LAUSR.org creates dashboard-style pages of related content for over 1.5 million academic articles. Sign Up to like articles & get recommendations!

Customer Engagement in Multi-Sensory Virtual Reality Advertising: The Effect of Sound and Scent Congruence

Photo by alekonpictures from unsplash

Despite the power of VR in immersing viewers in an experience, it generally only targets viewers via visual and auditory cues. Human beings use more senses to gather information, so… Click to show full abstract

Despite the power of VR in immersing viewers in an experience, it generally only targets viewers via visual and auditory cues. Human beings use more senses to gather information, so expectedly, the full potential of this medium is currently not yet tapped. This study contributes in answering two research questions: (1) How can conventional VR ads be enriched by also addressing the forgotten sense of smell?; and (2) Does doing so indeed instill more engaging experiences? A 2 × 3 between-subjects study (n = 235) is conducted, whereby an existing branded VR commercial (Boursin Sensorium Experience) is augmented with “sound” (on/off) and (congruent/incongruent/no) “scents.” The power of these sensory augmentations is evaluated by inspecting emotional, cognitive and conative dimensions of customer engagement. The results identify product-scent congruence (with sound) as a deal-maker, albeit product-scent incongruence is not necessarily a deal-breaker. The article concludes with further research avenues and a translation into managerial implications.

Keywords: scent congruence; scent; customer engagement

Journal Title: Frontiers in Psychology
Year Published: 2022

Link to full text (if available)


Share on Social Media:                               Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!

Related content

More Information              News              Social Media              Video              Recommended



                Click one of the above tabs to view related content.