Change in brand attitude depending on fashion film type: the psychological mechanisms by engagement and consumer fantasy proneness

Purpose This study investigates the effect of consumers' brand attitude changes according to the fashion film type. Furthermore, it examines the psychological mechanism by engagement and consumer fantasy proneness. This study is meaningful because it provides a more in-depth understanding of the use of fashion film as a means of consumer-oriented persuasion communication. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a 2(fashion film type: narrative vs non-narrative) × 2(consumer fantasy proneness: high vs low) mixed factorial design to test the hypotheses. ANOVA and the PROCESS macro mounted on SPSS was used to test hypotheses. Findings The group with high consumer fantasy proneness showed more changes in brand attitude when exposed to non-narrative than narrative fashion films, but the group with low consumer fantasy proneness showed no significant difference in brand attitude change according to the fashion film type. In addition, when consumer fantasy proneness is high, media and brand engagement for non-narrative fashion films increase sequentially, resulting in a greater change in brand attitude, whereas these psychological mechanisms do not work in groups with low consumer fantasy proneness. Practical implications Fashion brands should identify their respective target group when producing fashion films and choose differentiated narrative forms. In the case of pursuing a fantastic aesthetic value, the non-narrative type induces more attention and curiosity from consumers than the narrative type, which affects the feeling of a special bond or relevance with the brand. Originality/value This study has value in that it demonstrates the rationale for why a fashion brand needs to select a differentiated content structure according to the aesthetic value pursued when making a fashion film in branding work.