Valuable virality
Open accessAbstract
Given recent interest in social media, many brands now create content that they hope consumers will view and share with peers. While some campaigns indeed go “viral,” their value to the brand is limited if they do not boost brand evaluation or increase purchase. Consequently, a key question is how to create valuable virality, or content that is not only shared but also beneficial to the brand. Share data from hundreds of real online ads, as well as controlled laboratory experiments, demonstrate that compared with informative appeals (which focus on product features), emotional appeals (which use drama, mood, music, and other emotion-eliciting strategies) are more likely to be shared. Informative appeals, in contrast, boost brand evaluations and purchase because the brand is an integral part of the ad content. By combining the benefits of both approaches, emotional brand-integral ads boost sharing while also bolstering brand-related outcomes. The authors’ framework sheds light on how companies can generate valuable virality and the mechanisms underlying these effects.
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Ad campaigns can be designed to increase the likelihood that they are shared (go viral).
“Ad campaigns can be designed to increase the likelihood that they are shared (i.e.go viral [37])”
From Two social lives: how differences between online and offline interaction influence social outcomes (2020) · cites this paper as [37]
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Sharing product harm information: The effects of self-construal and self-relevance
Akpınar, E., Verlegh, P. W. J., & Smidts, A. (2018) · International Journal of Research in Marketing · doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2018.01.001 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Waltenrath, A., Brenner, C., & Hinz, O. F. (2022) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1177/10949968221096591 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“This aligns with most other relevant studies (Akpinar and Berger 2017; De Vries, Gensler, and Leeflang 2012; Sabate et al. 2014; Stephen, Sciandra, and Inman 2015).”
BackgroundResultLeveraging AI for Content Generation: A Customer Equity Perspective
Schweidel, D. A., Reisenbichler, M., Reutterer, T., & Zhang, K. (2023) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/s1548-643520230000020006 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Unbox the Black-Box: Predict and Interpret YouTube Viewership Using Deep Learning
Xie, J., Chai, Y., & Liu, X. (2023) · Journal of Management Information Systems · doi:10.1080/07421222.2023.2196780 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“They also examined the factors that may increase consumption [35] and offered some insights for the design of digital contents [6].”
BackgroundSeptianto, F., & Mathmann, F. (2023) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.2023.2250830 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“Achieving organic reach is key to effective social media advertising (Akpinar and Berger 2017).”
BackgroundAffective resistance to narrative persuasion
Appel, M. (2022) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.05.001 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Effect of social identity on the generation of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on Facebook
Soriano, F. J. G., Feldman, P. M., & Rodríguez-Camacho, J. A. (2020) · Cogent Business & Management · doi:10.1080/23311975.2020.1738201 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
“…on the relationship between eWOM and self-enhancement find that an individual can be motivated, directly or indirectly, to comment on various consumption experiences, based on the community’s recognition of the contribution that such information can make (Akpinar & Berger, 2017; Goh et al., 2013).”
BackgroundThe virality of advertising content
Kaur, B., Paul, J., & Sharma, R. R. (2022) · Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1108/jrim-10-2021-0268 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Picture Perfect: Engaging Customers with Visual Generative AI
Heitmann, M., Jansen, T. P. J., Reisenbichler, M., & Schweidel, D. A. (2025) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/00222429251356993 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“To investigate this, we test the virality of ads rated on a seven-point scale (Akpinar and Berger 2017).”
Gao, P., Jiang, H., Xie, Y., & Cheng, Y. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.791567 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“, 2012), sharing willingness (Berger and Milkman, 2012; Akpinar and Berger, 2017), purchase intention (Lee and Hong, 2016; Liu et al.”
BackgroundInfluentialManipulation in Marketing, Advertising, Propaganda, and Public Relations
Rubin, V. L. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95656-1_6 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
The Effects of Message Tone and Formats of CSR Messages on Engagement in Social Media
Chae, M.-J. (2020) · Journal of Asian Finance Economics and Business · doi:10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no10.501 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Penttinen, V. (2023) · Journal of business research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114030 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Zhou, Z., Ding, Y. F., Feng, W., & Ke, N. (2021) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.03.034 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Schöndeling, A., Burmester, A. B., Edeling, A., Marchand, A., & Clément, M. (2023) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-022-00916-0 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
#Healthy: smart digital food safety and nutrition communication strategies—a critical commentary
Schiro, J. L., Shan, L. C., Tatlow‐Golden, M., Li, C., & Wall, P. G. (2020) · npj Science of Food · doi:10.1038/s41538-020-00074-z · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Ibrahim, B., Hazzam, J., Qalati, S. A., & Attia, A. M. (2025) · International Journal of Hospitality Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104140 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
E-WOM in the B2B context: Conceptual domain, forms, and implications for research
Chatzipanagiotou, K. C., Azer, J., & Ranaweera, C. (2023) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113957 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“Digital content marketing involves communicating firm-generated and firm-related content to current or prospective customers via digital platforms such as social media to develop engagement, trust, and favorable relationships (Akpinar & Berger, 2017).”
