Customer Engagement in Multi-Sensory Virtual Reality Advertising: The Effect of Sound and Scent Congruence.

Despite the power of VR in immersing viewers in an experience, it generally only targets viewers via and cues. Human beings use more senses to gather information, so expectedly, the full potential of this medium is currently not yet tapped. This study contributes in answering two research questions: (1) How can conventional VR ads be enriched by also addressing the ?; and (2) Does doing so indeed instill more engaging experiences? A 2 × 3 between-subjects study ( = 235) is conducted, whereby an existing branded VR commercial (Boursin Sensorium Experience) is augmented with "sound" (on/off) and (congruent/incongruent/no) "scents.