The effect of VR on brand resonance

Abstract

This research examines how brand resonance is influenced by Virtual Reality (VR). More precisely, we analyze how it would be impacted based on the visualization format used to present a product’s brand (2D vs VR). We focused on evaluating how VR’s dimensions of immersion and interactivity influence brand resonance among customers. By conducting a mixed design experiment, we compare the main effect that the format (VR vs 2D) has on brand resonance, and in addition we evaluate how VR’s dimension of interactivity and immersion also affect brand resonance. We demonstrate that a higher interactivity level leads to higher brand resonance; the same conclusion is made for the dimension of immersion. Comparing the main effect of format (VR vs 2D) on brand resonance, we observe that contrary to what we expected, the levels of brand resonance were slightly higher in 2D than in VR, however the difference is not significant. This part of our research led to a further discussion on the different conditions that need to be met for VR technology to lead to significant increases in the levels of brand resonance. The findings have important implications for further academic research on the topic.