Wang, Y. J., Shi, M., & Zhang, J. (2021) · Cogent Social Sciences · doi:10.1080/23311886.2021.1959728 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“Multiple studies have explored the factors contributing to the virality of social media information (e.g., Akpinar & Berger, 2017; Hansen et al., 2011; Nikolinakou & King, 2018; So et al., 2016; Tellis et al., 2019).”
BackgroundMangiò, F., Pedeliento, G., Andreini, D., & Zarantonello, L. (2023) · Journal of Brand Management · doi:10.1057/s41262-023-00347-4 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“…a direction opposite to that of previous studies that have underlined a positive connection between content’s emotionality and content’s virality (Akpinar and Berger 2017; Berger and Milkman 2012; Vil-larroel Ordenes et al. 2019), emphasize the importance of considering the contingency of…”
InfluentialThe Power of Brand Selfies in Consumer-Generated Brand ImagesPreprint
Hartmann, J., Heitmann, M., Schamp, C., & Netzer, O. (2020) · Social Science Research Network · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3354415 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Empowering Emotion: The Driving Force of Share and Purchase Intentions in Viral Advertising
Wen, T. J., Choi, C., Wu, L., & Morris, J. D. (2021) · Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising · doi:10.1080/10641734.2021.1937408 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Fan, C., Wang, X., & Yu, G. (2023) · Internet Research · doi:10.1108/intr-07-2022-0497 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Is the Buzz on? – A Buzz Detection System for Viral Posts in Social Media
Jansen, N., Hinz, O. F., Deusser, C., & Strufe, T. (2021) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2021.03.003 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“…identifying and understanding variables that drive information diffusion in social networks to explain why some online content gets more attention than others (e.g., Stieglitz and Dang-Xuan 2013; Heimbach et al. 2015; Heimbach and Hinz 2016; Akpinar and Berger 2017; Quesenberry and Coolsen 2019).”
BackgroundPicture Perfect: Engaging Customers with Visual Generative AIPreprint
Jansen, T., Heitmann, M., Reisenbichler, M., & Schweidel, D. A. (2023) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4656622 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Analyzing the influence of celebrities’ emotional and rational brand posts
Ahmadi, A., Taghipour, A., Fetscherin, M., & Ieamsom, S. (2023) · Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC · doi:10.1108/sjme-12-2021-0238 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Social influence in first-time and upgrade adoption
Wang, D., Li, Z., & Xiao, B. (2019) · Electronic Commerce Research and Applications · doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2019.100834 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Customer engagement and sharing behaviors: Toward a contingent curvilinear perspective
Taylor, A., Carlson, J., Liao, Y., & Rahman, M. M. (2022) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.08.048 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Kusuma, A. A., Afiff, A. Z., Gayatri, G., & Hati, S. R. H. (2024) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-023-02529-6 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Chen, L., Chen, Y., & Pan, Y. (2024) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-03-2022-0172 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Chen, Y., Chen, L., & Pan, Y. (2024) · Journal of Marketing Management · doi:10.1080/0267257x.2024.2305748 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“Second, the dense provision of product attribute description in a sponsored video risks information overload and boredom, and both can have negative effects on viewers’ engagement (Akpinar & Berger, 2017; Tellis et al., 2019).”
Predicting the virality of fake news at the early stage of dissemination
Esteban-Bravo, M., Jimenez-Rubido, L. D. L. M., & Vidal-Sanz, J. M. (2024) · Expert Systems with Applications · doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2024.123390 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Topic-based engagement analysis: Focusing on hotel industry Twitter accounts
Martín, I. R., Redín, L. B., Pereira-Delgado, J., Correa, F. A., & Garrido, N. P. (2024) · Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2024.104981 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Escape Addict: A digital escape room for the prevention of addictions and risky behaviors in schools
Bezençon, V., Santo, A. D., Holzer, A., & Lanz, B. (2023) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104798 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Xu, Z., & Minghui, Q. (2023) · Mathematics · doi:10.3390/math11143059 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Significant Objects: How Eudaimonic Narratives Enhance the Value of Featured Products
Hamby, A. M., Tezer, A., & Escalas, J. E. (2022) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.2022.2066035 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“However, Akpinar and Berger (2017) point out that the effects of product centrality depend on the type of appeal and suggest that featuring products prominently in emotional (versus informative) appeals (which are more likely to incorporate narrative elements) may lead to brand-desired outcomes,…”
Background
- Authors
- Akpinar, E., & Berger, J.
- Affiliations
- MEF University
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Corresponding author
- Berger, Jonah
- ORCID
- Berger, Jonah
- Venue
- Journal of Marketing Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-04
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 318-330
- ISSN
- 0022-2437 (ISSN-L)
- 1547-7193
- OpenAlex
- W4236726206
- Cited by
- 267
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 51 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 39.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Marketing Research (publishedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion)
- MEF University Institutional Repository (MEF University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Auburn University
- IJURR Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Marketing and Advertising Strategies
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
- Keywords
- social media marketing, emotional appeal, content sharing, brand evaluation, purchase behavior, online advertising, consumer sharing behavior
About these checks
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