Motivational determinants of transportation into marketing narratives

Brent McFerran, Darren W. Dahl, Gerald J. Gorn, Heather Honea

Journal of Consumer Psychology · 2010 · Volume 20 · Issue 3

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcps.2010.06.017

Abstract

This paper identifies factors that facilitate narrative transportation, where people become immersed in the storyline of an advertisement. Specifically, using a lottery context, this research shows that consumers who feel lucky or believe in personal good luck are motivated to engage in transportation, a process that is intensified as the attractiveness of the outcome increases. Further, this research shows that highly transported consumers (a) become more focused on ad outcomes and less on the low personal probability of winning, and that (b) attempts to attenuate consumers’ transportation are most efficacious if undertaken before the ad (and transportation) begins.

Keywords

Transportation, Narratives, Lottery, Advertising

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