, and anxiously awaiting the movie‘s release.
5. Dark Knight- The Dark Knight viral campaign was one of the most widespread of its
kind. It included everything from websites for Gotham Cab company to a real life campaign
for Harvey Dent. The point is this—the campaign engaged people on a different level. And
you can‘t argue with the results. The Dark Knight made ridiculous amounts of money at the
box office and on DVD. Of course, there were other factors involved (Heath Ledger‘s death,
and just how great the film looked,) but the viral campaign succeeded in creating
unprecedented amounts of hype.
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6. Transport for London- This is another examples on the list,. In this video, you‘re asked
to count how many times the white team passes the basketball. Of course, there‘s an
unexpected surprise that accomplishes two things—it makes the video highly share-worthy
and it promotes their message without shoving it down your throat.
7. Smirnoff- Smirnoff‘s viral ―Tea Party‖ video was an instant hit. It features preppy, Ivy
League white boys doing a rap about throwing a tea party. The video just begs to be shared
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4. Jack in the Box- The Jack in the Box campaign is another example of viral marketing.
During the Super Bowl, Jack in the Box ran a commercial (in some regions) that featured
Jack getting hit by a bus. The commercial urged people to visit www.hangingtherejack.com.
Unfortunately, the site wasn‘t ready for the surge in traffic, and it crashed during its biggest
chance to go hot.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
with others, making it a viral success.
8. Dove- The Dove Evolution viral ad is effective because it sends a unique, positive message
about the true definition of beauty. And this video really did spread like a virus. Not only did
it get nearly 2 million hits within a month‘s time, but it also received attention from top TV
shows Ellen, The View, and Entertainment Tonight.
9. Peerflix- At the time of launching their viral campaign, Peerflix was a new company
offering P2P DVD trading. Playing off the Hollywood theme, they created an online
paparazzi game that made participants capture scandalous photos of celebrities. Within just
90 days, 2 million people had played the game, and 5% went on to view the Peerflix website.
That‘s a significant boost in brand exposure.
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10. Bob Dylan- To help promote his greatest hits box set, a viral campaign was created that
allowed users to send messages in the form of the classic Subterranean Homesick Blues
video. I love this idea because it‘s simple, effective, and engaging.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
RESEARCH FOCUS:
VMC comprises of diverse platforms and can spread in many forms, including e-mails, blogs,
chat rooms, adver-games, user forums, seeding websites, social networks, and viral videos. In
order to have a more in-depth examination of consumer perception and response, for the purpose
of our study, we will narrow down our focus to five selected forms of VMC, namely:
1) E-mail – Transmission of text messages and files electronically over computer networks
2) Videos – Video clips that gain popularity on video sites (for e.g. You Tube, MSN video) or
through peer-to-peer transmission
3) Blogs – Shared online journals where people post diary entries on personal experiences
4) Social networks – Websites that encourage the building of online communication networks of
members (for e.g. Face book, orkut)
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5) User forums – Online bulletin board system for holding discussions or posting user-generated
contents.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
LITERATURE REVIEW :
Word-of-mouth Marketing:-
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How does WoM work?
WoM is impishly nicknamed ―free advertising‖ (Buttle, 1998). Defining WoM can be a tricky
task as past researchers have bestowed various different definitions on it. As one of the pioneer
researchers regarding the impact of WoM on consumer behavior, Arndt (1967) characterized
WoM as oral, person-to-person communication regarding a brand, product or service between a
receiver and a communicator who is perceived as being independent of any commercial
influences. It is a group phenomenon, an exchange of thoughts or ideas among two or more
individuals (Bone, 1992). As consumers generally cannot process all of the information available
to them for purchase decisions, they often engage in simple guides for making their informationseeking and decision-making processes easier. WoM communication helps to reduce the amount
of information that must be processed in order to make a decision (Duhan et al, 1997). WoM has
been shown to influence an array of conditions: awareness, expectations, perceptions, attitudes,
behavioral intentions and behavior (Buttle, 1998). It is assumed that WoM functions to draw
customers up onto the loyalty ladder, in the process converting a prospect into a customer
(Christopher et al, 1991). Beyond that, he or she can also progress to become a long term client,
supporter, advocate or even partner. On the other hand, although it is likely that some WoM
functions to move a customer up a company‘s loyalty ladder, in other cases WoM may equally
likely fend people off the loyalty ladder (Buttle 1998).
