Slow or Fast? The Video Motion Design in Destination Marketing

Videos are an effective tool for destination marketing. Despite being an essential technical feature, when and how video motion influences destination advertising effectiveness remains unclear. This research employs a mixed-method approach to investigate how video motion type (slow vs. fast) influences destination advertising effectiveness, while considering the destination type (nature-based vs. urban). Survey results illuminate a lay belief that nature-based (urban) destinations are associated with a slow (fast) pace, subsequently shaping consumer responses toward slow- versus fast-motion videos. Specifically, insights from a semi-structured interview, three online experiments, and a field study in a social media platform with 33,080 video plays reveal that slow motion is better suited for nature-based destinations, whereas fast motion is more effective for urban destinations. Perceived fit is identified as the mechanism driving such congruity effects.