The use of offline and online paid media, earned social media, and organic search in explaining supermarket’s performance: a cyclical Echoverse model

Abstract

ABSTRACT Offline paid media (e.g. TV and radio) and online paid media (e.g. Google AdWords and Facebook) are complementary advertising channels that create a cyclical Echoverse effect for the communication strategy. Retailers do not know how offline and online paid media form reciprocal feedback loops when associating with earned social media, owned print advertising and organic search. To understand these cyclical loops, the authors test an Echoverse model using longitudinal data from a grocery supermarket chain and apply a model using vector error correction regression. We find empirical evidence supporting our Echoverse model. First, time-series data show that offline paid media, online paid media, and owned print advertising affect retailers’ profits and revenues. Second, from a reciprocal viewpoint, offline paid media, online paid media, and owned print advertising increase earned social media, which boosts organic search.