Tellis, MacInnis, Tirunillai, and Zhang (2019) test what drives sharing of video ads across social platforms.
Two field studies, using 11 emotions and more than 60 ad characteristics, find that information-focused content reduces sharing, except in risky contexts. Amusement, excitement, inspiration, and warmth increase sharing. Prominent brand-name placement hurts sharing. Sharing is highest when the ad is a moderate length, 1.2 to 1.7 minutes. A third study shows those drivers predict sharing in an independent sample.
Method
Five hypotheses are tested in two independent field studies of video ads on multiple social platforms. The measures cover 11 emotions and more than 60 ad characteristics. A third study checks whether the identified drivers predict sharing in an entirely independent sample.
Main findings
- Information suppresses sharing, except when the choice is risky. Information-focused content has a negative effect on sharing, except in risky contexts.
- A short list of positive emotions travels. Amusement, excitement, inspiration, and warmth increase sharing. Drama elements such as surprise, plot, and characters, including babies, animals, and celebrities, arouse emotions.
- A prominent brand and the wrong length cost shares. Prominent placement of the brand name, whether early or late, long or short, persistent or pulsing, hurts sharing. Sharing is greatest when length is moderate, from 1.2 to 1.7 minutes. Emotional ads are shared more on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter than on LinkedIn. Informational ads reverse that pattern.
Why this is in the Darwin index
This is the sharing paper beside Akpinar and Berger (2017) on valuable virality. It names which emotions, which brand placement, and which length move shares, and it notes that common ad practice runs against those results.
Source of record: doi:10.1177/0022242919841034.