In the new digital age, the emergence of user-generated content enables consumers to enjoy greater freedom and control over their behavior on the internet and assume more active roles in sharing brand-related information with others. This research examines the role of brand engagement on consumer psychological ownership, purchase intention, electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and consumers’ willingness to defend the brand on social media. The findings provide evidence of consumer psychological process to demonstrate that companies can use social media to engage with consumers, so consumers are likely to spread positive WOM and be protective of the brand. It is important for marketing managers to assess the level of brand engagement on social media sites and develop tools and techniques to increase consumers’ participation such as using subliminal priming on brand image, with an aim to create a close consumer brand relationship.

The emergence and explosive growth of social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Tweeter, etc. has dramatically changed both the way consumers shop and brands advertise. According to a study by Track Maven, Instagram is the most engaging social media platform nowadays with the most average interactions per post per 1,000 followers. It stimulates “Instagram influencer marketing” to develop rapidly and promotes a great variety of brands. It has fundamentally changed the balance of power between customers and brands because it allows peer recommendations to play a much larger role in purchasing decisions [13]. It has become one of the trendiest marketing strategies that focus on influential figures on Instagram rather than targeting on the market as a whole. Instagram influencer marketing highlights content creators who may impact their audiences’ buying habits. For example, shoppers who compare hotel reviews can simply search “hashtag plus hotel name (e.g. #hiltonnewyork) in Instagram and read people’s experiences with that hotel among related posts. Many of those posts were created by influencers who are collaborating with the brands to advertise. Based on activities of more than 12 million Instagram influencers between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, Social bakers created a report to categorize influencers into three categories: micro-influencers who have fewer than 10,000 followers, macro influencers with 10,000 to 50,000 followers, and celebrities who attracts a million or more followers. The majority of Instagram influencers are “micro-influencers”. Their finding also reveals that the combined amount of sponsored content on Instagram for all three categories of influencers in North America has jumped 150% in the last year.

Courses on the motion and operation of remotely operated vehicles (ROV) tend to feature abstract theoretical concepts, numerous formulas, combinations of mathematical and physical concepts and teaching that is disconnected from practice. As with the development of computer technology, the dynamic connection between the combination of the highly-realistic visual effects of simulation and theoretical classroom teaching has the aesthetic characteristics of a physical science. In this study, a virtual teaching platform for ROVs was developed on the basis of current virtual simulation technologies, as well as the needs of courses focused on ROV motion and operation. Based on detailed analyses of the functional and performance requirements of a virtual teaching platform for ROVs, the system was subdivided into six subsystems: remote-control simulation, dynamic and kinematic mathematical modeling, underwater operation tools simulation, visual scene display, teacher control and network administration, using an object-oriented design method featuring modularization and standardization. The subsystems facilitate modular development, integration and function extension, and support the openness, inheritance and reusability of the system. The platform is used to intuitively acquaint students with ROVs’ kinetic characteristics and operating methods by means of intuitive 3D models, precise motion calculation, and real operating scenes. Based on teaching practice in colleges and universities, a typical work-task-oriented practical teaching system was developed, along with the application of course design and scenario design for the ROV virtual teaching platform. Through interactive operation, students can dynamically and intuitively observe the motion of ROVs during navigation, helping them to learn about hydrodynamic performance. With simulated ROV operation, students learn about the principles of dynamic mechanical tools as well as the relationships between the interaction forces of ROVs. This contributes to disciplinary progress in naval architecture and ocean engineering, as well as the development of students’ practical engineering competence.