Consumer-generated advertising

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Consumer-generated advertising is advertising on consumer generated media. [1] This term is generally used to refer to sponsored content on blogs, wikis, forums, social networking services, and individual websites. This sponsored content is also known as sponsored posts, paid posts, or sponsored reviews. The content includes links that point to the home page or specific product pages of the website of the sponsor. Examples include Diet Coke and Mentos videos, the "Crush on Obama" video, and Star Wars fan films. Companies that have employed consumer-generated ads include Subaru North America, [2] McDonald's, [3] Rose Parade, [4] and Toyota North America. [5] [6]

Contents

The practice of consumer-generated marketing has been in use for several years with the emergence of communal forms of information sharing including weblogs, online message boards, podcasts, interactive broadband TV, and other new media that has been adopted by consumers at the grassroots level to establish community forums for discussing their customer experiences.

Consumer-generated marketing is not the same as viral marketing or word of mouth advertising; however, the result of it achieves a high level of publicity within high relevance communities. These communities are extremely critical to the success of a brand, and normally follow the 80/20 rule, where 20% of the brand's customers account for 80% of its sales. The very act of reaching out to consumers to invite them in as co-collaborators and co-creatives, is a fundamental component of the marketing campaign. [7] The construct naturally lends itself to other consumer-marketing activities, like "communal branding" and "communal research."

Sponsored posts have been defined as the promoted entries or posts which contain links that point to a webpage or specific product pages of the website of the sponsor for which the creator of the content receives compensation in the form of money, products, services or in other ways. [8] As opposed to the graphical ads (in the form of banners or buttons), which have been around on websites for quite some time, the sponsored content may be in the form of feedback, reviews, opinion, videos or other content. Forrester Research uses the term sponsored conversation which refers to sponsored conversation which involves payment to bloggers and other consumers who generate the advertising, to create transparent and genuine content about the brand.

Communal marketing

Communal marketing refers to a marketing practice that incorporates public involvement in the development of an advertising/marketing campaign. Such a campaign invites consumers to share their ideas or express their articulation of what the brand means to them through their own personal stories, with the use of print media, film or audio. The resulting consumer-generated content is then incorporated into the campaign. Finally, the result of this collaboration is showcased, often in a cross-media campaign, to invite the extended community of like-minded individuals to share in the results, thereby creating a communal bond between the "brand champions as advertisers" and other individuals who have a natural affinity with what the brand has to offer. The result provides the brand with a way to create a deeper connection with their core market, while also opening up new pathways to extend the relationship to new customers. [9]

Anytime a brand reaches out to its audience to invite them in to be co-collaborators in the development of an advertising campaign, they are participating in a "communal branding" effort. Whenever marketing decisions are the result of communing with the brand's audience to help drive the development of a campaign, they are engaging in "communal research." For example, Peter Jackson, in the making of The Lord of the Rings , reached out to loyal followers of the book to help weigh in on some major directorial decisions.

Customer rewards

Joel Moss Levinson won 11 consumer generated marketing contests, and earned more than $200,000 in money and prizes, by creating corporate jingles and short commercials. [10] [11]

Customer Loyalty

Customer Loyalty can be defined as the outcome of consistently positive emotional experience, physical attribute-based satisfaction and perceived value of an experience, that also includes products or services. Customer loyalty can also be related to customer experience management as it blends the physical, emotional and value elements of an experience into one unified experience. Maintaining faithful customer costs a company less money than acquiring new ones. [12] Customer experience management is one of the most cost-effective way to drive customer satisfaction, customer retention and customer loyalty. Customer loyalty is important to a business because loyal customers generally ensure sales and is more likely to purchase high-margin supplemental products and services. Loyal customers also help organizations reduce costs linked with consumer education and marketing, especially when the loyal customers become the company's net promoters. Customer experience programs are one of the most effective way to differentiate an organization from its competitors. This level of differentiation effectively drives customer loyalty when customers are involved on an emotional, intellectual or spiritual level. [13]

Customer loyalty schemes are an effective way to improve an organization's customer retention levels and profitability. To build a loyal clientele, organizations need to recognize and reward their best customers. Loyalty schemes can be used by companies to incentivise and satisfy valued customers which in turn can help businesses improve their customer base and also their profitability. An organization's loyalty programs allows them to focus on loyal customers and improve satisfaction levels. Faithful customers tend to purchase more products and are often willing to pay more than the usual price, which in turn can boost an organization's cash flow. Increased loyalty from customers also extends the time that they place their business with the company, meaning they will stick to the business more often and in an extended period. [13]

Customer loyalty schemes also help companies improve their triple bottom line through the data collected during the course of the customer loyalty schemes. It also helps companies to identify customer behaviour and focus on them to come up with strategies that may help organizations reward their loyal customers. Customer loyalty schemes can also be used to gain back the attention of customers who are turning away from the business. The data generated by a loyalty scheme can offer other helpful information. It can help point out defection patterns from customers and also to help organizations improve their product range and stock selection. [13]

Related Research Articles

Advertising Form of communication for marketing, typically paid for

Advertising is a marketing communication that employs an openly sponsored, non-personal message to promote or sell a product, service or idea. Sponsors of advertising are typically businesses wishing to promote their products or services. Advertising is differentiated from public relations in that an advertiser pays for and has control over the message. It differs from personal selling in that the message is non-personal, i.e., not directed to a particular individual. Advertising is communicated through various mass media, including traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor advertising or direct mail; and new media such as search results, blogs, social media, websites or text messages. The actual presentation of the message in a medium is referred to as an advertisement.

