Mini-film advertising and digital brand engagement: the moderating effects of drama and lecture

Abstract

Mini-film advertising (MA) uses narratives to deliver hidden brand messages in 3- to 10-min online videos. It addresses online users to gain their attention and to build brand exposure on the internet. The current study investigates experimentally the effects of MA on consumer digital engagement. The findings demonstrate that digital engagement increases when the narrative (drama) and factual (lecture) qualities of content are high. The results indicate that factual information can be successfully communicated, if it is integrated into a dramatic storyline. These effects can be explained by the similarity–identification process: Lecture content in MA has a greater effect on digital engagement when involvement with characters increases. The findings contribute to the understanding of branded entertainment and digital engagement. They also have implications for advertisers.

Keywords:

• Mini-film advertising
• digital engagement
• drama
• lecture
• similarity
• identification with characters
• transportation

Acknowledgment

Authors would like to thank the Editor, Associate Editor and Reviewers for their helpful suggestions and insightful comments. Thanks are also extended to SW Research for their generous help and providing their fantastic software for data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Malgorzata Karpinska-Krakowiak is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Łódź, Poland. Her research focuses on consumer behavior and marketing communications. Prior to entering academia she worked as a strategy manager in an advertising agency where she was responsible for advertising campaigns run for various brands, including Masterfoods, Nestlé, Storck, Heinz, Colgate-Palmolive, and Kimberly Clark.

Martin Eisend is a professor of marketing at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. His research focuses on consumer behavior, marketing communication, and empirical generalizations.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partly supported by the National Science Centre in Poland (Narodowe Centrum Nauki, under Grant number 2016/21/B/HS4/00658) and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation.