Virtual Reality (VR) Content Is the New Reality for Destination Marketing Organizations: Investigating the Role of VR as a Destination Branding Tactic: An Abstract

Abstract

Destination marketing organizations spend millions of dollars annually to entice consumers to visit the destination represented. Due to increased competition and market globalization, marketers are adopting innovative branding strategies and tactics to emphasize unique qualities of a destination. One such innovative branding tactic is the use of virtual reality as a marketing communication medium (MCM). Scholars and marketing managers have yet to examine the role of this MCM despite destination leaders believing VR is impacting “all aspects of the destination organization.” As such, this research implements a two-phase pretest–posttest experimental design tested via multi-group structural equation modelling to examine the impact of VR on visit intention and the formation of (a) destination image (DI), (b) destination personality (DP), and (c) attitude. The digital age has transformed the way consumers connect with brands. Therefore, branding strategies and tactics must adapt accordingly (Edelmann 2010). Firms and destinations that proactively innovate are positioned to achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace (Hunt and Duhan 2002). While innovative branding strategies and tactics may be beneficial in differentiating a destination among competing destinations, little is known regarding consumer perceptions of destinations when destination marketers employ an innovative branding strategy or tactic. Additionally, extant research investigating branding in general and destination branding in particular has yet to understand the impact of an innovative MCM. However, one such innovative MCM is VR. A two-phase pretest–posttest experimental design (Maris 1998) was implemented to examine the impact of VR when used as an MCM. This design has two important advantages over the posttest-only design: (a) it permits error variance caused by consistent individual differences to be removed, thereby increasing power; and (b) it permits the groups to be equated for baseline differences, thereby increasing the internal validity of the design. The pre-treatment model revealed positive, significant relationships between the constructs of interests. Additionally, the post-treatment model revealed stronger relationships between (1) DP and attitude and (2) attitude and visit intention; however, the post-treatment resulted in a non-significant relationship between DI and attitude and a weaker relationship between DP and DI. Moreover, due to measurement invariance being established (Steenkamp and Baumgartner 1998), the latent mean comparison using the pretest as the baseline shows a significant positive difference for DI and DP. These results indicate VR provides a significant benefit to destination marketers attempting to influence the formation of both DI and DP. Future research should explore the specific mechanism(s) (e.g., telepresence or narrative transportation) associated with VR that are driving these positive benefits and compare VR to other MCMs for a deeper understanding of the impact of innovative MCMs to more common MCMs.