Guerrilla marketing Advertising strategy using surprise and/or unconventional interactions

Guerrilla marketing is an advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service. It is a type of publicity. The term was popularized by Jay Conrad Levinson's 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing.

Relationship marketing is a form of marketing developed from direct response marketing campaigns that emphasizes customer retention and satisfaction rather than sales transactions. It differentiates from other forms of marketing in that it recognises the long-term value of customer relationships and extends communication beyond intrusive advertising and sales promotional messages. With the growth of the Internet and mobile platforms, relationship marketing has continued to evolve as technology opens more collaborative and social communication channels such as tools for managing relationships with customers that go beyond demographics and customer service data collection. Relationship marketing extends to include inbound marketing, a combination of search optimization and strategic content, public relations, social media and application development.

In marketing, promotion refers to any type of marketing communication used to inform target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or issue, most of the time persuasive in nature. It helps marketers to create a distinctive place in customers' mind, it can be either a cognitive or emotional route. The aim of promotion is to increase brand awareness, create interest, generate sales or create brand loyalty. It is one of the basic elements of the market mix, which includes the four Ps, i.e., product, price, place, and promotion.

Advertising campaign Series of advertisements centered around a particular theme or character

An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and concepts into one large media base. Advertising campaigns utilize diverse media channels over a particular time frame and target identified audiences.

Brand loyalty Marketing term for a consumers emotional attachment to a given brand

In marketing, brand loyalty describes a consumer's positive feelings towards a brand, and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly, regardless of deficiencies, a competitor's actions, or changes in the environment. It can also be demonstrated with other behaviors such as positive word-of-mouth advocacy. Corporate brand loyalty is where an individual buys products from the same manufacturer repeatedly and without wavering, rather than from other suppliers. Loyalty implies dedication and should not be confused with habit with its less-than-emotional engagement and commitment. Businesses whose financial and ethical values rest in large part on their brand loyalty are said to use the loyalty business model.

Engagement marketing, sometimes called "experiential marketing", "event marketing", "on-ground marketing", "live marketing", "participation marketing", "Loyalty Marketing", or "special events" is a marketing strategy that directly engages consumers and invites and encourages them to participate in the evolution of a brand or a brand experience. Rather than looking at consumers as passive receivers of messages, engagement marketers believe that consumers should be actively involved in the production and co-creation of marketing programs, developing a relationship with the brand.

Loyalty marketing is an approach to marketing, based on strategic management, in which a company focuses on growing and retaining existing customers through incentives. Branding, product marketing, and loyalty marketing all form part of the customer proposition – the subjective assessment by the customer of whether to purchase a brand or not based on the integrated combination of the value they receive from each of these marketing disciplines.

Digital marketing Marketing of products or services using digital technologies or digital tools

Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development during the 1990s and 2000s changed the way brands and businesses use technology for marketing. As digital platforms became increasingly incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people increasingly use digital devices instead of visiting physical shops, digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent, employing combinations of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e–books, and optical disks and games have become commonplace. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones, callback, and on-hold mobile ring tones. The extension to non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online advertising.

"Youth Marketing" is a term used in the marketing and advertising industry to describe activities to communicate with young people, typically in the age range of 11 to 35. More specifically, there is teen marketing, targeting people age 11 to 17, college marketing, targeting college-age consumers, typically ages 18 to 24, and young adult marketing, targeting ages 25 to 34.

A touchpoint can be defined as any way consumers can interact with a business organization, whether it be person-to-person, through a website, an app or any form of communication. When consumers come in contact with these touchpoints it gives them the opportunity to compare their prior perceptions of the business and form an opinion.

Customer engagement is an interaction between an external consumer/customer and an organization through various online or offline channels. For example, Hollebeek, Srivastava and Chen's S-D logic-informed definition of customer engagement is "a customer’s motivationally driven, volitional investment of operant resources, and operand resources into brand interactions," which applies to online and offline engagement.

Content marketing Form of marketing focused on creating content for a targeted audience online

Content marketing is a form of marketing focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online. It is often used by businesses in order to achieve the following goals: attract attention and generate leads, expand their customer base, generate or increase online sales, increase brand awareness or credibility, and engage an online community of users. Content marketing attracts new customers by creating and sharing valuable free content. It helps companies create sustainable brand loyalty, provides valuable information to consumers, and creates a willingness to purchase products from the company in the future.

