Investigate the Cross-modal Influence of Face Prominence and Voice on Commercial Video Sales Performance
(A2026-133557)

AUTHORS

Tianqi Yang, King's College London; Elisa Schweiger, King's Business School, King's College London; Oguz Acar, King's Business School; Dhruv Grewal, Babson College

ABSTRACT

Brands increasingly feature human faces in social media commercial videos to attract viewers and drive purchases. Yet it remains unclear whether increasing face prominence (i.e., having faces fill more of the video frame) translates into better sales outcomes. Prior work has studied facial presence and emotion, but offers limited insight into whether and how face prominence shapes sales performance, or how this relationship varies with vocal characteristics. Using 1,212 commercial videos from Chinese TikTok (Douyin), we found that face prominence positively influences sales. However, this positive effect weakens when videos feature higher-pitched voices and faster speech. Our research provides empirical evidence on the importance and interplay between face prominence and voice; extends the current cross-modal communications theories beyond correspondence and congruence; and informs how companies and content creators can highlight visual and auditory elements in commercial videos.