Consumer Social Media Engagement with Video Ad in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The main objective of this article is to analyze the narrative of an advertising video in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic through a utilitarian (informativeness) and hedonic (playfulness) perspective and evaluate its consequences on brand engagement. In this article, we propose a quantitative approach based on structural equation models. The questionnaire was disseminated in April 2020, and 235 valid responses were obtained and analyzed using the software AMOS v26. The results confirmed the adjustment of the data to the conceptual model established and that empathy with the content in advertising videos has a mediating effect on playfulness and informativeness effects in brand engagement in social networks during COVID-19 pandemic. Our study analyses the narrative of an advertising video in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic through a utilitarian (informativeness) and hedonic (playfulness) perspective and evaluates its consequences on brand engagement. Despite the existence of several studies on advertising, its relationship with brand engagement is still poorly studied in the literature, especially in the pandemic period. This work demonstrates the importance of empathy with video as important factor in digital brand engagement, even in times of crisis.