Marketing buzz or simply buzz—a term used in viral marketing—is the interaction of consumers and users of a product or service which amplifies or alters the original marketing message. This emotion, energy, excitement, or anticipation about a product or service can be positive or negative. Buzz can be generated by intentional marketing activities by the brand owner or it can be the result of an independent event that enters public awareness through social or traditional media such as newspapers. Marketing buzz originally referred to oral communication but in the age of Web 2.0, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube are now the dominant communication channels for marketing buzz.

Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for both practitioners and researchers. Most social media platforms have built-in data analytics tools, enabling companies to track the progress, success, and engagement of ad campaigns. Companies address a range of stakeholders through social media marketing, including current and potential customers, current and potential employees, journalists, bloggers, and the general public. On a strategic level, social media marketing includes the management of a marketing campaign, governance, setting the scope and the establishment of a firm's desired social media "culture" and "tone."

Sponsored post, also known as a promoted post, is a post to any community-driven notification-oriented website which is explicitly sponsored as an advertisement by a particular company in order to draw a large amount of popularity through user promotion and moderation to the most active or most viewed page on the website. The model has become adopted by various ad-supported but community-driven websites as an addition, substitute or replacement of other pay-per-click advertisement formats, such as web banners, text and rich media. Sites and services which utilize sponsored posts include Digg, Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram.

Street marketing is a form of guerrilla marketing that uses nontraditional or unconventional methods to promote a product or service. Many businesses use fliers, coupons, posters and art displays as a cost-effective alternative to the traditional marketing methods such as television, print and social media. Based on the shifting characteristics of modern-day consumers – such as increased product knowledge and expectations of transparency – the goal of street marketing is to use direct communication to enhance brand recognition.

Word-of-mouth marketing differs from naturally occurring word of mouth, in that it is actively influenced or encouraged by organizations. While it is difficult to truly control WOM, research has shown that there are three generic avenues to 'manage' WOM for the purpose of WOMM:

Fan loyalty is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Fan Loyalty is often used in the context of sports and the support of a specific team or institution. Fan loyalties can range from a passive support to radical allegiance and expressions of loyalty can take shape in many forms and be displayed across varying platforms. Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions. The loyalties of sports fans in particular have been studied by psychologists, who have determined several factors that help to create such loyalties.

Native advertising, also called sponsored content, is a type of advertising that matches the form and function of the platform upon which it appears. In many cases it functions like an advertorial, and manifests as a video, article or editorial. The word native refers to this coherence of the content with the other media that appear on the platform.

References

  1. ↑ Mutum, D. S.; Wang, Q. (2011). "Consumer Generated Advertising in Blogs. In Matthew S. Eastin; Terry Daugherty; Neal M. Burns (Eds) Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Advertising: User Generated Content Consumption". IGI Global: Pennsylvania. 1: 248–61.
  2. ↑ "TagKast". Archived from the original on August 10, 2016.
  3. ↑ Heine, Christopher. "What McDonald's Is Doing on Snapchat [Infographic] Fast-food giant's tactics come to light as well as brand-related stats". Adweek .
  4. ↑ "Rose Parade – Attendee Generated Ads". GoldCamera.com.
  5. ↑ "Virtual Photo Booth Case Studies". GoldCamera.com.
  6. ↑ Marketing, On. "Consumer-Generated Ads: Good For Retention, Bad For Growth". Forbes . Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  7. ↑ Schivinski, Bruno (September 5, 2019). "Eliciting brand-related social media engagement: A conditional inference tree framework". Journal of Business Research. 130: 594–602. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.08.045. ISSN   0148-2963. S2CID   203045048.
  8. ↑ Mutum, D. S. & Ghazali, E. (2014). Personal Blog Marketing. In Ali Ghorbani (Ed) Marketing in the Cyber Era: Strategies and Emerging Trends
  9. ↑ Schivinski, Bruno; Dąbrowski, D. (2014). "The Effect of Social-Media Communication on Consumer Perceptions of Brands" (PDF). Journal of Marketing Communications. 22 (2): 2–19. doi:10.1080/13527266.2013.871323. S2CID   24039630.
  10. ↑ Clifford, Stephanie (October 27, 2008). "Finding a Gold Mine in Digital Ditties". The New York Times . Retrieved October 28, 2008. So far, Mr. Levinson, a college dropout with dozens of failed jobs on his résumé, has won 11 contests — earning more than $200,000 in money and prizes. His success has made him into the digital age version of Evelyn Ryan, the woman from Defiance, Ohio, who supported her family by winning commercial jingle contests in the 1950s and '60s.
  11. ↑ "Internet Crush: Joel Moss Levinson". New York . Retrieved October 28, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Customer Loyalty | Beyond Philosophy | CX Consultants". Beyond Philosophy | CX Consultants | Customer Experience. September 11, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 "Customer loyalty". Marketing Donut. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
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