Cross-Cultural Factors in Experiencing Online Video Contents in Product Marketing

Abstract

Although online shops represent convenient tools to buy and sell products, they do not offer as rich multisensory experiences than physical retailing offers. Audio-visual contents could provide dynamic multisensory information and offer more engaging experiences. However, to be successful, audio-visual contents need to be adjusted to the cultural characteristics of the users. This manuscript presents a study in which Spanish and Finnish participants interacted with audiovisual products depicting videos of the brand design. Through content analysis of participants' verbalizations, the authors identified categories and subcategories that defined the representation of the video elements and their relative weight depending on the cultural background of the viewer. Although results indicate common elements affecting viewers of the two countries, they differ in the relative weight to global aesthetics features. The results of this study can be utilized in designing audio-visual representations of products for online shops taking into account the cultural factors affecting the design practice.