Presentation of research paper investigating the relationship between viral corporate campaigns that address social/political issues and online identity.

1. GOING VIRAL:
CORPORATE SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS AND INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY
CONSTRUCTION
LARISSA CHURCHILL

2. MAIN POINTS
Context & Purpose Literature Review
Viral Advertising
Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)
Identity Construction in a
CMC context
Research Questions Conclusions

3. CONTEXT: THE RISE OF VIRAL SOCIAL
CAMPAIGNS
• There has been an increases in viral campaigns and video advertisements from corporate
actors that directly address social and political issues, oftentimes staking out a position
or calling for change.
• Some examples of this type of campaign are:
• YouTube video released by Gillette (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0) calling on men
to reject toxic masculinity and damaging gender norms
• Nike ad featuring Colin Kaepernick (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lomlpJREDzw)
• Always #LikeAGirl Campaign (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs)
• The fact that so many companies are taking a stance on these issues demonstrates the
increasing importance that businesses and consumers place on the idea of corporate
social responsibility (CSR) and company interaction with the public (Rim & Song, 2016).
The virality and range of reactions that these types of campaigns garner from social
media users points to a more complex relationship between individual consumer and
corporate entity.

4. CONTEXT & PURPOSE STATEMENT
WHILE A VARIETY
OF RESEARCH
EXISTS ABOUT THE
UTILITY OF
CORPORATE
SOCIAL MEDIA
INTERACTION
FROM A
PRACTICAL AND
MARKETING
STANDPOINT,
THERE IS LESS
RESEARCH
FOCUSED ON THE
WAY THAT THIS
KIND OF SOCIAL
AND POLITICAL
ENGAGEMENT MAY
WITH SOCIAL
MEDIA
INTERACTION AND
VIRAL MARKETING
CAMPAIGNS
CONTINUING TO
GROW, IT WILL BE
VITAL TO
UNDERSTAND THE
MOTIVATIONS AND
IMPLICATIONS OF
THIS KIND OF
MEDIATED
INTERACTION FOR
INDIVIDUALS AND
CORPORATE
ENTITIES ALIKE.
THE PURPOSE OF
THIS RESEARCH IS
TO INVESTIGATE
THE POTENTIAL
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN VIRAL
ADVERTISING
CAMPAIGNS THAT
ADDRESS SOCIAL
OR POLITICAL
ISSUES AND
MEDIATED
IDENTITY
CONSTRUCTION
ON SOCIAL-
NETWORKING
SITES.

5. LITERATURE REVIEW: VIRAL ADVERTISING
• “Essentially, viral advertising refers to an online advertising distribution method that relies of word of
mouth distribution via email or social network platforms as the means of reaching target audiences.
This dependence on the users’ willingness to distribute content to peers may not only be influenced
by the source of the message but also by its content” (Golan and Zaidner, 2008, p. 962).
• There is a variety of research of addressing online advertising that finds that being exposed to a
company online can contribute to positive perecptions (Courbet et al., 2014) and that social media
interaction not only improves corporate reputation, but that the use of a conversational human voice
improves corporate reputation and perception even more (Dijkmans et al.,2015) .
• Berger and Milkman (2012) suggest that, while content valence (whether a message is positive or
negative) is important, there is evidence that mediated content that spurs high-arousal emotional
reactions in viewers—awe, anger, or anxiety, for example—is much more likely to go viral than other
types of content. Political and social issues are often emotional.
• Social media is an “anything goes” medium.

6. LITERATURE REVIEW: CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)
• In their framework for a supply and demand model of CSR, McWilliams and Siegel (2001)
define corporate social responsibility (CSR) as “actions that appear to further some social
good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law” (p. 117).
• Two different branches or aims of CSR: 1) CSR as representing a new political role for
corporations as an integral part of societal development and social progress, and 2) CSR
understood as part of larger corporate aims to increase profits and appease stakeholders
who increasingly want to be involved with companies that appear to support ethical and
sustainable practices (Brei & Böhm, 2014).
• People are often skeptical about CSR:
• Rim and Kim (2016) determined that levels of skepticism about CSR behaviors are highest when
consumers question a company’s altruism and motives or believe that their expressed positions may
not match their actions. Additionally, they suggest that companies must be cognizant of when to
implement and communicate CSR strategies to the public.
• Much discussion of CSR focuses on companies who engage in sustainable practices and
product creation or use their product design to reflect sentiments of or commitment to
CSR-compatible values (McWilliams & Siegel, 2001). However, the examples provided do

7. LITERATURE REVIEW: ONLINE IDENTITY
CONSTRUCTION
Identity is contextual. According
to Altheide (2000), “identity is a
social production and not an
individual property. What one
thinks of oneself may be relevant,
but identity claims require others’
concurrence” (p. 3).
People often use social media to
perform identity through the
curation of their profile. Users
present their “hoped for selves”
and attempt to mask the side of
their self that they view as socially
undesirable (Zhao et al., 2008).
Nadkarni and Hofman (2012)
attribute Facebook use to two
factors: 1) the need to belong,
which refers to the desire for
social acceptance, and 2) the need
for self-presentation, which refers
to impression management.

8. LITERATURE REVIEW: ONLINE IDENTITY
CONSTRUCTION
In the face of growing influence from the mass
media and popular culture, understandings of
identity and context have started to shift from
the concept of identity being thought of as a
process to being viewed as a commodity
(Altheide, 2000).
Mediated political identity construction is a part
of this process but is also characterized by
increasing partisan divides in social media.
Engagement with corporate campaigns
supporting specific social issues may be
influenced by associations with partisan online
communities or echo-chambers.

9. RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
The following questions arose from a review of the literature:
RQ1: Is there a relationship between engagement with viral social media campaigns
addressing social/political issues and mediated identity construction?
RQ2: What characteristics do those users who engage with viral social/political
campaigns share?
RQ3a: Are those users involved in online communities [political or otherwise] via social
media more/less likely to engage with these campaigns than those who are not?
RQ3b: Does engagement with these kinds of campaigns foster a sense of community
among social media users?
RQ4: Is the increasing commodification of the self/identity related to the rise in
commodity activism?

10. CONCLUSIONS
Interpretation:
• These kinds of campaigns fall under the umbrella of CSR and may be motivated by the fact that viral content is
cost effective and social media is “anything goes.”
• Seeing the overlap of the concept of commodification in corporate advertising decisions and identity scholarship
raises interesting questions about whether individual users may feel drawn to engage with these campaigns
because they feel that they may be perceived in a more positive light by their social media networks. In the same
way that corporations are compelled to become involved with CSR-behaviors, individuals may feel as though their
mediated presentation of identity could benefit from being associated with businesses that engage in ethical
practices or social commentary.
Limitations:
• There is a lack of CSR research addressing “awareness-raising” campaigns like those explored.
• Determining the impact of viral social campaigns on identity may prove difficult to explore.
Future Research:
• Should attempt to answer research questions presented.
• May need to employ qualitative or richly descriptive methodology to determine identity impacts.
• Should investigate the relationship between partisanship, identity, and CSR campaigns, because partisanship is
increasingly important in mediated spaces.

11. REFERENCES
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