Purpose - Brands and products often play key roles in enabling consumers to experience a good attitude, resulting in mentally enacting a specific prototype and reliving the experience by retelling a specific story. Brand storytelling can function as an important tool for managing the brand. To successfully apply a firm's brand storytelling, it is important to prove the effectiveness of storytelling. Therefore, by utilizing the research of Escalas (1998) and Fog et al. (2005), a list of measurements for storytelling component quality (SCQ) was applied. In addition, customer attitudes toward brand storytelling were tested. In particular, if customers encounter a dynamic and interesting story, although the brand is not widely known, they can be in communion with the brand and establish an emotional connection (Hill, 2003). Thus, brand reputation was divided into two levels (high vs. low), and the difference in effectiveness between storytelling component quality and consumers' advertisement attitude, brand attitude, and purchasing intention was examined. Research design, data, and methodology - By using the measurement list used in Choi, Na, and Hwang (2013), 12 categories in the level of message quality, conflict quality, character quality, and plot quality were measured. In addition, categories of brand reputation, advertisement attitude, brand attitude, and purchasing intention were measured. The study was based on 181 final survey samples targeting undergraduate and graduate students in Gwangju Metropolitan City. Results - Consumer responses toward storytelling were researched in the context of brand characteristics or product attributes, such as brand reputation, differentiated from extant simple effects of storytelling. Some brands with high reputation enjoy a halo effect due to prior learning, while other brands with comparatively low reputation have trouble generating positive responses despite attempts to enhance the level of reputation or induce favorable attitudes. Although not all due to the component quality of storytelling, the case of brands with low reputation exerted more positive impact on consumer attitudes than did brands with high reputation. As mentioned earlier, consumer evaluation of the component quality of storytelling was categorized into advertising attitudes, brand attitudes, and purchase intention for this study; this provides managerial implications in other ways. The results imply that an effective application of storytelling could be an important emotional tool for the development of both brands with low brand awareness and of well-known brands. Finally, this study serves to increase consumers' understanding and ability in interpreting brand stories that marketers tell about themselves, as well as to highlight differential experiences with products by level of brand hierarchy. Conclusions - This research aimed to provide an objective guideline for storytelling component quality while considering brand awareness. Thus, brand reputation was considered for proving the baseline effectiveness of storytelling, and this study provided directions for strategic establishment of storytelling. Based on this, we conclude that in further studies, it will be necessary to systematically manage brand story by considering other situation variables and various story patterns, and studying their differences.
Arker, D. A. (1996). Building Strong Brands. New York: Free Press.
Belch, G. E., Lutz, R. J., & MacKenzie, S. B. (1986). The Role of Attitude toward the ad as a Mediator of Advertising Effectiveness: A test of Competing Explanations. Journal of Marketing Research, 23, 130-143.
Berger, Ida E., & Alan A. Mitchell (1989). The Effect of Advertising on Attitude Accessibility, Attitude Confidence, and the Attitude-Behavior Relationship. Journal of Consumer Research, 16, 269-279.
Cohen, B., & Basu, K. (1987). Alternative Models of Categorization: Toward a Contingent Processing Framework. Journal of Consumer Research, 13, 455-472.
Choi, Soow A, Na, Kwang Jin, & Hwang, Yoon Yong (2013). Development of Measurement Scales for Brand Storytelling Components Quality. Journal of Brand Design Association of Korea, 27, 11(4), 161-173.
Dan, H. (2003). Body of Truth: Leveraging What Consumers Can't or Won't Say, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Deghton, J., Romer, D., Mcqueen, J. (1989). Using Drama to Persuade. Journal of Consumer Research, 16(3), 335-343.
Delagadillo, Y., & Escalas, J. E. (2004). Narrative Word-of-Mouth Communication: Exploring Memory and Attitude Effects of Consumer Storytelling. Advances in Consumer Research, 31, 186-192.
Dhar, R., and Wertenbroch, K. (2000). Consumer Choice Between Hedonic and Utilitarian Goods. Journal of Marketing Research, 37(1), 60-71.
Dickinson, Anthony, Shanks, D., & Evenden, J. (1984). Judgment of Act-Outcome Contingency: The Role of Selective Attribution. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 36, 29-50.
Dodds, W. B., Monroe, K, B., & Grewal, D. (1991). Effect of Price, Brand and Store information on Buyer's Product Evaluations. Journal of Marketing Research, 28, 307-319.
Engel, J. F., Blackwell, R. D., & Miniard, P. W. (1995). Consumer Behavior. TX: The Dryden Press, Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Escalas, J. E. (1998). Advertising Narrative: What Are They and How do They Work? In Representing Consumers:Voices, Views, and Visions, Edited by Barvara B. Stern, New York, NY: Routledge Press, 267-289.
Escalas, J. E., & Stern, B. (2003). Sympathy and Empathy :Emotional Responses to Advertising Dramas. Journal of Consumer Research, 29, 566-578
Fein, G. (1995). Toys and stories. In A. D. Pellegrini (Ed.), The Future of Play Theory (pp. 151-165). New York: State University of New York Press.
