Battle of the Brand Fans: Impact of Brand Attack and Defense on Social Media

• Published in: Journal of interactive marketing 2018-08, Vol.43 (1), p.33-51
• Main Authors: Ilhan, Behice Ece, Kübler, Raoul V., Pauwels, Koen H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Across pages; Attack; Brand engagement; Defense; eWOM; Rival brands; Sentiment analysis; Social media; Time series analysis
• ISSN: 1094-9968; 1520-6653
• DOI: 10.1016/j.intmar.2018.01.003

Fans of a brand attack fans of rival brands on social media. Given the nature of such rival brand fan attacks, managers are unsure about how much control they should exercise on brand-negative comments on their owned social media touchpoints, and what brand actions drive these Attack, Defense and Across (ADA) posts. Multimethod analysis identifies ADA's impact across industries of technology, fast food, toothpaste, beverages, and sports apparel. Sentiment analysis identifies that fans posting in both communities stimulate both brand-negative and brand-positive comments. Despite their relatively low prevalence (1–6% of all posts), ADA posts induce broader social-media brand engagement as they substantially increase and prolong the effects of managerial control variables such as communication campaigns and new-product introductions. Brand managers, thus, have specific levers to stimulate the positive consequences of rival brand fan posting on their owned media. •We show how brand fans navigate Across social media, Attack rival brands and how these rival brands' fans Defend their brand in 5 industries•We quantify the prevalence of Attack, Defense and Across behavior and its impact on broader social-media brand engagement•We show that this behavior increases and prolongs the effects of managerial actions such as IMC campaigns and new-product introductions.