Strategic use of immersive media and narrative message in virtual marketing: Understanding the roles of telepresence and transportation

Abstract This study differentiates the roles of telepresence and transportation, the two widely cited processes underpinning an immersive media viewing experience, in the context of virtual marketing. In Study 1, college students viewed a real estate property tour in virtual reality (VR; high immersion) or as a 360° video (low immersion) in a research lab. The tour was accompanied by a voiceover presenting descriptive information about the apartment (descriptive evidence) or a narrative‐based introduction (narrative evidence). We found the enhanced telepresence under the VR viewing condition negatively impacted users' memory of the property; this effect was particularly pronounced with the narrative voiceover. Study 2 replicated key findings from Study 1 in an online experiment with a larger and more diverse sample. We also found that narrative‐induced transportation strengthened attitudinal outcomes, and enhanced telepresence boosted this effect. Our studies disentangle the impacts of VR‐induced telepresence on cognitive processing from the effects of narrative‐induced transportation on persuasive outcomes. The highly immersive media experience combined with deep transportation into the narrative can strengthen viewers' positive attitude towards the overall experience but hinder their ability to remember the details of the content. The findings point to a medium‐message matching strategy to achieve marketing goals.