The Impact of Movie Poster Design on Consumers: Mediation by Cognitive and Affective Values

With increasing competition in the movie market, movie poster design is instrumental in attracting audiences and promoting box office success. This study conducted behavioral experiments to systematically analyze the influence of character size (large vs. small) and color saturation (high vs. low) on consumers’ ticket purchasing decisions. The results showed that poster designs with large characters and high color saturation effectively resonated emotionally with audiences and significantly increased their willingness to purchase tickets. In contrast, designs with small characters and low color saturation considerably weakened the intention to buy tickets. Further analysis revealed that cognitive value and emotional value mediated the process of influence and that consumers’ ticket purchasing decisions were affected through these mechanisms of action. This study not only provides a theoretical basis for the selection of visual elements in movie posters but also serves practical reference for marketing applications,which is of great theoretical and practical value for enhancing the attractiveness of posters and stimulating the audience's ticket purchasing behavior.