Using virtual reality to promote the university brand: When do telepresence and system immersion matter?

ABSTRACT

While virtual reality (VR) has been shown to increase a sense of being there (i.e., telepresence) and enhance audience perceptions of the content, few studies have examined the impact of the varying degrees of ‘system immersion’ on persuasion outcomes under different VR viewing conditions. To fill this gap, our research investigates consumer perceptions of a branded VR experience of a university campus tour under different viewing conditions across two studies. In Study 1, we interviewed 17 participants who experienced the VR tour on Oculus Rift CV1. Emerging themes from the data revealed a sense of telepresence, enjoyment, and appreciation for going places not available to participants in real life. Study 2 employed an experimental design where participants viewed the same content using one of the three VR devices that varied in system immersion (smartphone, Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift DK2). Telepresence and its impact on recall and persuasion were measured. Results show that all three viewing conditions had equal capacity to create a sense of telepresence. Perceived telepresence negatively impacted recall of targeted locations in the virtual tour, whereas telepresence positively correlated with intentions to recommend the campus to others.

KEYWORDS:

• Virtual reality
• telepresence
• system immersion
• 360-degree video
• university branding

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Compared to Samsung VR Gear or Oculus Go, Oculus DK2 is less developed and advanced. During the period of data collection of Study 2 (2017 Spring and Summer), DK2 was the only head-mounted VR device available in the lab. Researchers who are interested in extending this study should consider more advanced and up-to-date VR headsets.

2. To better understand the effect of device difference, we decided to control for the VR content (i.e., the same 360-degree video). Though a 360-degree video can be played on a computer screen as well, the navigation style is quite different from a head-mounted VR device. The former one is navigated by moving the mouse or touchpad, the latter one is navigated by head movement. When using a smartphone to watch 360-degree video, users navigate using their arms and body, users’ head also need to move accordingly. Thus, we believe that compared to a computer, a smartphone imports fewer confounds (e.g., navigation style) and is more ideal for examining the effect of device difference.

3. Watching 360° video on the mobile phone where users can interact with the content by navigating through their movement and moving around is different from a regular 2D experience where users watch traditional videos or three-dimensional product display.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jie(Doreen) Shen

Jie(Doreen) Shen is a Ph.D. student and research assistant in the Marketing Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her primary research interest is the impacts of cultural orientation and, emotion on consumers’ self-identity and subsequent consumption behavior. [email protected]

Yanyun(Mia) Wang

Yanyun(Mia) Wang is a Ph.D. student at the Institute of Communications Research. She holds a B.A. in new media study from Communication University of China and a M.S. in Advertising from the University of Illinois. Her research interests center on virtual consumer behavior and virtual human interaction. In particular, she is interested in how virtual reality affects the way people process information and how virtual experiences change people’s perceptions and behavior. Her recent research focuses on the effectiveness of advertising placement in a VR game and the impact of VR as a tool for cross-cultural communication.

Chen(Crystal) Chen

Chen(Crystal) Chen is a Ph.D. student in the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focus lies in the intersection of communication technology and media psychology. More specifically, she is interested in the impact of different technology affordances on users’ memory and decision-making processes.

Michelle R. Nelson

Michelle R. Nelson is a professor in the Advertising Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She studies and teaches advertising and consumer research. She has published more than 70 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Nelson has a continued research interest and fascination with new technology, branding, and media.

Mike Z. Yao

Mike Z. Yao is an associate professor in the Advertising Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on the social and psychological impacts of interactive digital media. He conducts research and writes on a variety of topics such as online behavior, digital literacy, and computer-mediated communication. His current interest is in how users perceive and manage personal boundaries on social media. Specifically, he examines people’s attitudes, beliefs and self-protective behaviors related to online privacy from a psychosocial perspective by considering the influence of cognitive appraisal, social norm, and individual differences.