Immersive Virtual Environment Technology (IVET) has emerged as a relevant technology in the marketing environment, with increased use in the retail context (O’Brien, 2016). As its use increases, there is a need to better understand its impact on consumer behavior and the experience that it delivers. Therefore, this study proposes a research model that captures the key constructs in understanding consumer acceptance behavior of the innovative technology used in marketing and how it impacts the brand experience. The objective of this study is to examine 1) antecedents (i.e., message fit and personal innovativeness) that may impact user’s attitude toward the IVET advertisement and self-image congruence, and 2) the transfer of positive or negative IVET advertisement attitude to behavioral intention. Survey was distributed at a large Southern university in USA. Out of 213 survey completed, 143 was usable. Hypotheses were tested using the structural equation model (SEM) analysis with maximum likelihood method (AMOS 23). The results showed that message fit had no significant impact on ad attitude and self-image congruence. Personal innovativeness had positive impact on ad attitude, but not on self-image congruence. Ad attitude had no effect on self-image congruence while having significant positive impact on offline store and online store visit intentions. Lastly, self-image congruence influences both offline and online store visit intentions. The results demonstrate that evaluation of the virtual world brand experience (i.e., attitude toward the IVET advertisement) is a strong predictor of user behavior toward the brand. A consumer’s interactions with a brand in the virtual environment may provide important information about the consumer’s desire to develop a relationship with the brand in other marketing channels, and serves as an opportunity for the marketer to assist in the buying process. Further, personal characteristic such as personal innovativeness may have a significant impact on a their attitude toward the IVET marketing which further leads to consumer’s decision to visit the online and offline store. In addition, self-image congruence were found to positively affect user’s intention to visit the stores, such that consumers who perceive their brand experience as more consistent with their self-image are more likely to consider purchasing the brand in the real world. The results suggest that some consumers may tend to behave in ways that are congruent with their self-identity across marketing channels.

Immersive Virtual Environment Technology (IVET) has emerged as a relevant technology in the marketing environment, with increased use in the retail context (O’Brien, 2016). As its use increases, there is a need to better understand its impact on consumer behavior and the experience that it delivers. Therefore, this study proposes a research model that captures the key constructs in understanding consumer acceptance behavior of the innovative technology used in marketing and how it impacts the brand experience. The objective of this study is to examine 1) antecedents (i.e., message fit and personal innovativeness) that may impact user’s attitude toward the IVET advertisement and self-image congruence, and 2) the transfer of positive or negative IVET advertisement attitude to behavioral intention. Survey was distributed at a large Southern university in USA. Out of 213 survey completed, 143 was usable. Hypotheses were tested using the structural equation model (SEM) analysis with maximum likelihood method (AMOS 23). The results showed that message fit had no significant impact on ad attitude and self-image congruence. Personal innovativeness had positive impact on ad attitude, but not on self-image congruence. Ad attitude had no effect on self-image congruence while having significant positive impact on offline store and online store visit intentions. Lastly, self-image congruence influences both offline and online store visit intentions. The results demonstrate that evaluation of the virtual world brand experience (i.e., attitude toward the IVET advertisement) is a strong predictor of user behavior toward the brand. A consumer’s interactions with a brand in the virtual environment may provide important information about the consumer’s desire to develop a relationship with the brand in other marketing channels, and serves as an opportunity for the marketer to assist in the buying process. Further, personal characteristic such as personal innovativeness may have a significant impact on a their attitude toward the IVET marketing which further leads to consumer’s decision to visit the online and offline store. In addition, self- image congruence were found to positively affect user’s intention to visit the stores, such that consumers who perceive their brand experience as more consistent with their self-image are more likely to consider purchasing the brand in the real world. The results suggest that some consumers may tend to behave in ways that are congruent with their self-identity across marketing channels.

