(5)
Viral marketing campaigns built on foundations of disgust or bad taste are most effectively targeted toward young males, rebel-style brands (e.g., Australia's Maverick Channel Seven), or cultures that generally find disgusting events humorous (e.g., Japan, Germany, the Pacific Islands). Disgust-based campaigns, in particular, must walk a fine line of acceptability and provide a humorous and surprising message at just the right time. Brands should use disgust campaigns only intermittently, for example during major events such as the Super Bowl or during the Christmas season, and target them carefully to avoid unnecessary offense.
Interestingly, we note that gender has a moderating influence on forwarding behavior, especially as regards the emotions of fear and disgust/bad taste. As indicated by our study, male recipients of viral marketing messages are more likely (63% male to 37% female) to pass on those messages than are female recipients. Men are also more likely to pass on messages involving humor, particularly disgusting humor, than are women. In addition, we found the emotional responses of fear felt by female respondents were stronger than those felt by the male respondents. For example, when responding to a campaign featuring a fear element, female respondents used all three fear-related terms: afraid, scared, and fearful. Male respondents were less likely to use all three terms. When, indeed, female study participants felt fear in response to a viral marketing campaign, they were more likely to forward the message to other women, this in attempt to alert them to the perceived danger or potentially scary situation.
(6)
Finally, culture's influence on viral marketing campaigns will need to be taken into account. For example, in contrast to bricks-and-mortar businesses, online companies are not confined to a single country with a well-defined culture. Studies have identified cultural background in this context as a key managerial consideration (Singh, Zhao, & Hu, 2005). In our study, in a similar fashion, whilst respondents think of sadness as being an unwanted emotion, people in several Asian countries regard feeling sadness as a step along the road to salvation (Izard, 1991). It is likely that incongruities also exist in how people from different cultures experience the other five primary emotions. The global nature of viral marketing means the issue of culture must be addressed prior to the launch of a new campaign. Just as online technologies facilitate the spreading of viral messages, they also make it much easier for recipients to complain to others about a campaign they find offensive. While no easy feat, viral marketing must walk a fine line between innovative advertising and offensive attention seeking. This delicate balancing act is crucial to campaign success.