Introduction: Today, knowledge-based companies play an important role in creating innovation, enhancing employment, and increasing the competitive advantage of countries. Marketing in contemporary knowledge-based companies is an essential challenge for them as it plays a critical role in their business development, so the use of marketing knowledge is considered a key factor for their activity in the market. Businesses should use a variety of marketing activities to reach multiple customers. The rapid development of information and communication technology has provided knowledge-based companies with a wide range of marketing and advertising tools in the digital world to be more competitive in the market, create an innovative approach to exploiting market opportunities, and adopt effective marketing strategies. A marketing strategy that can be used by these companies is the newsjacking technique. The current research aimed to design a model for newsjacking in the marketing of knowledge-based businesses located in the Science and Technology Park of Khuzestan province.
Methodology: The research was conducted with a qualitative approach, using the grounded theory method. The participants in the qualitative phase included marketing professors, experts, and elites in Khuzestan province, eight of whom were selected using purposive and theoretical sampling. The data collection instrument was an in-depth personal interview. A three-step coding method was used in data analysis.
Findings: Based on the results, the speed and breadth of notification, competition in grasping opportunities, and economic benefits were detected as causal factors. People's tendency towards digital media, up-to-dateness, technological progress, strategic position of the country, promotional flexibility, and innovative tendency were detected as contextual factors. Infrastructure status and government support policies were detected as intervening factors. Product introduction and marketing, low-cost advertising, digital advertising, and competitive and opportunistic advertising were detected as the axial categories. Speed of action, up-to-dateness, scientific innovation, and creative content were detected as strategies. Finally, in-advance advertising, strengthening the scientific and cultural prestige of the country, and effective communication with market and economic components were identified as consequences.
Conclusion/ Implications: Based on the results, it is suggested that knowledge-based businesses, while participating in various festivals, diversify the content of their advertisements, use honesty, humor, and flexibility, and recruit media consultants to choose the most suitable news that is of interest to the domestic and foreign communities, thereby compiling advertising content for their products as soon as possible. Also, they need to introduce their products to the audience by using new and creative ideas and employing all the available facilities to put their advertisements in a suitable and flexible form in social media and news.