Planning Seeded Marketing Campaigns that Drive Firm-created Word-of-Mouth and Sales
(A2019-6128)

AUTHORS

Ulrike Phieler, Technische Universität Berlin; Florian Dost, Lancaster University Management School

KEYWORDS

seeded marketing campaigns (SMC); firm-created word-of-mouth (WOM); marketing and brand context effects

ABSTRACT

Seeded Marketing Campaigns (SMCs) are increasingly integrated in the marketing mix to utilize the persuasive power of firm-created word-of-mouth (WOM). However, managers receive little advice from the scant SMC literature on planning who to seed to, the timing of the campaign, and what to provide, while additionally considering brand and marketing context effects. This study uses a dataset of 142 SMC to provide first empirical estimates for SMC decisions, investigate their effect on firm-created WOM and sales, and to assess their importance relative to context effects. Findings underline the importance of SMC decisions for stirring WOM and incremental sales, while context effects play only a minor role, hinting at differences in the nature of organic and firm-created WOM. As a result, this study provides managerial insights for optimal SMC planning, and extends firm-created WOM literature.

REFERENCES

Ulrike Phieler thankfully acknowledges financial support of the DCR doctoral program of the European University Viadrina and the GGS Heilbronn.