Although viral marketing has garnered a great deal of attention in the
trade press, almost nothing is known about the motivations, attitudes, and
behaviors of the people (those sending the email to others) that
constitute the essential component of any such strategy. This article
reports the results of three studies that examine consumer responses and
motivations to pass along email. Implications for target selection and
message creation are discussed for advertising practitioners interested in
implementing viral efforts, and suggestions for future research relating
to computer-mediated consumer-to-consumer interactions are presented for
academic researchers.These studies were
sponsored by Planetfeedback.com (www.planetfeedback.com), an
internet-based infomediary company based in Cincinnati.An earlier version of this work will appear as a
chapter in the forthcoming book, Online Consumer Psychology, C.
Haugvedt, K. Macleit, and R. Yalch (eds.).