With the rapid development of network economy and information technology, customers through the internet platform to participate in product development and innovation, dominant the spread of value proposition engagement spread, etc., has become an important part of the creation of customer assets, as well as a profound change in brand management. This paper constructs a model of how the brand experience affects customer assets in the virtual branding community under the perspective of value co-creation, analysis the impact of value co-creation of customer participation (sponsored value co-creation and autonomous value co-creation), the motivation of value co-creation on brand experience, and then on customer assets. This paper also explores the regulatory effect of value proposition engagement in brand experience and customer asset. This study will use the involvement theory and the theory of stimulus-response for empirical research, and through the questionnaire survey of consumers, using SPSS20.0 and AMOS20.0 statistical software on the relevance of relevant variables to grasp, and carries on the analysis using structural equation model. The research of this paper will enrich the exposition and explanation of building a brand experience better through value co-creation in virtual brand community, and provide theoretical support and practical advice for the implementation and management of customer assets.

This study explores the relationship among brand experience, consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty with virtual experience and the virtual community as the intervening variables. We intend to discuss how the new concept of ‘brand experience’ impacted by the internet environment. We integrate the following new research subjects together: brand experience, virtual experience and virtual community. As the research purpose is to understand the effects of virtual environments on brand experience on consumer satisfaction and on brand loyalty, it takes virtual experience as the intervening variable to discuss whether it positively or negatively influences the relationship between brand experience and consumer satisfaction, and takes the virtual commodity variable as the intervening variable to discuss whether it positively or negatively influences the relationship between consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty. This study takes the virtual community members of apple brand in taiwan as the research subjects and 516 questionnaires were completed and returned. The results show that the brand experience had a positive effect on the consumers’ satisfaction and brand loyalty. In addition, the virtual experience has a positive moderating effect on the relationship of brand experience and consumer satisfaction. Finally, this study also discovered that the virtual community also has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between consumers’ satisfaction and brand loyalty.

경영학자 Schmitt(1999)는 상품의 마케팅 활동에 있어 그 목적에 대해 고객 체험을 창조하는 것이라 강조하였으며, 기획의 출발점을 체험적 욕구를 충족하는 것이라 주장하였다. 이렇듯 체험의 가치가 높아지는 문화적 현상에 따라 최근 4차 산업 의 중심 동력으로 부상하고 있는 VR(Virtual Reality, 가상현실)기술은 시공간의 제약으로부터 자유로울 수 있으며, 몰입도 높은 가상 체험을 제공한다는 장점으로 인해 체험형 마케팅의 주요 화두로 부상하고 있다. 이에 본 연구는 VR이 마케팅의 수단으로써 적용되었을 때, 이를 체험하는 고객의 브랜드태도와 구매의도의 변화를 연구하 는데 목적을 두고 있다. 실증적 분석을 위해 모 브랜드스토어에서 집행되었던 VR마케팅 사례를 실험대상으로 선정하여 온 라인을 통한 설문조사를 실시하였으며, VR마케팅을 Schmitt의 체험 요소에 대입하여 그 속성을 분류하고 이를 브랜드태도 및 구매의도 간 상관관계를 통해 분석하였다. 총 30문항으로 구성된 설문을 대상자 123명에게 조사하여, 그 결과 결측값을 제외한 94명으로부터 설문 데이터를 수집하였고, 이를 통해 현재 VR 마케팅이 고객의 브랜드태도 및 구매의도의 변화에 어떠한 영향을 미치고 있는지 확인할 수 있었다. 본 연구는 Schmitt의 체험이론을 통해 체험마케팅의 일종으로써 VR기술 의 마케팅적 가치를 최초로 분석한 연구라는 점에 의의가 있다. 모집단의 제한적 연령, 온라인 조사에 한정하여 현장 방문 후, 매체를 경험한 체험자를 대상으로 직접 설문을 진행하지 못한 한계가 있었음에도 불구하고 본 연구는 브랜드스토어의 VR마케팅 활용에 대한 이론적 이해의 틀을 마련하며 체험요소 강화를 위한 마케팅 전략 수립에 도움이 될 수 있을 것으로 기대한다.