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Advertising in videoblogs: The underlying mechanism of audiovisual effects
Author(s)
Date Issued
2026
Citation
Lee, K. L., & Borah, P. (8 Aug 2026). Advertising in videoblogs: The underlying mechanism of audiovisual effects. Annual Conference of American Psychological Association (APA) 2026, online.
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
Introduction: This study investigates how viewers’ perceptions of a vlogger’s desirability influence the perceived credibility of their messages and whether this relationship is mediated by viewers’ wishful identification with the vlogger. Grounded in the Message Interpretation Process model (e.g., Austin et al., 1999), this study also explores if the presence of audiovisual effects moderates this relationship and how these dynamics vary based on gender match between viewer and vlogger. Methods. A survey was administered to 1,431 participants recruited via MTurk with a mean age of 33.99 years (SD= 10.08) and 42.21% female (n= 593) and 57.79% male (n= 812). Participants were asked to recall and answer questions about one male and one female vlogger they watched. Survey measured perceived vlogger desirability, wishful identification, perceived message credibility and presence of audiovisual effects in the vlogs. Data were analyzed using moderated mediation models across four gender subgroups. Results. Wishful identification significantly mediated the desirability-credibility relationship across all gender combinations: female-female (ab= 0.19, p< .05), female-male (ab= 0.14, p< .05), male-male (ab= 0.29, p< .05), and male-female (ab= 0.12, p< .05). For same-gender subgroups, audiovisual effects moderated this relationship. The direct effect was significant with effects for female-female (b= 0.72, p< .05) and male-male (b= 0.59, p< .05) pairs, but nonsignificant without them (b= -0.31, p> .05; b= 0.002, p> .05). Discussion. Findings showed the powerful role of affective processing in social media videos. Vloggers who are perceived as desirable can foster wishful identification in viewers which in turn boosts the credibility of their messages. This study highlights that the strategic use of media features like audiovisual effects can amplify this persuasive process, but primarily when the vlogger and viewer share the same gender. This suggests that content creators could consider their audience demographics when investing in post-production enhancements.
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