James R. Coyle

The Effects of Progressive Levels of Interactivity and Vividness in Web Marketing Sites

Abstract This experiment examines interactivity and vividness in commercial web sites. We expected increased levels of interactivity and vividness would lead to more positive attitudes toward web sites, stronger feelings of telepresence, and greater attitude—behavior consistency. In addition, we expected increased levels of vividness to lead to the development of more enduring attitudes toward the site. Participants explored four web sites. Increases in interactivity and vividness were associated with increased feelings of telepresence. In addition, increases in vividness were associated with more positive and more enduring attitudes toward the web site. Implications for new media researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Reconsidering Models of Influence: The Relationship between Consumer Social Networks and Word-of-Mouth Effectiveness

ABSTRACT In todays fragmented media landscape, generating positive word of mouth (WOM) among consumers has become an important tool for marketers. Marketers are challenged with identifying influential individuals in social networks and connecting with them in ways that encourage WOM message movement. In this article, we explore the nature of social networks, their role in influence, and the characteristics of the most influential individuals. We also examine the characteristics of viral marketing messages. Our findings contradict the commonly accepted notion that WOM influence comes from an elite, highly-connected few. Rather our research suggests that most people are moderately connected and are as willing as the highly connected to share marketing messages with others. Also, we find that influence is motivated by our basic human need to be helpful by giving advice, and that people share a common enjoyment in seeking out valuable information. The implications of these findings for marketers are discussed.

Collectivist and Individualist Influences on Website Design in South Korea and the U.S.: A Cross-Cultural Content Analysis

When websites are constructed to appeal to various cultures, designers must ensure that those sites are easily navigated by members of those various cultures. The integration of design features into company-sponsored websites may differ between cultures with different communicative predispositions. This content analysis examines collectivist and individualist cultural influences on the design of organizational websites originating in South Korea and the U.S., and particularly how temporal and communication differences are revealed through the decisions designers make to use certain kinds of interactivity and rich media tools. Findings confirm that South Korean websites are more likely than U.S. websites to conform to polychronic time-management tendencies and preferences for high-context communication. Implications for both researchers and Internet marketing communications managers are discussed.

Electronic word of mouth: The effects of incentives on e‐referrals by senders and receivers

Purpose – The purpose of this work is to test several incentive strategies for attaining new customers via electronic referrals, or e‐referrals. The paper aims to examine: the roles of both the magnitude of the incentive offered to the sender and the magnitude of the incentive offered to the receiver; and the effect of equity versus inequity of financial incentives for the two parties.Design/methodology/approach – The study consisted of a large‐scale field experiment conducted with 45,000 members of an online mall. The participants were divided into eight conditions in an incomplete two‐factor 4×4 between‐subjects design, where not every combination of incentive magnitudes was utilized and the magnitude of the incentive offered the receiver and sender varied in size such that sometimes rewards were equal, sometimes receivers of the e‐referral had larger rewards, and sometimes senders of the e‐referral s received more. Dependent measures included the number of e‐referrals sent, the number of those e‐referr...

“I'm here to help”

Purpose – Customers have high expectations that company representatives contacted online will go out of their way to be helpful. One type of social media that may be particularly useful as a customer relationship management (CRM) tool is microblogging platforms such as Twitter. The purpose of this paper is to look at the impact of perceived helpfulness of customer representative microblog responses on peoples perceptions of brand trust, brand benevolence, brand attitudes and intentions to try or purchase a brand.Design/methodology/approach – A field experiment was conducted to manipulate three variables: type of helpfulness response (empathetic or problem‐solving), amount of helpfulness (less or more helpful), and interface in which responses were viewed (branded, Google, or Twitter).Findings – The interaction between type of helpfulness and amount of helpfulness led to greater perceptions of company trustworthiness and benevolence when there were many problem‐solving responses than when there were few, ...

Player performance and in game advertising retention

In game advertising or IGA is an increasingly common means of promoting brands and products. This study seeks to understand the effectiveness of in game advertising by understanding player retention of brand messages. The researchers created a controlled environment and 3D car racing game, embedding in game advertising and measuring player performance and advertising retention. The study produces a highly detailed view of the relationship of brand retention, player ability, and engagement.

A Content Analysis of Registration Processes on Websites

ABSTRACT The proper implementation and design of registration pages is a crucial consideration in the development of websites for two reasons: First, users often navigate through them to receive future marketing communications. Second, advertisers can gain valuable contact information through registration processes that allow them to customize marketing communications. This content analysis investigates the implementation and design of such processes by comparing the registration processes established by large and small websites, as well as websites of pure play companies versus click-and-mortar companies. Differences emerge across several variables. The results have implications for advertising researchers and practitioners and suggest some registration process best practices.

The Effects of Interactive Images and Goal-Seeking Behavior on Telepresence and Site Ease of Use

ABSTRACT An effective website is usable and engaging. In this article we investigate how navigation bar images and text may increase perceptions of website ease of use and interactivity. In an experiment we found that clickable images that accurately communicated the content they were linked to contributed to higher perceived levels of telepresence and stronger feelings that the website was easy to use. We also found that users responded strongest when images were coupled with text. We discuss the managerial and research implications of these findings.

‘Click here to share with a friend’: a uses and gratifications approach to word-of-mouth marketing effectiveness

The burgeoning interest in viral marketing and social media optimisation can be seen as a response to the growing and prohibitive clutter inherent in todays fragmented media landscape that leads to messages being attended to less reliably and exclusively. Research on predictors of viral marketing effectiveness is in its infancy, especially as it relates to the use of advertising as the primary vehicle for a viral campaign. We explore factors that prompt advertising sharing, and introduce a shareability scale, a tool to gauge the sharing potential of interactive marketing communications. Across a B2B and a B2C sample, we found remarkable similarity. Participants who were willing to share advertising information tended to be more mindful of others when processing the advertisement, to have a greater general tendency to share internet information, to be more highly involved in the product category, and, in the B2C sample, to be less concerned about source trustworthiness when passing along information found online. Implications for new media researchers and advertisers are discussed.

Did you see that?: in-game advertising retention in players and onlookers

The effects of embedding advertising in digital games has been explored in only a few controlled studies. This research provides results of an efficacy analysis of in-game advertising within the controlled environment of a racing car game, an environment in which advertising blends in naturally. The experiment was designed to understand the effectiveness of in-game advertising for both players and onlookers. Examining players in both Europe and the United States, this study measured how in-game advertising works on those who participate in electronic entertainment and those who watch it. The results indicate that such advertising is more effective for onlookers than for players. Implications for designers and researchers is discussed.