The view from above: Examining how drone video ads elicit favorable viewer responses

ABSTRACT

Marketers are increasingly adopting drone videos to advertise their products and services in a novel and engaging manner. Despite this increasing adoption, academic research on the use of drone videos for product advertising is scarce. Particularly lacking is evidence of the efficacy of drone video ads in eliciting favorable viewer responses. This study seeks to fill this gap in the literature by developing a model in which exposure to a drone video ad enhances viewers’ perceived presence and perceived novelty of the drone video ad. In turn, viewers’ perceived presence and perceived novelty of the drone video ad are hypothesized to contribute to a favorable attitude toward the brand and greater intention to share the drone video ad on social media through a favorable attitude toward the drone video ad. To test the proposed model, a sample of viewers were directed to watch a drone video ad and answered questions about the drone video ad, the advertised brand, and their intention to share the drone video ad on social media. The findings contribute to the literature by documenting the effectiveness of drone video ads in eliciting favorable viewer responses and elucidating the theoretical mechanisms by which these responses are elicited.

KEYWORDS:

• Drone videography
• advertising response
• attitude toward the ad
• attitude toward the brand
• video virality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the United Arab Emirates University [G00003756].

Notes on contributors

Wondwesen Tafesse

Wondwesen Tafesse is an associate professor of marketing at United Arab Emirates University, the College of Business and Economics. He mainly researches firms’ digital marketing initiatives and customers’ interactive responses to these initiatives across social, mobile and peer-to-peer digital sharing platforms. His works have been published in Journal of Business Research, Internet Research, International Journal of Information Management and Industrial Marketing Management, among several others.

Saba Khalid

Saba Khalid is an associate professor of marketing at United Arab Emirates University, the College of Business and Economics. Dr Saba Khalid is interested in international entrepreneurship, international alliances and exploration and exploitation strategies of market opportunities. Dr. Saba Khalid has published in Journal of World Business, Management International Review and International Business Review, among others.