WoM is a more imperative input to the decision process when purchasing
services rather than goods (Buttle, 1998). Service consumers prefer to seek information from
family, friends and peers rather than sponsored promotional sources. This is due to services
being high in credence properties which are difficult to determine prior to consumption, therefore
driving WoM seeking (Buttle, 1998) and results in personal sources having greater influence on
service purchases than on product purchases (Murray, 1991).
Many authors stated that Electronic Viral Marketing or EVM is no
innovative idea. Even though the same principle is used, EVM is significantly different from
WOM in several ways, such as expanded scale and scope of influence, the ability of synchronous
and asynchronous communication as well as the flexibility to arrange a variety of influence
strategies. Successful EVM is characterized by as ―strategies that allow an easier, accelerated,
and cost reduced transmission of messages by creating environments for a self-replicating,
exponentially increasing diffusion, spiritualization, and impact of the message‖.
There are several attempts to categorize EVM. Distinguished between Intentional
and unintentional message dissemination and used a motivational Classification. Another
distinction is between service-based and incentive-based . While in the first case the quality of
the offer determines the viral effect, the latter means that consumers receive a monetary
incentive for passing on an Advertiser‘s message. Discerned between private (e.g., sending an
email) and public recommendation (e.g., articulating on Internet consumer-opinion.
Platforms). However, the presented categorizations neglect an appropriate foundation.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
What is viral marketing?
It is said that the term ―viral marketing‖ was coined by Steve Jurvetson and Tim Draper in 1997
in describing the marketing strategy of the free e-mail service Hotmail whereby each e-mail sent
arrived with the attached message ―Get your private, free e-mail from Hotmail at
Living in this electronic age, WoM need not necessarily be face-to-face, direct, verbal or
transient (Buttle, 1998). Along with the emergence of the internet, electronic WoM has become
an important influence on consumer‘s product evaluation. Prospective customers visit websites
and read reviews from other customers so as to find out more about a product or service before
making a purchase (Doh & Hwang, 2009). By generating WoM to create ―authentic‖
experiences, viral marketing attempts to exploit the strongest of all consumer triggers – the
personal recommendation. Receiving a personal recommendation via e-mail from someone you
know is by far more credible than an anonymous e-mail.
In viral marketing, the communication style used for transmission is usually informal. Messages
are spread through different channels including e-mail, chat rooms and discussion forums. They
may encompass various types of content ranging from text and images, to Microsoft PowerPoint
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files, Adobe‟s Flash animations, YouTube‘s video clips and so on (Woerndl et al, 2008). In a
sense, viral internet campaigns can also be perceived as being gentler than traditional campaigns
by projecting an unbiased image (Kaikati & Kaikati, 2004).
According to Krishnamurthy (2001), the goal of viral marketing is to use consumer-to-consumer
(or peer-to-peer) communications, as opposed to company-to-consumer communications, to
disseminate information about a product or service, thereby leading to more rapid and cost
effective adoption by the market.
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http://www.hotmail.com‖ along with the sender‟s implicit recommendation (Kaikati & Kaikati,
2004; Cruz & Fill, 2008; Phelps et al, 2004). Viral marketing at that time was defined simply as
―network-enhanced word-of-mouth‖.
However, a look at past literature concerning VM generates a variety of terminology used to
explain what viral marketing is. According to Vilpponen et al (2006), some of these terms use to
describe electronic WoM include ―interactive marketing‖ (Blattberg & Deighton, 1991),
―Internet word-of-mouth‖ and ―word-of-mouse‖ (Goldenburg et al, 2001), ―stealth marketing‖
(Kaikati & Kaikati, 2004) and ―referral marketing‖ (De Bruyn & Lilien, 2004). Thomas (2004)
attempted to unify these ideas in the term called ―buzz marketing‖.
