How stories generate consumer engagement: An exploratory study

[en] Understanding how branded storytelling content impacts consumer engagement (CE) is needed to advance research in this topical field and better calibrate story elements. This paper aims to understand the interplay between branded storytelling content and CE, considering the different features of stories and the multidimensional nature of engagement. It takes a netnographic approach to a collection of consumer responses − close to 1000 rich comments offered in four languages − to digital videos posted on YouTube by the brand Dove. Findings reveal that story plot, characters, and verisimilitude trigger consumer engagement by activating cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses in a certain sequence and with variable intensities and valences. The results, as well, show the important interactive aspect of story-based engagement. The paper contributes to CE research by offering a framework linking branded storytelling with CE, which is applicable by managers to design effective storytelling content.

Disciplines :

Marketing

Author, co-author :

Dessart, Laurence ; Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC Liège : UER > Marketing et intelligence stratégique

Pitardi, Valentina; Portsmouth University > Marketing

Language :

English

Title :

How stories generate consumer engagement: An exploratory study

Publication date :

November 2019

Journal title :

Journal of Business Research

ISSN :

0148-2963

eISSN :

1873-7978

Publisher :

Elsevier, New York, United States - New York

Volume :

104

Pages :

183-195

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 16 October 2019

Statistics

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293 (25 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

2678 (26 by ULiège)

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