Does social media marketing signal the death of advertising, or its rebirth? Or is it merely the trend of the moment, destined for over-saturation and burnout? The current mania for social media clouds the marketer's vision with both overheated hype and dire predictions, none of which brings us closer to understanding how and why social media has emerged as a driving force in contemporary marketing.The science of game theory provides the toolset for the marketer and the marketing scholar to see past the bubble trends to the deep structure of marketer-consumer relationships. Originally developed to guide Cold-War geopolitical maneuvering, game theory illuminates the conflicting and overlapping interests of marketers and consumers in marketing's long and contentious evolution toward cooperation. Social media marketing is revealed as an evolutionary stage in a movement that began with the Web itself. Its future depends on the decisions marketers make today.
Social Media Marketing
Eric Anderson
Social Media Marketing Game Theory and the Emergence of Collaboration
Eric Anderson 3036 NE Ainsworth St. Portland, Oregon 97211 USA
[email protected]
ISBN 978-3-642-13298-8 e-ISBN 978-3-642-13299-5 DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-13299-5 Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2010931519 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: WMXDesign GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
I. Der Drehbuchautor und seine Rechte V
V Vorwort
Preface
Social media marking has been heralded as a sea change in the marketerconsumer relationship, but its rapid growth and rabid following among marketers has also produced a sea of confusion. Lacking any durable framework for understanding how, why, and on what terms the consumer relationship has changed under social media, marketers pursue new venues for their newness alone – with decidedly mixed results. This book finds a theoretical framework for social media marketing in the science of game theory, with its focus on adversarial but mutually dependent relationships. Originally developed to guide nuclear brinksmanship policy during the Cold War, game theory provides the foundation for an evolutionary view of social media marketing. Through fascinating game theory concepts like the Prisoner’s Dilemma, the Stag Hunt, Self-Command, and Job Market Signaling, this study uncovers the cooperative trends that brought marketing to its present state and points the way toward marketing’s future course.
I. Der Drehbuchautor und seine Rechte VII
VII Vorwort
Contents
Chapter 1: Surviving the Customer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 The Origins of Game Theory . . . . . . . . .