Narrative message and virtual reality: the impact of telepresence and transportation on consumer learning in the real estate industry

Despite the growing interest of virtual reality (VR) technologies among professionals and academics, little attention has been paid to the role of audio, such as voice introductions and narrations, in the overall VR experience. Also, very few studies have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of different displays in combination with other persuasive strategies, especially in real estate advertising. This study examines the effects of different types of message voiceovers and VR videos on consumer learning in real estate advertising. A 2 (voiceover strategy: narrative vs. statistical message) by 2 (VR displays: immersive VR vs. non-immersive VR) between-subjects study was conducted. Results showed that viewers in non-immersive VR (i.e., 360 video) had better memories about the virtual property tour content, but viewers in immersive VR reported greater behavior intention. Moreover, there was an interaction between message type and VR type. Viewers had the highest memory retention when they listened to a narrative style voiceover accompanying a non-immersive VR property tour. The adoption of the different types of VRs and voiceover strategies in real estate marketing are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Advertising

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2018

Author dc:creator

• Chen, Chen

Contributors dc:contributor

• Yao, Mike

• virtual reality, telepresence, transportation, message evidence, narrative, statistical

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2018 Chen (Crystal) Chen

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101727

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/101727