How the destination short video affects the customers' attitude: The role of narrative transportation

Abstract

Short videos have been increasingly in demand recently while also holding promise for tourism marketing. Many destination management organizations have tried to make short videos by shooting the grand landscapes of a destination. However, the effective video characteristics and internal processes of potential tourists while watching such short videos remain unclear. We propose that a short video's narrative aspect can influence destination brand attitude. Accordingly, we developed this study around narrative transportation theory, and extended the antecedent and consequence variables of narrative transportation. We investigated two main questions, as follows: 1) Can narrative short videos have a positive effect in tourism marketing? and 2) What is the mechanism underlying the development of narrative transportation? The effect of narrative transportation, sense of presence, and psychological reactance in short narrative videos on destination brand attitude were investigated. We analyzed data from 408 participants using structural equation modeling analysis. The results indicated that the narrative of short videos promotes brand attitude, and that this effect is achieved by lessening individuals' psychological reactance to official advertisements and providing them with an immersive experience that delivers the sense of presence. These results not only add to the research on the use of narrative in short videos, but also indicate that short videos could be an effective marketing strategy for destinations.