On Brands and Word of Mouth

Abstract

Brands and word of mouth (WOM) are cornerstones of the marketing field, and yet their relationship has received relatively little attention. This study aims to enhance understanding of brand characteristics as antecedents of WOM by executing a comprehensive empirical analysis. For this purpose, the authors constructed a unique data set on online and offline WOM and characteristics for more than 600 of the most talked-about U.S. brands. To guide this empirical analysis, they present a theoretical framework arguing that consumers spread WOM on brands as a result of social, emotional, and functional drivers. Using these drivers, the authors identify a set of 13 brand characteristics that stimulate WOM, including three (level of differentiation, excitement, and complexity) that have not been studied to date as WOM antecedents. The authors find that whereas the social and functional drivers are the most important for online WOM, the emotional driver is the most important for offline WOM. These results provide an insightful perspective on WOM and have meaningful managerial implications for brand management and investment in WOM campaigns.

Electronic word of mouth in social media: the common characteristics of retweeted and favourited marketer-generated content posted on Twitter

“…In fact, if the content is functional (Lovett et al, 2013) and helps to solve users' problems it can spread quickly via WOM (Yen et al, 2011). This is because people enjoy helping others through sharing their knowledge in online platforms (Cheung and Lee, 2012;Hennig-Thurau et al, 2004).…”

“…This is because people enjoy helping others through sharing their knowledge in online platforms (Cheung and Lee, 2012;Hennig-Thurau et al, 2004). In addition, if the tweets contain information about the company this may invoke emotions, and customers might like to share the content with their friends or acquaintances (Berger and Milkman, 2012;Lovett et al, 2013;Peters and Kashima, 2007).…”

Brand image and equity: the mediating role of brand equity drivers and moderating effects of product type and word of mouth

“…Ansary, N. M. H. Nik Hashim a critical factor in brand equity measurement. In this line, Lovett et al (2013) 2 Conceptual framework 2.1 Associative network memory theory Associative network memory theory (ANMT) relies on how memory works (Srull and Wyer 1989). Indeed, the theory assumes that memory contains pieces of information called nodes (Smith 2004).…”

Redressing the Sleeper Effect: Evidence for the Favorable Persuasive Impact of Discounting Information Over Time in a Contemporary Advertising Context

“…Yet, digital media affords consumers enhanced and relatively easy access to and sharing of competitor or non-business approved information (Lovett et al 2013). Consumers obtain and share much of their product information from multiple media outlets through search engines, seeking out both positive and negative information online (Ein-Gar, Shiv, and Tormala 2012;Maehle and Supphellen 2013).…”