On Brands and Word of Mouth.

Brands and word-of-mouth are cornerstones of marketing, yet, their relationship was largely ignored. In order to explore this relationship we present a theoretical framework whose fundamentals are consumers and what stimulates them to engage in WOM. It argues that consumers spread the word on brands as a result of three drivers: functional, social, and emotional. Through these motives and needs we identify a set of brand characteristics (e.g. level of differentiation) that play a role in stimulating Brands and word-of-mouth.

To examine our theoretical framework empirically, we constructed a unique data set on the online and offline Brands and word-of-mouth and the characteristics of the 697 most talked-about national US brands. Using MCMC estimation we find that

(i)                    Brand characteristics play an important role in generating Brands and word-of-mouth, and

(ii)                  That the impact of the characteristics differs between offline conversations and online brand mentions.

We also find that while the social and functional drivers are the most important for online Brands and word-of-mouth  the emotional driver is the most important for offline Brands and word-of-mouth. These results portray an interesting picture of  Brands and word-of-mouth and have meaningful managerial implications (e.g. investment in Brands and word-of-mouth).

This study aims to enhance understanding of brand characteristics as antecedents of Brands and word-of-mouth by executing a comprehensive empirical analysis. For this purpose, the authors constructed a unique data set on online and offline Brands and word-of-mouth 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 Brands and word-of-mouth 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 Brands and word-of-mouth  including three (level of differentiation, excitement, and complexity) that have not been studied to date as Brands and word-of-mouth antecedents. The authors find that whereas the social and functional drivers are the most important for online Brands and word-of-mouth  the emotional driver is the most important for offline Brands and word-of-mouth  These results provide an insightful perspective on Brands and word-of-mouth and have meaningful managerial implications for brand management and investment in Brands and word-of-mouth campaigns.

Works Cited


Journal of Marketing Research (JMR). Aug2013, Vol. 50 Issue 4, p427-444. 18p. 1 Diagram, 9 Charts.