Viral Marketing in Political Communication: Case Study of John Tsang’s Campaign in the 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive Election

Abstract

Viral marketing is one of the trends of the marketing strategy for building up a brand image because of the rapid development of internet. Viral marketing helps the information spreading quickly and widely on the internet through the sharing from the youngsters. Some politicians use the strategies of viral marketing to create noises and exposures for their political campaign and communication in Hong Kong through social media such as Facebook. This study will focus on how viral marketing works in political campaign and communication. A case study of John Tsang’s campaign in the 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive Election using the Berger’s STEPPS framework is analyzed to assess how viral marketing was applied to political communication. The focus of analysis will be on the changes of the youth perceptions and attitudes toward John Tsang’s image during the Umbrella Movement in 2014 and after his Election campaign in 2017.