COBRAs and virality: viral campaign values on consumer behaviour

Abstract In the digital marketing era, a viral brand campaign is a potent marketing tool for a brand, enabling it to derive multiple benefits through rapid and widespread information diffusion. Despite the important role of brand viral campaigns, existing studies have minimally explored the effect of viral campaign values on consumer behaviours, especially on a set of consumers’ online brand-related activities (COBRAs). Therefore, this study bridges this gap by proposing a detailed framework to measure the impact of viral campaigns on COBRAs through the aspects of medium, content, and interaction. To investigate this phenomenon, a survey was conducted with 409 respondents from the US, employing partial least-squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that six values of brand viral campaigns, including ease of browsing, hedonic value, functional value, aesthetic value, social interaction, and self-identity, significantly motivate consumers to actively engage in COBRAs. By examining COBRAs’ motivations in the viral brand campaign context, this study expands the existing literature with a comprehensive model of campaign values. Furthermore, by elucidating the impact of each campaign value on COBRAs, this study offers valuable insights to marketers and suggests effective strategies to engage consumers with brands.