The power of storytelling in co-created advertising: a narrative transportation theory perspective

Firms run advertising contests to co-create brand value with consumers. The resulting ads persuade viewers and promote electronic word-of-mouth communications that are part of the dynamic process of value co-creation. Built on narrative transportation theory, this research investigates viewers’ cognitive (i.e. realism, identification, transportation, ad and brand attitudes), affective (i.e. feelings) and behavioral intentions (i.e. electronic word-of-mouth and purchase intentions) toward a co-created story ad. A convergent, mixed-methods research was conducted. Study 1 used in-depth, qualitative netnographic data (online comments) to explore, through text mining, viewers’ responses to an ad. Study 2 used self-reported measures to quantitatively test a model of narrative persuasion with the same ad. The results showed that the ad transported viewers into its narrative world and provoked positive affective responses that enhanced viewers′ ad/brand attitudes and word-of-mouth and purchase intentions. The word-of-mouth promoted the ad and co-created brand meaning, inside and outside the contest setting.