Some analysts have also linked viral marketing with a living biological virus. Knight (1999) says
that viral marketing is similar to a ―digitalized sneeze‖, one characterized by the release of
―millions of tiny particles that can infect others who come into contact with them‖. Welker
(2002) emphasizes on the contagious power of a virus and suggests that a ―virus replicates with
geometrically increasing power, doubling with each interaction‖. Wilson (2000) says that viral
marketing ―creates the potential for exponential growth in the message‘s exposure and
influence‖, and says that the understanding of the properties of a biological virus makes it
obvious how powerful yet completely uncontrollable VMC can be.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Why is viral marketing not researched more? There are two
strong reasons behind this:
Marketers think that when they are researching peoples' attitudes, beliefs, intentions, tastes,
and preferences, they are indirectly researching word of mouth (since those are the factors
which drive it).
They believe that word of mouth cannot be influenced considerably, so any attempts to
research it would be fruitless.
This 2006 viral marketing research is in two parts – a survey of consumers about perceptions
on viral marketing and a survey of viral specialists. It was commissioned by Kontraband who
run a viral ad network and seem to specialize in video clip style viral.
The summary of the consumer viral research is:
High awareness of viral emails amongst consumers (73%)
Only 38% say they forward viral, suggesting that the majority don‘t want to be seen as
spamming our friends and colleagues
64% say they would not forward a viral with an explicit branding / product message
High level of concern about data capture before viewing such material (65% very or
fairly concerned) showing that this will stop the spread and the best option is to offer an
additional incentive that may appear to some
Research seeks to compare to banner ads – asking about frequency of clicking. 40% say
they never click on a banner ad and 32% say they will rarely click on a banner. However,
this ignores the branding affect of banners
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For me, the best type of virals which can be applied to many types of brands aren't typically
video clips, but are just great content such as articles that SEOs call link bait - they are so useful
that everyone blogs about them, or they provide a greater interactive experience such as the
award winning, but now sadly finished Mini Aveaword campaign.
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The industry commentators give some examples of viral and review trends in user generated
content and advergame which are the main viral trends. They also talk about the key failings of
brands in viral which concerns striking the delicate balance between viral cut-through and the
link to the brand.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Viral marketing vs. Traditional WoM:
Viral marketing has emerged as the electronic form of WoM and involves passing on or referring
news, information or entertainment to other individuals. WoM embraces all interpersonal
communications and now also includes new media marketing communication channels such as
the internet. It is vital to understand that viral marketing has developed as a result of
advancements in digital technology and is regarded as a critical electronic extension of WoM
communication, not a mere development of WoM.
Viral marketing is seen as a far more effective, penetrating and faster
medium compared to the traditional WoM communication. It is also a far more focused medium
because consumers communicate their views in their social sphere, including friends, family and
colleagues, where their influence is important. Thus, viral marketing can reach a wider audience
gradually and can maximize its reach not only in their locality (as was the case in traditional
WoM), but can even be extended to a national and global scale. The contents of the message
remains generally the same in most cases while on the other hand, it can be biased and easily
filtered during traditional WoM communication.
Lastly, there are two significant differences between viral marketing and traditional WoM that
we should take note of. Firstly, being electronic in nature, in viral marketing, there is no face-toface communication. Secondly, in viral marketing, referrals are usually unsolicited, that is,
messages are usually sent to recipients who are not actively looking for information and hence
not necessarily willing to pay attention to them.
In one of the pioneer formal studies, Katz and Lazarsfeld (1955) discovered that WoM was the
most important source of influence in the purchase of household goods and food products. It was
seven times as effective as newspapers and magazines, four times as effective as personal selling
and twice as effective as radio advertising in influencing consumers to switch brands.
Many other studies conducted in the 1960s and early 1970s also demonstrated the continued
importance of interpersonal influence. For instance, Engel, Blackwell and Kegerreis (1969)
found that nearly 60 per cent of respondents who could recall the most influential source
regarding their adoption of an automotive diagnostic centre named WoM. Feldman and Spencer
(1965) concluded that about two-thirds of new residents in a community relied on WoM to select
a physician. Arndt (1967) showed that respondents who received positive WoM about a new
food product were much more likely to purchase it as compared to those who received negative
WoM.
