"the science of buzz"

1. Vanaf heden te bekijken op http://www.slideshare.net/verlegh/nyenrode2008 dr. ir. Peeter Verlegh RSM Erasmus University 18 juni 2008 [email_address] THE SCIENCE OF BUZZ

15. Buzz Marketing : A set of techniques that may be used to stimulate, harness, and accelerate the word-of-mouth phenomenon, to positive marketing effect (The Anatomy of Buzz, Rosen, 2000) How can you MANAGE word of mouth? CONSUMER CONSUMER YOU

16. Consumer Consumer 1 marketer 4 3 marketer marketer marketer 4 ways to MANAGE word of mouth marketer 2

22. WOM is defined as interactions.. - “between perceived non-commercial sources” (Brown et al. 2005) - “by individuals not actively engaged in selling the product” (Godes et al. 2005) “ The power and the significance of everyday word of mouth lie mainly in the speaker’s lack of material interest” (Dichter 1966) => What about incentives / rewards for WOM ??? STIMULATED WOM: ULTERIOR MOTIVE

23. behavior that is congruent with self-interest leads to inferences about the presence of ulterior motives (UM) (Vonk 1998. Friestad & Wright 1994) When UM are more accessible, consumers become suspicious, and it becomes more likely that consumers categorize agent behavior as a persuasion attempt (rather than a “normal” social interaction) => decreased effectiveness of the referral => decreased liking (perceived sincerity) of the target (Campbell & Kirmani 2000) P1: The impact of WOM decreases when rewards are given ULTERIOR MOTIVES

24. Without rewards, Frank is seen as…. friendly, helpful, social, enthusiastic, nice, price conscious, reliable With rewards, Frank is seen as…. pushy, suspicious, hidden agenda, salesperson, insincere, calculating, weird, dishonest, sneaky, VVD-er (!) some thoughts (for sake of illustration)

27. UM THOUGHTS

28. BRAND EVALUATION

30. P3: SYMBOLIC rewards (e.g., donation to charity on behalf of sender) do not benefit the sender. Therefore: they evoke less UM, and leave the impact of WOM intact. INTERACTION II: TYPE OF REWARD

31. 120 students from S. Korea Product: English Language institute 3 x 2 between Ss: Tie Strength * Reward (no / monetary / symbolic) Tie strength: Identify “ close friend ” or “ casual acquaintance ” (initials) Reward: 30,000 KWON as gift voucher for sender or donation to charity MEASURES : ratings of: Product & sender evaluation & perceived UM (similar to study 1) STUDY 2

32. BRAND EVALUATION (similar results for source evaluations)

34. P4: initiative taking moderates the negative effect of UM salience on impact of WOM we are more likely to suspect UM if WOM is a spontaneous action of the sender. On the other hand, if WOM is actively sought, we have less reason to doubt the sincerity of the sender (Gatignon & Robertson 1985; Kirmani & Campbell 2004, Mazzarol et al. 2007) INTERACTION III: INITIATIVE

36. BRAND EVALUATION (similar results for source evaluations)

43. DUS: