VR-mediated storytelling of experience in destination branding: hybrid 4D transformations

In COVID-19 era, destination branding faces the challenge of digitalization and virtual reality (VR) in particular. The fundamentals of VR-mediated storytelling in destination branding are in the process of being developed. There is a luck of research on immersive VR-mediated storytelling, scenarios, and messages in destination branding, especially realised with technologies of more complex - hybrid - immersivity (4D). The shift from 2D, 3D to 4D hybrid multisensory VR technologies is not only among the main technology developments - it provokes new research problems with VR-mediated destination branding and storytelling. The authors present the results of theoretical and empirical research of VR-mediated destination storytelling of a brand driven by the newest 4D hybrid multisensory technological approaches on the case of Switzerland. In Switzerland, VR-mediated projects in destination branding are developing actively last years but VR-mediated storytelling research in this field was not provided yet. In this regard, it was chosen 100 destination brand VR projects, presented in 2016-2022, to compare the parameters of VR-mediated storytelling of a brand. VR has to be included into brand storytelling paradigm, which must be rethought for this specific sphere. It was proved that it is more effective to combine different types of experience, virtual and physical both and make the VR-mediated brand storytelling hybrid. In terms of theoretical implications, this paper opened a specific research area by bridging theoretical and empirical ideas of destination branding, VR-mediated storytelling and digital media, technical and social communication.