In terms of social networks, consumers generally interact with people who are associated with
them with varying degrees of tie strength, ranging from strong, for example family, close friends
or in-groups, to weak, for example acquaintances or out-groups. Previous research has shown
that strong ties are more likely to be activated for information flow than weak ties. Moreover, the
amount of WoM communication generated is generally higher within groups with strong tie
relations than within groups with weak tie relations.
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Review on past WoM and VMC research
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Regarding WoM motivation, Sundram et al (1998) found that consumers engaged in WoM
communications for unselfish, product involvement and self-enhancement reasons. For example,
a consumer may recommend a product to a friend out of goodwill and a desire to help or as a
result of his or her positive consumption experience with the product. However, on the other
hand, a consumer may also complain and engage in negative WoM if dissatisfied with his or her
consumption experience with a product or company. Others may engage in positive WoM
communications to demonstrate their expertise in a certain product area such as computers and
fashion or negative WoM in order to project their social status and power.Despite the importance
and influence of WoM, it has remained one of the most neglected marketing areas. According to
Mangold et al, only a small percentage of WoM communications were stimulated by active
corporate promotional efforts. To date, relatively few companies have tried to harness the full
potential of the power of WoM communications.
The benefits and risks associated with viral marketing have been widely
explored in past research. They are summarized in the table below along with the relevant key
references.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
CATEGORY
BENEFIT
Potential Benefits
FINANCIAL
Inexpensive
Diffusion speed
Reach audience in a short time
Rapid, fast diffusion
Boost adoption speed
Exponential
Peer-to-peer transmission
Voluntary transmission by sender
Audience reach
Access to diverse audience through social
contacts
Potential Risks
Uncontrollable nature, especially audience
reach, content and few possibilities to measure
success
Lack of control
Total loss of control especially timing and
content
spam
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Lack of control mechanism:
-No control over distortion process
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Potential negative impact
Risk of backlash and negative brand impact
Negative WoM can occur
Negative WoM leads to boycott, ruin and
unfavorable attitudes
Hate sites
May lead to negative perception of brands
Consumer dependency
Consumers unwilling to provide referrals
unless there is some return
Lack of legal standards
Emerging legal issues have to be taken into
consideration
Lack of ethical standards
Consumers may feel exploited, cheated, used
Emerging ethical issues need to be considered
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It is said that the existing literature on viral marketing can be categorized into four emerging
research streams making both theoretical/conceptual and empirical contributions. They are
outlined as below:
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Consumer privacy invasion
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
1) Viral marketing comparisons
Investigate different marketing variables in light of
other marketing techniques such as television
advertising.
2) Consumer-to-consumer viral
marketing
Examine specific issues within consumer context,
such as impact on customer value and loyalty.
3) Studies of communication media
Explore specific transmission modes such as e-mail
and include communication field studies.
4) Viral marketing positioning
Research concerned with identifying positioning
characteristics of viral marketing and drawing
conclusions.
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Our paper falls into the second stream, consumer-to-consumer viral marketing, where we attempt
to find out more about consumer receptivity and attitude towards this form of communication.
