Stronger together? Tourists’ behavioral responses to joint brand advertising

Drawing on collaboration theory, we investigate the effect of joint vs. single brand advertising on tourists’ behavioral responses with two experiments. Study 1 employs a field experiment to examine the effect of joint brand advertising on the tourist’s actual information search behavior. Study 2 uses a laboratory experiment to investigate the effect of joint brand advertising on tourists’ intention to visit a destination and measures whether this relationship is mediated by product interest. Study 1 suggests that, compared to single brand advertising, joint brand advertising increases tourists’ search behavior. Study 2 shows that joint brand advertising stimulates product interest, which in turn, increases tourists’ intention to visit. The mediating role of product interest disappears when a destination brand forms a partnership with a lesser-reputed travel intermediary brand. The research provides implications for theory development in the area of tourism advertising, whilst also identifying best practices for advertisers on how to optimize the effectiveness of their campaigns.