Experiential virtual reality or informational video advertising? Assessing promotional effect on sport interest

Purpose Promoting people’s interest in sports is not only important to sports enterprises to improve financial performance but also to the healthy development of the whole society. As virtual reality (VR) devices become more accessible and consumers’ demand for immersive experiences increases, VR advertising is gradually attracting the attention of advertisers. However, there is limited research on what situations are more suitable for VR advertising compared to traditional advertising forms in promoting people’s sport interest. This study aims to compare the influence of experiential VR advertising and informational video advertising on sport interest. Design/methodology/approach As sports programs are advertised not only to novices but also to experienced people, this study investigates the interaction effect of advertising type (experiential VR vs informational video) and previous experience (high vs low) on promoting sport interest. We recruited 216 participants. They were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: an experiential VR advertisement of table tennis played by using a VR headset and an informational video advertisement of table tennis watched on a PC. Findings The results show that experiential VR advertising generates higher sport interest than informational video advertising for those with low previous experience and vividness and presence play a sequential mediating role. For those with high previous experience, there was no significant difference between the two advertising forms. Originality/value The findings extend sport advertising research with different advertising types and complement the new moderator of previous experience, providing a new perspective for insight into the differences between VR advertising and video advertising.