Judging from the literature review we have conducted, it is not hard to realize that there has been
limited past research regarding consumer perception and response towards VMC. This further
justifies our motivation for venturing into this relatively unexplored marketing topic from a
consumer point of view.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
METHODOLOGY
Research Methodology:
Marketing Research
Marketing research is defined as the process of designing, gathering, analyzing and reporting
information that may be utilized to solve a particular marketing problem. The American
Marketing Association (AMA) has defined it as the function that links the consumer, customer
and the public to the marketer through information. This information is used to :
 Identify and define marketing opportunities and problems
 Generate, refine and evaluate marketing actions
 Monitor marketing performance
 Improve understanding of marketing as a process
The main objective of our research is to understand VMC as a marketing process from a
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consumer standpoint, allowing room for the consumer‟s ―voice‖ to be heard.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Qualitative, Quantitative and Pluralistic research
There are three broad means of data collection in the research process, namely qualitative,
quantitative and pluralistic. Their characteristics can be summarized in the table below:
Qualitative
Quantitative
Involves collecting, analyzing
and interpreting data by
observing what people do and
say
Involves use of structured
questions where response
options have been
predetermined
Statements are in nonstandardized form
Usually large number of
respondents
* Formalized procedure for
gathering data *Compilation
of data follows orderly
procedure, largely
Uses observation technique or
unstructured
questioning
Pluralistic
Combination of both
qualitative and quantitative
research methods
Exploratory qualitative
techniques help to form
foundation for quantitative
phase
Alternatively, qualitative
phase is applied after
quantitative study to help
researcher understand
numerical in nature
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Qualitative research is especially relevant when prior insights about subject of study are modest,
implying that qualitative research tends to be more exploratory and flexible with an emphasis on
understanding. On the other hand, quantitative research employs numerical and standardized data
in the collection of results and analysis is conducted through the use of statistics and diagrams.
After reviewing past VMC research and evaluating the benefits and disadvantages of the various
research methods available, for the purpose of our study, we decided to employ the pluralistic
approach with the use of both structured questionnaire and in-depth interview. The purpose of
the qualitative study using interviews is to help to validate the quantitative questionnaire findings
and develop a fuller and deeper understanding of consumer perception and response towards
VMC.
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findings further
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Quantitative – Structured Questionnaire
Design of survey questions
We kept the design of our survey questions to two main types: the modified Likert scale and
Ordinal scale. Firstly, using the Likert scale, respondents were asked to indicate their degree of
agreement or disagreement on a symmetric agree-disagree statements for a series of statements
related to VMC as well as specific questions regarding the five platforms we are studying. This
scale helps to reflect the intensity of their views. Secondly, the last two questions were designed
using the Ordinal scale to allow respondents to rank the alternatives based on their preferred
order from 1-5. This will allow us to work out a final ranking after gathering their responses
from the survey.
Determination of sample size and target
Taking into consideration that VMC is a technique spread using the internet, our survey was
targeted at internet users who log on to the internet at least once a week. We had a targeted
sample size of 50 respondents.
Method of data collection
Prior to the sending out of requests to respondents, we first conducted a pilot test on five
respondents who also fall under the target population under our study. They provided us with
valuable feedback on parts of the questionnaire which might have been confusing or hard to
comprehend, allowing us to fine-tune and revise our questionnaire before sending it out.
Limitations of Research Methodology
General limitations
Due to time and resource constraint, the small size of the sample used in both the structured
questionnaire and in-depth interview limits the extent to which we can apply the results as a
general theory. Moreover, random sampling instead of convenience sampling might have helped
in generating a more valid data analysis and improve the accuracy of our results.
Page
20
Additional research on other forms of VMC
As described above, we have conducted our study based on five main forms of VMC. While we
acknowledge the existence and importance of other forms of VMC, such as adver-gaming and
chat rooms, we have not performed any consumer research in these areas. Thus, there is a need
for more investigation and analysis in order to paint a more complete picture.
Marketing Assignment
Sample size limitation
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Time issue of VMC campaigns
In our research, the questions posed to consumers were generally based on the past, such as
whether they had forwarded emails to peers, purchased a product or service or came into contact
with a past VMC campaign prior to the study. Thus, this implied that no real time data has been
collected. Our data and subsequent conclusions will be based on the consumer response in the
questionnaire and interview, and in cases where consumers are not aware of the campaign or
have forgotten whether they purchased a particular advertised product or service, this will
decrease the accuracy of our study.
Geographical constraints
We have limited our target respondents for both the structured questionnaire and in-depth
interview to consumers living in Singapore and Sweden due to resource and time consideration.
This will limit the applicability of our research data on general consumers as a whole.
