Once upon a game: boosting brand storytelling through gamification

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of gamifying brand storytelling on user immersion in the brand narrative, a concept referred to as “narrative transportation”. The aim is to comprehend how transportation influences users’ experience and their responses to the brand, with particular focus on brand attitude and WOM. The study also explores the role of interactivity in brand storytelling and its effects on transportation and user engagement. Design/methodology/approach Four experiments were conducted to sequentially test the proposed hypotheses. Each experiment involves ad hoc gamified brand stories for different product categories (wine, museum, glasses and frozen fruit). Findings Findings indicate that including gamification elements in brand stories heightens narrative transportation and enhances the information obtained by users as well as their entertainment. Users thus respond more positively to the brand in terms of attitude and WOM. The study also reveals that high levels of interactivity in the game may actually decrease narrative transportation in the story, although this is offset by the perception of greater entertainment. Originality/value This research contributes to current understanding of brand storytelling and its impact on branding. It highlights the importance of offering users a gamified experience that can provide them with information about the brand whilst also offering them entertainment. The results also hold implications for gamification literature by emphasizing the need to ensure a balance between game and story vis-à-vis enhancing the impact of gamified storytelling on brand response.