UDC

Authors

Abstract

Viral advertising is one of the most popular and at the same time controversial marketing tools. Any corporation finds it appealing to turn customers into loyal distributors of its marketing messages. However, the risks associated with the uncontrollable trajectories of the messages being spread do not allow using it on a large scale. Viral technologies have emerged in the information and communication space of modern society following the explosive development of wireless technologies as well as digital and social media and present a new form of advertising communication. Mediated Internet communication lacks nonverbal expression and is thus characterized by emotional scarcity. This can be considered as the basic premise of the emergence of viral communication genres on the Internet. Carrying a strong emotional component, a viral message is able to penetrate the consciousness of the recipient by overcoming its protective functions, gain a foothold in the longterm memory and motivate individuals to share their emotions with the members of their social environment. Despite the growing interest of specialists in viral advertising campaigns, the lack of in-depth scientific research into this issue is evident. The article presents some results of an empirical study of consumer and communicative behaviour of today’s Internet users. It provides a definition of viral advertising as a target audience manipulation technique and analyses the main factors of its efficiency. With detailed study of viral technologies one can turn viral advertising into a powerful means of manipulating consumer perception and behaviour.

Keywords

References

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