Limitations of Structured Questionnaire
Nonresponse error
Page
21
Respondent misunderstanding
Respondent misunderstanding is defined as situations in which a respondent gives an answer
without comprehending the question and/or the accompanying instructions. Potential respondent
misunderstandings exist in all surveys (Burns & Bush, 2000). We deem that cases of respondents
checking more than one box in the Likert scale questions and failure to rank the items in order of
1-5 in the Ordinal scale questions as respondent misunderstanding the requirements of the
questions.
Marketing Assignment
As mentioned in the previous section, we experienced cases in which the questionnaire was
returned to us in an incomplete manner. This can be deemed as nonresponse error on the part of
the respondent. Nonresponse is defined as a failure on the part of prospective respondent to take
part in the survey or to answer specific questions in the questionnaire (Burns & Bush, 2000). On
our part, we tried to keep this error to a minimal by ensuring anonymity and confidentiality and
informing the respondents that their answers will remain private and we will not associate their
names with their answers. In addition, as mentioned previously, we also discarded returned
questionnaires which contained more than 20% of erroneous replies.
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
CONCLUSION OF ANALYSIS
Question 1:
Respondent Gender
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Female
15
30.0
30.0
30.0
Male
35
70.0
70.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Question 2:
Age
Valid
22
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
18
6
12.0
12.0
12.0
19
3
6.0
6.0
18.0
20
5
10.0
10.0
28.0
21
7
14.0
14.0
42.0
22
10
20.0
20.0
62.0
23
8
16.0
16.0
78.0
24
4
8.0
8.0
86.0
25
1
2.0
2.0
88.0
28
2
4.0
4.0
92.0
30
2
4.0
4.0
96.0
35
1
2.0
2.0
98.0
40
1
2.0
2.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Total
Page
Percent
Marketing Assignment
Frequency
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Valid 18
6%
Age Frequency
Valid 19 Valid 20
3%
5%
Valid 21
7%
Valid Total
50%
Valid 22
10%
Valid 40 Valid 35
1%
1%
Valid 23
8%
Valid
25
Valid 30 Valid 28
Valid 24
1%
2%
2%
4%
Question 3:
Descriptive Statistics
N
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Std. Deviation
Emails
50
1.00
4.00
2.5000
1.09265
Videos
50
1.00
3.00
1.9800
.76904
Blogs
50
1.00
2.00
1.4200
.49857
Social Networks
50
2.00
5.00
3.8600
1.19540
Valid N (listwise)
50
I am aware of internet advertisements
Frequency
Page
23
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Agree
32
64.0
64.0
64.0
Strongly Agree
18
36.0
36.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
I trust word-of-mouth communication on the internet
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Marketing Assignment
Question 4-11:
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Valid
Agee
29
58.0
58.0
58.0
Strongly Agree
12
24.0
24.0
82.0
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Uncertain
Total
It makes me feel good to be able spread messages about products/services to my friends
on the internet
Frequency
Valid
Agee
Disagree
Total
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
41
82.0
82.0
82.0
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Through internet word-of-mouth, I learnt more about brands of products/services.
Page
24
Valid
Agee
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
20
40.0
40.0
40.0
Disagree
9
18.0
18.0
58.0
Strongly Agree
9
18.0
18.0
76.0
Uncertain
12
24.0
24.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Marketing Assignment
Frequency
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
I am more inclined to purchase products/services when the messages were passed by
people I know
Frequency
Valid
Strongly Agree
Uncertain
Total
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
41
82.0
82.0
82.0
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
I have actually purchased a product/service after hearing about it from the internet
Frequency
Valid
Agee
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
32
64.0
64.0
64.0
Disagree
9
18.0
18.0
82.0
Strongly Disagree
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Total
The internet word-of-mouth helps to strengthen my belief and commitment towards a
brand of product/service
Valid
Agee
25
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
21
42.0
42.0
42.0
6
12.0
12.0
54.0
Uncertain
23
46.0
46.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Strongly Agree
Page
Percent
Marketing Assignment
Frequency
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
I trust more in what people are saying about services than products
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Agee
18
36.0
36.0
36.0
Strongly Agree
20
40.0
40.0
76.0
Uncertain
12
24.0
24.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Question 12:
I often use E-mail to stay in touch with my friends and relatives
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Agee
20
40.0
40.0
40.0
Strongly Agree
30
60.0
60.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
I generally trust the contents of e-mails I receive from people I know
