Marketing the sacrifice
A roiled audience overwhelms the gates
Keywords:
Twitter, gatekeeping, drowning effectAbstract
In analyzing 90,000 tweets associated with Nike’s selection of controversial NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick for its 2018 marketing campaign, this study found the audience largely diverged from the company’s primary message. By deploying the emerging theory of the “drowning effect” as a subcategory of overall gatekeeping, researchers found the audience used five rhetorical tactics to discuss seven primary themes.
References
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Ali, S. B., & Ganapati, S. (2019). Argumentation Tactics and Public Deliberations. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 42(4), 531-557. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2019.1627840
Bruns, A. (2008). The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewatching. In C. A. Paterson and D. Domingo (Eds.) Making online news: The ethnography of new media production (171–84). New York: Peter Lang.
Bacon, L., Ivanitskaya, L., & Erzikova, E. (2020). YouTube viewer's comments on the opioid epidemic by CNN and Fox News. Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on Social Media in Cyprus on July 2, 2020, pp. 351-359.
Barzilai-Nahon, K. (2008). Toward a theory of network gatekeeping: A framework for exploring information control. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59, 1493-1512. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.20857
Craft, S., Vos, T.P., & Wolfgang, J.D. (2016). Reader comments as press criticism: Implications for the journalistic field. Journalism, 17(6), 877-693. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884915579332
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Erzikova, E., & Simpson, E. (2018). When the gated misbehave: Online reader comments on Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal. Journalism Practice, 12(9), 1148-1164. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2017.1359653
Gandy, L., & Erzikova, E. (2017). Exploring Crisis Management via Twitter in the Age of Political Transparency. In L. Austin and Y. Jin (Eds.) Social Media and Crisis Communication, (pp. 321-334). New York: Routledge.
Hill, S. (2020). Politics and corporate content: Situating corporate strategic communication between marketing and activism. International Journal of Strategic Communication. 14(5), 317-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2020.1817029
Hong, S., & Cameron, G.T. (2018). Will comments change your opinion? The persuasion effects of online comments and heuristic cues in crisis communication. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 26, 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12215
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Papenfuss, M. (2019). Nike’s controversial Colin Kaepernick ad wins Emmy for best commercial. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-donald-trump-nike-ad-creative-arts-emmy_n_5d7efe19e4b00d69059b023f.
Reese, S.D., & Shoemaker, P.J. (2016). A media sociology for the networked public sphere: The hierarchy of influences model. Mass Communication and Society, 19(4), 389-410. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2016.1174268
Richardson, J. E., & Stanyer, J. (2011). Reader opinion in the digital age: Tabloid and broadsheet newspaper websites and the exercise of political voice. Journalism, 12(8), 983–1003. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884911415974
Shoemaker, P. J., Johnson, P. R., Seo, H., & Wang, X. (2010). Readers as gatekeepers of online news: Brazil, China, and the United States. Brazilian Journalism Research, 6(1), 55-77. http://hdl.handle.net/1808/17336
Shoemaker, P. J., & Vos, T. (2009). Gatekeeping theory. New York, NY: Routledge.
Shoemaker, P.J., & Reese, S.D. (1991). Mediating the Message: Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content. NY: Routledge.
Sobande, F. (2020). Woke-washing: “intersectional” femvertising and branding “woke” bravery. European Journal of Marketing, 54(11), 2723–2745. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0134
Statista. (2020). Sales of the biggest athletic apparel, accessories and footwear companies worldwide in 2019/20 (in million U.S. dollars). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/900271/leading-sportswear-and-performance-wear-companies-by-sales-worldwide/.
Stephens, K. K., & Malone, P. C. (2009). If the organizations won't give us information: The use of multiple new media for crisis technical translation and dialogue. Journal of Public Relations Research, 21(2), 229–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627260802557605
Waymer, D., & Logan, N. (2021). Corporate social advocacy as engagement: Nike's social justice communication. Public Relations Review, 47(1), 102005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.102005
White, D. (1950). The “gate keeper”: A case study in the selection of news. Journalism Quarterly, 27(4), 383-390. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769905002700403
Ziegele, M., & Quiring, O. (2013). Conceptualizing online discussion value: A multidimensional framework for analyzing user comments on mass-media websites. Annals of the International Communication Association, 37(1), 125-153. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2013.11679148
Adgate, B. (2020). The 2020 Elections will set another ad spending record. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2019/09/03/the-2020-elections-will-set-another-ad-spending-record/?sh=2626f9061836.
Ali, S. B., & Ganapati, S. (2019). Argumentation Tactics and Public Deliberations. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 42(4), 531-557. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2019.1627840
Bruns, A. (2008). The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewatching. In C. A. Paterson and D. Domingo (Eds.) Making online news: The ethnography of new media production (171–84). New York: Peter Lang.
Bacon, L., Ivanitskaya, L., & Erzikova, E. (2020). YouTube viewer's comments on the opioid epidemic by CNN and Fox News. Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on Social Media in Cyprus on July 2, 2020, pp. 351-359.
