How does short-form storytelling shape university image and application intention?

Purpose This study aims to investigate how different types of short-form storytelling advertising are associated with prospective students’ perceptions of universities and their application intentions. Specifically, it examines the effects of product-essence, life-myth, and relational-information storytelling on expectation, favorability, perceived closeness and university application intention. Design/methodology/approach An experimental research design was employed using data collected from 270 prospective students. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three storytelling conditions. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine perceptual differences across storytelling conditions, while partial least squares structural equation modeling was conducted to analyze the associations among the key perceptual constructs. Findings The results indicate that product-essence and life-myth storytelling were associated with higher levels of expectation, favorability and perceived closeness than relational-information storytelling. Furthermore, expectation, favorability and perceived closeness were all positively associated with application intention, with favorability showing the strongest association. Originality/value This study provides an integrated perspective on how different short-form storytelling emphases are associated with university-related perceptions and application intention. The study extends prior research by identifying differentiated narrative effects within short-form university advertising contexts.