Artistic Narratives in Advertising and Consumer Behavior: A Dual-Mediation Model based on Symbolic Interactionism

广告中的艺术叙事与消费者行为：符号互动论视角下情感共鸣与品牌认同的双中介机制研究

[Background]With the growth of mobile internet and social media, 'storytelling advertising' is a key brand strategy, leading to budget increases for narrative-capable digital and video scenarios. As an artistic narrative form, it blends visual symbols, aesthetics, and creative plots to offer a unique aesthetic experience. Existing studies confirm it affects consumer decisions via emotional resonance, but the symbolic meaning construction remains underexplored. Since Zaltman (2003) noted 95% of purchase decisions are subconscious, emotion's leading role in consumer decisions is critical. [Objective]From the symbolic interactionism perspective, this study explores the dual-mediation mechanism(emotional resonance,brand identification) through which advertising artistic narratives influence consumers’ purchase intention, and quantifies the two paths’ effect strength. [Method]Based on symbolic interactionism and narrative transportation theory, we developed the model “artistic narrative→emotional resonance/brand identification→purchase intention; We surveyed 450 Chinese young consumers(18-30, purchasing power; 90%valid), using a 5-point Likert scale to measure artistic narrative features(narrativity, interactivity, emotional appeal), emotional resonance, brand identification and purchase intention. Hypotheses were tested via SEM with 5,000-sample Bootstrap. [Results]Narrativity, interactivity and emotional appeal all positively influence emotional resonance;emotional appeal has the strongest impact on brand identification. Both mediators positively affect purchase intention,with emotional resonance’s mediating effect significantly stronger than brand identification’s. [Conclusion]Emotional resonance is the key pathway for artistic narratives to drive purchase intention, with brand identification as a support. This study extends symbolic interactionism to advertising artistic symbol construction, guiding scenario-specific, artistically engaging ad design. Limited to Chinese youth, future research could expand to cross-cultural/elderly samples and explore effects of different artistic styles and media carriers.

【背景】随着移动互联网和社交媒体的发展，“故事化广告”逐渐成为品牌传播的重要策略，品牌预算持续呈现向可承载叙事的数字与视频场景集中。作为一种艺术叙事形式，广告艺术叙事融合视觉符号、审美元素与情节创意，为受众提供独特的审美体验。现有研究证实其通过情感共鸣影响消费决策，但符号意义建构过程仍未被充分探讨。Zaltman (2003) 指出，95%的购买决策发生在潜意识层面，情感在消费决策中的主导作用不可忽视。 【目的】本研究引入符号互动论视角，旨在揭示广告中的艺术叙事通过“情感共鸣”与“品牌认同”影响消费者购买意愿的双中介机制，并量化对比两条路径的效应强度。 【方法】基于符号互动论与叙事运输理论构建“艺术叙事—情感共鸣/品牌认同—购买意愿”理论模型，以18–30 岁具有消费决策权的中国青年消费者为样本（N=450，有效率90%），采用李克特五级量表测量广告艺术叙事特征（叙事性、互动性、情感诉求）、情感共鸣、品牌认同与购买意愿，通过结构方程模型（SEM）与Bootstrap 法（5000 次抽样）检验假设。 【结果】广告艺术叙事的叙事性、互动性、情感诉求均正向影响情感共鸣；情感诉求对品牌认同影响最强；情感共鸣与品牌认同均正向影响购买意愿；情感共鸣中介效应显著强于品牌认同。 【结论】情感共鸣是艺术叙事驱动购买意愿的关键路径，品牌认同为辅助机制；本研究拓展了符号互动论在广告艺术符号建构中的应用，为品牌分场景设计具有艺术感染力的广告内容提供依据；研究样本限于中国青年群体，未来可拓展至跨文化与中老年样本，并进一步考察不同艺术风格与媒介载体的影响。