Stylistic property in landscape photos: how perceived vertical positions influence construal level and subsequent destination attitude and visit intention in destination advertising

Abstract

Landscape photos are a common visual communication tool used by marketers to promote their products/services. Nevertheless, the impact of landscape photos on advertising effectiveness has not been fully explored. The present research investigates how the perceived vertical positions, as a prominent stylistic property of landscape photos, influences consumers’ construal level and subsequent attitude and behavioural intention. A quantitative visual content analysis (Study 1) firstly validated that vertical position is the most prevalent stylistic property marketers use in landscape photos, compared with previously confounded visual angle and verticality. Through three experiments, drawn from the theory of mental simulation, construal level theory, and self-concept, this thesis revealed that advertisements using landscape photos featuring a high vertical position (vs. low vertical position) enhance consumers’ construal level (Study 2), and this effect is partially mediated by consumers’ decreased degree of inclusion of the depicted landscape in their self (Study3). Moreover, a quantitative textual content analysis in Study 1 revealed that landscape photos frequently appear in combination with spatial distance cues. Based on this foundation, Study 4 provided managers with applicable insights by adopting the framework of congruence in construal level to explain advertising effectiveness. In the context of destination advertising, landscape photos featuring a high (vs. low) vertical position enhance attitude towards and intention to visit a new destination when consumers have plans to visit a distant (vs. nearby) location (Study 4 (a)). In a similar vein, consumers also show enhanced attitude towards and intention to visit a nearby (vs. distant) destination when it is advertised using landscape photos featuring a low (vs. high) vertical position (Study 4 (b)).

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Identifiers

ORCID for Long Chen: orcid.org/0000-0002-6647-305X

ORCID for Steve Chen: orcid.org/0000-0002-7548-7234

ORCID for Weisha Wang: orcid.org/0000-0002-2985-3416

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