The effectiveness of 360° videos for environmental communication. Exploring the impact of different types of storytelling

Abstract

Over the past years, virtual reality (VR) has found applicability in several fields, including environmental communication. Previous research stressed that immersive media reception leads to feelings of spatial presence that result in attitudinal and behavioral changes. Given that peer recommendations enjoy credibility and play a relevant role in raising awareness on a topic, our study focuses on the users' intention to recommend the video as the outcome. Hence, we tested the mediation role of spatial presence in the relationship between media modality (desktop versus head-mounted-display media reception) as an independent variable and the intention to recommend the video as a dependent variable. Given that little is known about how storytelling elements that enhance interactivity during the immersive media reception contribute to affective and behavioral outcomes, we conducted two between-subjects experiments. We tested two 360° nature footage spherically filmed documentaries from National Geographic 360° with different storytelling elements. In our first study (N = 134), we used a video with limited storytelling elements as stimulus material, and in the second study (N = 140), we used a video with more storytelling elements. In both studies, we found evidence that viewing 360° videos with head-mounted displays elicits spatial presence, leading to higher intentions to recommend the video.