Hewett et al. (2016): Brand Buzz in the Echoverse

14 important questions on Hewett et al. (2016): Brand Buzz in the Echoverse

What is the aim of the research in the paper by Hewett et al. (2016)?

The aim of this research is to theoretically conceptualise and empirically demonstrate the nature of the echoverse.

How can firms as actors and consumers contribute to the echoverse?

  • Firms as actors can contribute to the echoverse in several ways, such as advertising  and press releases.
  • Consumers contribute through online WOM, attitudes, and behaviours.

This study is unique in three ways. Which ways are those?

  1. The first to assess how a rather comprehensive set of components can influence each other.
  2. Include both volume and valence for traditional media, social media WOM, and firm-sponsored WOM.
  3. Demonstrate feedback loops for each path.
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Why is the understanding of feedback loops vital with regards to echoverse?

Understanding feedback loops is vital because each action by echoverse actors is intended to evoke a response by at least one other component.

Why is the understanding of feedback loops vital with regards to echoverse?

Understanding feedback loops is vital because each action by echoverse actors is intended to evoke a response by at least one other component.

In which context is the conceptual framework tested?

We test our conceptual framework in the financial services industry. We focus on the four top U.S. financial service firms—Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo—and study the period 2007 to 2013.

Explain the echoverse figure (actors, sources & components).

The echoverse has 3 actors:
  • Firms
  • Consumers
  • News media.

We distinguish between 5 echoverse sources and 11 components:
  • Online WOM
    • Twitter posts (volume & valence)
  • Business Outcomes
    • Customer deposits
  • Consumer Sentiment
    • Buzz Valence
  • Traditional Media News Stories
    • Volume & valence
  • Firm Communications
    • Press releases (volume & valence)
    • Advertising
    • Twitter posts (volume & valence)  

What is an important managerial implication regarding brand communications strategies?

Brand communications strategies should consider the whole echoverse to include both online and traditional offline elements.

Result: Is there evidence found that the echoverse exists? If yes, what influences each other?

There is a clear statistical evidence for the echoverse
  • Clear and symmetric echo between traditional media stories and online WOM, with 100% significant effects in both ways.
  • Firm communications influence the traditional media, customer sentiment, online WOM, and business outcomes

Result: Are there strong contrasts found in the effectiveness of Twitter strategies across banks or not?

Yes, remarkable constrasts are found.

What are three things firms can do about a spiral of negative news?

  1. Company tweets can calm things down
    • The volume of company tweets is successful in driving down the volume of online WOM and the number of news articles, and it lifts customer sentiment.
  2. Press releases can be surprisingly effective.
    • More positive press releases can lift the tone of online WOM and is effective in lifting customer deposits.
  3. Advertising bypasses (omzeilt) the echoverse
    • It does positively affect customer deposits

Result: Bad News Spreads Fast and Wide in the Echoverse. Explain this with the figure (graphs A t/m F).

  1. More negative new articles lead to more online WOM
  2. More online WOM leads to a drop in consumer sentiment
  3. More negative consumer sentiment leads to more news articles
  4. More negative WOM leads to more new articles
  5. More negative consumer sentiment leads to lower customer deposits
  6. More online WOM leads to lower cusomer deposits

Result: Are there asymmetries in the echoverse (RQ)? If yes, which one(s)?

Yes, there are some strong asymmetries in the echoverse.
  1. Consumer sentiment follows online WOM, but not the other way around (confirming the opinion leadership role of online WOM)
  2. Online WOM drives business outcomes, but not the other way around
  3. Firms respond more to online WOM than to traditional consumer sentiment

What are the 5 main conclusion of the paper by Hewett et al. (2016)?

  • Corporate communications move increasingly from one to many (advertising) to one to one (Twitter) while consumer word of mouth moves from one to one (conversations) to one to many (social media)
  • Companies benefit from using social media for personalised customer responses
  • A reverberating echoverse exists: Traditional media new stories, online WOM and firm communications all echo one another.
  • The echoverse is changing as online WOM assumes greater importance
  • Traditional consumer sentiment measures may be declining

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