Fishbein M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Fog, K., Budtz, C., & Yakaboylu, B. (2005). Storytelling :Branding in Practice. New York: Springer.
Fombrun, C., Gardberg, A., & Server, J. (2000). The Reputation Quotient: A Multi-Stakeholder Measure of Corporate Reputation. Journal of Brand Management, 7(4), 241-255.
Formbrun, Charles J., & Cees, van Riel (1997). The Reputational Landscape. Corporate Reputation Review, 1, 5-13.
Gergen, K. J., & G.ergen, M. M. (1988). Narrative and the Self as Relationship. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 21, 17-56.
Homer, P. M. (1990). The Mediation Role of Attitude toward the Ad: Some Evidence. Journal of Marketing Research, 27(1), 78-86.
Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2001). Some Fundamental Aspects of Language Development After Age Five. In P. Fletcher and M. Garman (Eds.), Language Acquisition (pp455-474), Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, .
Keller, J. L. (1998). Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, New York:
Krugman, H. E.(1965a). The impact of Television Advertising: Learning without Involvement. Public Opinion Quarterly, 29(Fall), 349-356. Prentice-Hall.
Kim, Sung-Duck, Youn, Myoung-Kil, & Kim, Ki-Soo (2012). A Study of the Effect of Model Characteristics on Purchasing Intentions and Brand Attitudes. Journal of Distribution Science, 10(4), 47-53.
Krugman, H. E. (1965b). Memory Factors in Advertising: The Effect of Advertising Retrieval Cues on Brand Evaluation. Journal of Consumer Research, 10, 316-334.
Lee, Jung Hun (2010). Exploratory Research on the Persuasive Storytelling of Tourism Package Product Sales on the TV Home Shopping - Applied with 6 Influence Weapons of Robert Cialdini. Hanyang University, Tourism Research Institute, 22(1), 139-164.
Lee, Won Jun, & Lee, Han Suk (2009). The Effects of Perceived Brand Story Characteristics on Brand Intimacy Mediated by Story Flow. Journal of Korean Marketing Association, 24(2), 109-129.
Lutz, R. J., Mackenzie, S. B., & Belch, G. E. (1983). Attitude Toward the ad as a of Mediator of Advertising Effectiveness: Determinants and Consequences. In R. P. Bagozzi and A. M. Tybout(Eds.), Advances in Consumer Research, 10, Prove, UT: Association for Consumer Research, 532-539.
McKee, R. (1997). Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting. New York: Reganbooks.
Mishra, A., & Mishra, H. (2011). The Influence of Price Discount Versus Bonus Pack on the Preference for Virtue and Vice Food. Journal of Marketing Research, 48(1), 196-206.
Mitchell, A. A., & Olson, J. C. (1981). Are Product Attribute Beliefs the Only Mediator of Advertising Effects on Brand Attitude? Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 318-332.
Nguyen, N., & Leblanc, G. (2001). Corporate Image and Corporate Reputation in Customers' Retention Decisions in Services. Journal of Retailing Consumer Services, 8(4), 227-236.
Park, C. W., & Parker, L. (1981). Familiarity and its Impact on Consumer Biases and Heuristics. Journal of Consumer Research, 8, 223-230.
Park, Pumsoon (2013). The Effect of Creative Attributes in Art Advertising on Attitude toward Advertisement and Attitude toward the Brand. Journal of Digital Design Association of Korea, 13(1), 131-139.
Parkin, M. (2004), Tales for Change. London, UK: Sterling, VA:Kogan Page Limited.
Rothschild, M. L. (1975). Involvement as a Determinant of Decision Marking Style. In E. M. Mazze(Ed), Combined Proceedings, Chicago: American Marketing Association, 216-220.
Tse, D. K., Wyer, R. W., & Zhou, N. (1989). Becoming a Consumer Society: A Longitudinal and Cross-Cultural Content Analysis of Print ads from Hong Kong. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(4), 457-472.
Van Osselaer, Stijn M. J., & Alba, J. W. (2000). Consumer Learning and Brand Equity. Journal of Consumer Research, 27, 1-16.
Van Osselaer, Stijn M. J., & Alba, J. W. (2003). Locus of Equity and Brand Extension. Journal of Consumer Research, 29, 539-550.
Waldmann, Michael R. & Holyoak, Keith J. (1992). Predictive and Diagnostic Learning within Causal Models:Asymmetries in Cue Competition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 121, 222-236.
White, S., & Low, J. (2002). When Mothers Turn a Visual Story into a Verbal One for Their Children: Previewing Helps with the Telling, Conversing, and Remembering. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(4), 360-370.
Woodside, A. G. (2006). CABS: Consumer Archetype Brand Storytelling. KAMS International Conference Proceedings, 65-82.
Woodside, A. G. (2010). Brand-Consumer Storytelling Theory and Research: Introduction to a Psychology and Marketing Special Issue. Psychology and Marketing, 27(6), 531-540.
Yoon, Eunsang, Guffey, Hugh J., & Kijewski, Valerie (1993). The Effect Information and Company Reputation on Intentions to Buy a Business Service. Journal of Business Research, 27, 215-228.