Barzilai-Nahon, K. (2008). Toward a theory of network gatekeeping: A framework for exploring information control. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59, 1493-1512. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.20857
Craft, S., Vos, T.P., & Wolfgang, J.D. (2016). Reader comments as press criticism: Implications for the journalistic field. Journalism, 17(6), 877-693. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884915579332
Edelman. (2018). Earned Brand Global Report. Retrieved from https://www.edelman.com/earned-brand.
Erzikova, E., & McLean, C. (2020). Drowning out the message together: Analysis of social media comments on a political sex scandal. Journal of Social Media in Society, 9(1), 207-234. https://thejsms.org/index.php/TSMRI/article/view/669
Erzikova, E., & Simpson, E. (2018). When the gated misbehave: Online reader comments on Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal. Journalism Practice, 12(9), 1148-1164. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2017.1359653
Gandy, L., & Erzikova, E. (2017). Exploring Crisis Management via Twitter in the Age of Political Transparency. In L. Austin and Y. Jin (Eds.) Social Media and Crisis Communication, (pp. 321-334). New York: Routledge.
Hill, S. (2020). Politics and corporate content: Situating corporate strategic communication between marketing and activism. International Journal of Strategic Communication. 14(5), 317-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2020.1817029
Hong, S., & Cameron, G.T. (2018). Will comments change your opinion? The persuasion effects of online comments and heuristic cues in crisis communication. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 26, 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12215
Kane, D., & Tiell, B. (2017). Application of normative ethics to explain Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest in the NFL. The Sport Journal, 1. https://thesportjournal.org/article/application-of-normative-ethics-to-explain-colin-kaepernicks-silent-protest-in-the-nfl/
Kim, M. (2020). How Phil Knight made Nike a leader in the sport industry: examining the success factors. Sport in Society, 23(9), 1512-1523. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1734329
Lee, J., Zaher, Z., Simpson, E., & Erzikova, E. (2020). Drowning out the message: How online comments on news stories about Nike’s ad campaign contributed to polarization and gatekeeping. Electronic News, 14(3), 103-122. https://doi.org/10.1177/1931243120951564
Liu, J., & Shi, R. (2018). How do online comments affect perceived descriptive norms of e-cigarette use? The role of quasi-statistical sense, valence perceptions, and exposure dosage. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 24(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmy021
Mays, G. (2020). Social media drowning effect in YouTube posts to CNN and Fox News videos on 2017 legislative efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Unpublished dissertation. Central Michigan University.
Mishan, L. (2020, December). The long and tortured history of cancel culture. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/t-magazine/cancel-culture-history.html.
National Public Radio. (2009). Krakauer explores Pat Tillman’s death and cover-up. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112816210.
Papacharissi, Z. (2004). Democracy online: Civility, politeness, and the democratic potential of online political discussion groups. New Media & Society, 6, 259–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444804041444
Papenfuss, M. (2019). Nike’s controversial Colin Kaepernick ad wins Emmy for best commercial. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-donald-trump-nike-ad-creative-arts-emmy_n_5d7efe19e4b00d69059b023f.
Reese, S.D., & Shoemaker, P.J. (2016). A media sociology for the networked public sphere: The hierarchy of influences model. Mass Communication and Society, 19(4), 389-410. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2016.1174268
Richardson, J. E., & Stanyer, J. (2011). Reader opinion in the digital age: Tabloid and broadsheet newspaper websites and the exercise of political voice. Journalism, 12(8), 983–1003. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884911415974
Shoemaker, P. J., Johnson, P. R., Seo, H., & Wang, X. (2010). Readers as gatekeepers of online news: Brazil, China, and the United States. Brazilian Journalism Research, 6(1), 55-77. http://hdl.handle.net/1808/17336
Shoemaker, P. J., & Vos, T. (2009). Gatekeeping theory. New York, NY: Routledge.
Shoemaker, P.J., & Reese, S.D. (1991). Mediating the Message: Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content. NY: Routledge.
Sobande, F. (2020). Woke-washing: “intersectional” femvertising and branding “woke” bravery. European Journal of Marketing, 54(11), 2723–2745. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0134
Statista. (2020). Sales of the biggest athletic apparel, accessories and footwear companies worldwide in 2019/20 (in million U.S. dollars). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/900271/leading-sportswear-and-performance-wear-companies-by-sales-worldwide/.
Stephens, K. K., & Malone, P. C. (2009). If the organizations won't give us information: The use of multiple new media for crisis technical translation and dialogue. Journal of Public Relations Research, 21(2), 229–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627260802557605
Waymer, D., & Logan, N. (2021). Corporate social advocacy as engagement: Nike's social justice communication. Public Relations Review, 47(1), 102005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.102005
White, D. (1950). The “gate keeper”: A case study in the selection of news. Journalism Quarterly, 27(4), 383-390. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769905002700403
Ziegele, M., & Quiring, O. (2013). Conceptualizing online discussion value: A multidimensional framework for analyzing user comments on mass-media websites. Annals of the International Communication Association, 37(1), 125-153. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2013.11679148
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