Facilitator or Inhibitor? The Use of 360-Degree Videos for Immersive Brand Storytelling

This study compares a 360-degree narrative video ad with a standard narrative video ad in terms of transportation, ad usefulness, emotional responses, ad attitudes, and brand attitudes. Hypotheses are proposed based on the narrative transportation and the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (LC4MP) theoretical frameworks and tested using an experimental method. Results demonstrate that the difference in ad effectiveness between a 360-degree narrative video and a standard narrative video becomes significant under the condition that the role of perceived ease of navigation is considered. In particular, a 360-degree narrative video ad outperforms a standard narrative video ad when viewers navigate smoothly, use visual and/or auditory cues to enhance the viewing experience, clearly know where the desired point of view originates, and have control of the viewing direction.