COBRAS and virality: viral campaign values on consumer behaviour

The study addresses how viral brand campaign values influence consumers’ online brand-related activities (COBRAs) across three engagement levels: consuming, contributing, and creating. Prior research typically examined isolated aspects of viral marketing or single consumer actions, overlooking platform characteristics and simultaneous behavioural responses. This research proposes and tests a comprehensive framework integrating three campaign aspects—medium (ease of browsing), content (hedonic, functional, aesthetic), and interaction (social interaction, self-identity)—and hypothesises that each value positively associates with all three COBRA behaviours. The purpose is to clarify determinants of virality and consumer engagement in social media contexts, offering broader insights for effective consumer-brand interaction.

The theoretical framework synthesises fragmented findings from branded content, viral marketing, and COBRA literature. Viral campaigns, defined as branded messages that replicate via social sharing, rely on social networks for information diffusion. Prior work identified motivations such as entertainment, information, socialising, and remuneration; investigated content appeals and quality; and explored platform and content factors (e.g., usefulness, ease of use). However, a cohesive value-based framework spanning medium, content, and interaction was lacking. This study delineates six perceived values: ease of browsing (medium), hedonic, functional, aesthetic (content), and social interaction, self-identity (interaction). Each is theorised to promote virality and higher engagement, aligning with uses-and-gratifications and social identity perspectives, and extending reviews that previously listed characteristics rather than consumer-perceived value constructs.

Design: Quantitative survey with PLS-SEM analysis. Sampling and data collection: A pretest (n=100) preceded the main survey. The official survey was conducted via MTurk in the US from November 12–14, 2022, using convenience sampling. Inclusion required prior exposure to at least one memorable viral brand campaign. Ethical procedures ensured anonymity, confidentiality, informed consent, and compliance with regulations. Sample: 409 valid respondents (57% women; 43% men), ages 18–49 (1% 18–19; 48% 20–29; 41% 30–39; 10% 40–49). Frequently cited campaigns included Dove’s Real Beauty, Old Spice’s Smell Like a Man, and Nike’s Just Do It. Measures: Nine latent variables were measured on 7-point Likert scales (1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree). Ease of browsing items adapted from Rathnayake and Winter (2018); hedonic value from Voss et al. (2003); aesthetic value from Waqas et al. (2021); functional value and social interaction from Jahn and Kunz (2012); self-identity from De Veirman et al. (2017); COBRAs (consuming, contributing, creating) from established COBRA scales. Items were adapted to the viral campaign context. Reliability/validity: All indicator loadings >0.81; CR ≥0.83; AVE >0.60; Fornell–Larcker discriminant validity satisfied. Analysis: PLS-SEM (SmartPLS v4.0.8.5) with a two-step approach assessed the measurement model (reliability/validity) and the structural model (path coefficients, t-values, p-values, and R²).

Model fit and explanatory power: R² for COBRAs—consuming = 0.737; contributing = 0.731; creating = 0.707—indicating strong explanatory power. All 18 hypothesised positive relationships were supported:

• Ease of browsing → Consuming β=0.124 (t=3.033, p=0.002); → Contributing β=0.119 (t=2.682, p=0.007); → Creating β=0.124 (t=2.410, p=0.016).
• Hedonic value → Consuming β=0.159 (t=3.248, p=0.001); → Contributing β=0.185 (t=3.766, p<0.001); → Creating β=0.186 (t=3.373, p=0.001).
• Functional value → Consuming β=0.156 (t=3.225, p=0.001); → Contributing β=0.184 (t=3.757, p<0.001); → Creating β=0.125 (t=2.313, p=0.021).
• Aesthetic value → Consuming β=0.200 (t=4.007, p<0.001); → Contributing β=0.128 (t=2.652, p=0.008); → Creating β=0.202 (t=3.679, p<0.001).
• Social interaction → Consuming β=0.160 (t=3.545, p<0.001); → Contributing β=0.112 (t=2.096, p=0.036); → Creating β=0.123 (t=2.577, p=0.010).
• Self-identity → Consuming β=0.151 (t=2.827, p=0.005); → Contributing β=0.218 (t=3.947, p<0.001); → Creating β=0.169 (t=3.115, p=0.002). Overall, ease of browsing (medium), hedonic/functional/aesthetic (content), and social interaction/self-identity (interaction) significantly and positively predict all three COBRA behaviours.

The findings confirm that consumer-perceived values embedded in viral campaigns jointly drive multiple online brand-related behaviours rather than isolated actions. The medium aspect—ease of browsing—emerges as a foundational prerequisite, enabling smooth navigation, connection to brand links, and rapid diffusion across networks, thereby increasing consumption, contribution, and creation. Content values matter substantially: entertaining (hedonic), useful (functional), and visually pleasing (aesthetic) content elicit positive emotions and perceived utility, which in turn raise intentions to read, engage, share, and create. Interaction values also play a pivotal role: social interaction fosters a sense of belonging and motivates participation, while self-identity needs drive impression management and self-presentation, encouraging users to consume, contribute, and create brand-related content. Together, these results address the research question by showing how a comprehensive set of campaign values across medium, content, and interaction dimensions shape COBRAs and enhance virality.

This study introduces a comprehensive, empirically tested framework linking viral campaign values—across medium, content, and interaction—to the full spectrum of COBRAs (consuming, contributing, creating). The model advances theory by integrating COBRAs into viral campaign research and clarifying how six values jointly influence consumer engagement. Practically, the results guide marketers to design campaigns with easy-to-navigate platforms, joyful and informative content, strong aesthetics, and mechanisms supporting social connection and self-expression to foster broader engagement and diffusion. Future research should refine and extend this framework across platforms, cultures, and age groups, and test its applicability beyond brand-centric contexts.

• Platform and behaviour granularity: Differences among consumption, contribution, and creation across specific social media platforms were not examined; platform effects may moderate relationships.
• Scope of values and context: The study focused on six generic values in brand-centric viral campaigns; generalisability to non-brand or other contexts remains to be tested.
• Sampling and generalisability: Convenience sample from US MTurk users (n=409) aged 18–49 may limit external validity; larger, probability-based, and cross-cultural samples are needed.
• Cross-sectional design: Limits causal inference; longitudinal or experimental designs could strengthen causal claims.