Creative determinants of viral video viewing

This study assesses the creative attributes that drive online viral viewing of TV advertising. The analysis is based on 102 video ads from the UK and US, which were shown on TV and also online. Results show that established advertising pre-test measures such as enjoyment, involvement and branding, which predict ability to generate offline TV advertising awareness, can also predict ability to generate viral viewings. In addition, distinctiveness and perceived likelihood to pass along to others are identified as key determinants of viral viewing. Where celebrities appear within the advertising, this also plays a significant role. Category and brand interest do not appear to play a significant role. This strongly suggests that existing advertising pre-test tools such as the Millward Brown Link (TM) solution can be successfully used to understand the viral potential of advertising, as long as tailored questions and analytic approaches are developed to allow for the viral viewing environment. The role of other non-creative factors, and implications for marketers, are also discussed.