Qualitative and quantitative effects of a cause-related viral campaign

Purpose This research focuses on analysing the usefulness of an “online brand cause-related communication campaign” to improve attitudes towards the ad, the promoted social cause and the sponsoring brand. The paper contributes to mixed-methods research as quantitative and qualitative tools have been used to measure the effectiveness of the campaign. Firstly, in a quantitative study, three types of viral behaviours were investigated: (i) ad-sharing intention, (i) intention to comment about the promoted social issue and (iii) intention to comment about the brand sponsoring the social cause. Secondly, the content of user-generated comments (about the advertisement, the sponsoring brand, and the social cause) was analysed in a qualitative study. Design/methodology/approach For the quantitative study, an international sample of 1,232 respondents from Spain, England and Ecuador were exposed to a viral cause marketing campaign of a conscientious brand promoting a social cause: pet adoption. For the qualitative study, 395 comments from Spanish, Ecuadorian and British respondents have been analysed. Findings The results highlighted important cultural differences in brand-cause viral communication campaigns. Originality/value This paper identifies positive content arguments that motivate ad virilisation, and negative content arguments that inhibit ad sharing and intention to eWOM. It also focuses on cross-cultural differences between countries to understand each culture’s idiosyncrasy.