El engagement y la sorpresa en la comunicación digital de las marcasEstudio del impacto emocional de los GIFs en los usuarios de las redes sociales

Abstract

Purpose: Two studies were carried out. The main objective of study 1 was to find out the emotional effects and engagement that «GIFs» communication resources provoke in users. The main objective of study 2 was to determine the implicit attitudes that participants have towards well-known brands. Design / Methodology /Approach: The first study uses a combination of biometric tools of automated observation of facial expressions, skin conductance and pupil direction to observe the emotional state that GIFs of well-known brands elicit in participants, and compare it to the effects caused by static images of the same brands. The second study uses the Implicit Association Test to observe unconscious associations related to well-known brands. Results: The results of the first study show that GIFs achieve user engagement and provoke a «feel-good-pleasure state» (Russel’s Circumplex Model, 1980), but not the expected enthusiastic state. The results of the second study indicate that participants have the belief that wellknown brands are quality brands, while they do not associate this attribute with non-famous brands. The correlation found between the results of the two studies reveals that GIFs, while provoking positive emotions and generating engagement, do not achieve an enthusiastic state when brands are internalised as quality brands. Limitations / implications: The research method used has shown its usefulness in measuring user engagement in viewing GIFs using metrics such as the sign and intensity of emotion, and neuromarketing tools. The experimental study had its main limitation in not being able to observe the emotional effects generated by GIFs that allow user interaction. Originality / contribution: Well-known brands, in addition to using these innovative visual resources, have to use them in a different way to generate surprise and manage to place potential customers in the «enthusiastic emotional state» of the Circumplex Model (Russel,1980).