RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 How Contagious Is Your Viral Marketing Campaign? JF Journal of Advertising Research JO J Advert Res FD WARC SP 205 OP 216 DO 10.2501/JAR-54-2-205-216 VO 54 IS 2 A1 Michael T. Ewing A1 David B. Stewart A1 Dineli R. Mather A1 Joshua D. Newton YR 2014 UL http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/54/2/205.abstract AB Few marketing campaigns purely are viral. Most comprise both viral (peer-to-peer transmission) and non-viral (firm-initiated transmission) components. Unfortunately, current metrics for assessing viral-campaign performance seldom differentiate between these components, potentially overstating the true contribution made by the viral component. Moreover, reach (number of users who received the content) is a time-based metric that typically is favored at the expense of campaign sharing, which fundamentally is a generation-based metric (transmission of content to others). This paper presents and tests a mathematical model that addresses these issues, thereby providing a more accurate and valid means for assessing campaign performance.