PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Steven Chen AU - Sunil Thomas AU - Chiranjeev Kohli TI - What Really Makes a Promotional Campaign Succeed on a Crowdfunding Platform? AID - 10.2501/JAR-2016-002 DP - 2016 Mar 01 TA - Journal of Advertising Research PG - 81--94 VI - 56 IP - 1 4099 - http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/56/1/81.short 4100 - http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/56/1/81.full SO - J Advert Res2016 Mar 01; 56 AB - Online crowdfunding is a popular platform for entrepreneurs to engage consumers by raising funds for creative projects. The purpose of this research was to conceptualize a theoretical framework for crowdfunding appeals and investigate the relationship effect of appeal modes, product, and message characteristics as well as presentation characteristics on donation levels. A stratified random sample of 200 campaigns on Kickstarter.com was analyzed in a regression-based study. Guilt appeals, utilitarian product types, an emotional message frame, and reward tiers were significantly—and positively—related to funding level, measured as a percentage of the funding goals. Entrepreneurs further can use this framework to develop crowdfunding campaigns that can serve as effective marketing tools.