Valid
Agee
26
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
27
54.0
54.0
54.0
9
18.0
18.0
72.0
Uncertain
14
28.0
28.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Strongly Agree
Page
Percent
Marketing Assignment
Frequency
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
I view e-mails from unknown parties as spam
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Agee
35
70.0
70.0
70.0
Strongly Agree
15
30.0
30.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
I do not open up e-mails from unknown parties
Frequency
Valid
Agee
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
6
12.0
12.0
12.0
Disagree
23
46.0
46.0
58.0
Uncertain
21
42.0
42.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
I have the habit of forwarding e-mails to people I know whom I feel will be
interested in the contents
Valid
Cumulative
Percent
21
42.0
42.0
42.0
Strongly Agree
20
40.0
40.0
82.0
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Total
27
Valid Percent
Agee
Uncertain
Page
Percent
Marketing Assignment
Frequency
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
I usually mass forward e-mails with "financial benefits" described in the mail
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Agee
18
36.0
36.0
36.0
Disagree
23
46.0
46.0
82.0
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Strongly Disagree
Total
Question 13:
I frequently watch videos on the internet
Frequency
Valid
Agee
Strongly Agree
Total
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
41
82.0
82.0
82.0
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Funny videos help me to remember a brand better
Page
28
Valid
Agee
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
9
18.0
18.0
18.0
Strongly Agree
41
82.0
82.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Marketing Assignment
Frequency
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
I have spread video links to my friends/relatives before
Frequency
Valid
Agee
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
35
70.0
70.0
70.0
Strongly Agree
6
12.0
12.0
82.0
Strongly Disagree
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Total
Question 14:
I like to stay in touch with my friends on social network sites (e.g. Facebook,
Orkut, Hi5)
Frequency
Valid
Agee
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
6
12.0
12.0
12.0
Strongly Agree
44
88.0
88.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Frequency
Page
29
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Agee
29
58.0
58.0
58.0
Uncertain
21
42.0
42.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Marketing Assignment
I usually do not pay attention to the paid advertisements which appear on the
sites
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
I usually view messages/video links sent, posted or recommended from my friends
and relatives
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Agee
32
64.0
64.0
64.0
Strongly Agree
18
36.0
36.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Question 15:
Videos
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
1
9
18.0
18.0
18.0
2
9
18.0
18.0
36.0
3
26
52.0
52.0
88.0
4
6
12.0
12.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Total
Frequency
Valid
30
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
1
41
82.0
82.0
82.0
4
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Total
Page
Percent
Marketing Assignment
Email
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Blogs
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
2
9
18.0
18.0
18.0
3
15
30.0
30.0
48.0
4
26
52.0
52.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Social Networking Sites
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
2
32
64.0
64.0
64.0
3
9
18.0
18.0
82.0
4
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
50
100.0
100.0
Total
Question 16 :
Feel-good-factor (being in-the-know or a trend spotter)
Page
31
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Rank3
44
88.0
88.0
88.0
Rank5
6
12.0
12.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Marketing Assignment
Frequency
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Fun or provocative contents (e.g. humor, controversy)
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Rank2
9
18.0
18.0
18.0
Rank3
6
12.0
12.0
30.0
Rank4
14
28.0
28.0
58.0
Rank5
21
42.0
42.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Monetary incentive (e.g. discounts, coupons)
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Rank1
32
64.0
64.0
64.0
Rank4
18
36.0
36.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Frequency
Page
32
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Rank2
35
70.0
70.0
70.0
Rank4
6
12.0
12.0
82.0
Rank5
9
18.0
18.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Marketing Assignment
Freebies (e.g. software, services, trial usage)
Viral Marketing Communication – A study on consumer perception and response
Concern about an issue (e.g. current affairs)
Page
33
Valid
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Rank1
18
36.0
36.0
36.0
Rank2
6
12.0
12.0
48.0
Rank4
12
24.0
24.0
72.0
Rank5
14
28.0
28.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Marketing Assignment
Frequency