Abstract:

In traditional campaign post-testings only the impact of direct exposure (people actually having seen the creative) is measured. By doing so, all dynamics behind the buzz in terms of word-of-mouth and word of mouse and how this influences consumer dynamics remains unknown. Traditional approaches also neglect the actions people undertake after having viewed a commercial message, while commercials can be found on sites like YouTube and are shared around the world. This study tests Dove's viral movie Evolution and confirms that measuring indirect exposure as well consumer actions undertaken after ad exposure provides advertisers with new and useful insights.