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Examining the Role of WeChat in Advertising

Examining the Role of WeChat in Advertising

Qi Yao, Mei Wu
Copyright: © 2016 |Pages: 20
ISBN13: 9781522504696|ISBN10: 1522504699|EISBN13: 9781522504702
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0469-6.ch016
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MLA

Yao, Qi, and Mei Wu. "Examining the Role of WeChat in Advertising." Handbook of Research on Human Social Interaction in the Age of Mobile Devices, edited by Xiaoge Xu, IGI Global, 2016, pp. 386-405. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0469-6.ch016

APA

Yao, Q. & Wu, M. (2016). Examining the Role of WeChat in Advertising. In X. Xu (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Human Social Interaction in the Age of Mobile Devices (pp. 386-405). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0469-6.ch016

Chicago

Yao, Qi, and Mei Wu. "Examining the Role of WeChat in Advertising." In Handbook of Research on Human Social Interaction in the Age of Mobile Devices, edited by Xiaoge Xu, 386-405. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2016. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0469-6.ch016

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Abstract

WeChat, the most popular social networking service mobile app in China, enables users to contact friends with text, audio, video contents as well as get to know new people within a range of a certain distance. Its latest version has gone beyond the pure social function and opened a window into marketing. This study applies activity theory as a framework to explore new features of WeChat as a new platform for advertising. Then the authors qualitatively analyze the implications that marketers adapted and appropriated WeChat to engage with their customers and in turn how these implications modified the ways of advertising. The significance of this study is that it applied activity theory as an attempt to complement the theoretical pillars of communication study. Activity theory focuses on the activity itself rather than the interaction between WeChat and the users. Second, activity theory reveals a 2-way process which emphasizes both on how advertisers adapt WeChat based on everyday practice; and how WeChat modifies the activities which the advertisers engage in.

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