The effect of product placement in computer games on brand attitude and recall

Media fragmentation and proliferation, in concert with declining television advertising efficacy, has engendered interest in developing more effective ways to reach consumers – particularly non-users of a brand. This study explores the effect of active product placement in computer games on both brand attitude (Abrand) and recall. Findings suggest that exposure to a particular brand in a computer game can increase Abrand among consumers whose pre-existing attitude towards the brand in question is fairly low. We conclude that product placement within computer games is an effective means of fostering high spontaneous brand recall and even of influencing consumers less positively predisposed towards a brand (analogous to non-users). These findings have promising managerial implications for firms looking to grow their customer base through acquisition and conversion.

[1]  Jason Chambers,et al.  The Sponsored Avatar: Examining the Present Reality and Future Possibilites of Advertising in Digital Games , 2005, DiGRA Conference.

[2]  Robert C. Blattberg,et al.  Interactive Marketing: Exploiting the Age of Addressability , 1991 .

[3]  Michelle Renee Nelson,et al.  Advertainment or Adcreep Game Players’ Attitudes toward Advertising and Product Placements in Computer Games , 2004 .

[4]  M. Nelson.  Recall of Brand Placements in Computer/Video Games , 2002, Journal of Advertising Research.

[5]  Lucian F. Dinu,et al.  The Effectiveness of "in-Game" Advertising: Comparing College Students' Explicit and Implicit Memory for Brand Names , 2006 .

[6]  Leonard N. Reid,et al.  Moviegoers' Experiences and Interpretations of Brands in Films Revisited , 1999 .

[7]  Andrew Ehrenberg,et al.  Repetitive Advertising and the Consumer , 2000, Journal of Advertising Research.

[8]  Israel D. Nebenzahl,et al.  Consumers' Attitudes Toward Product Placement in Movies , 1993 .

[9]  Karolien Poels,et al.  Putting Brands into Play: How Player Experiences Influence the Effectiveness of In-Game Advertising , 2011, DiGRA Conference.

[10]  Kenneth R. Lord,et al.  Product Placement in Movies: The Effect of Prominence and Mode on Audience Recall , 1998 .

[11]  E. Cowley,et al.  When Product Placement Goes Wrong: The Effects of Program Liking and Placement Prominence , 2008 .

[12]  M. Molesworth.  Real brands in imaginary worlds: investigating players' experiences of brand placement in digital games , 2006 .

[13]  Richard C. Sprinthall.  Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences , 2008 .

[14]  J. P. Jones,et al.  Agency beliefs in the power of advertising , 2000 .

[15]  Ronald J. Faber,et al.  Effects of Product Placement in On-Line Games on Brand Memory: A Perspective of the Limited-Capacity Model of Attention , 2007 .

[16]  Kevin M. Murphy,et al.  A Simple Theory of Advertising as a Good , 1993 .

[17]  Nancy Spears,et al.  Measuring Attitude toward the Brand and Purchase Intentions , 2004 .

[18]  Lin Day,et al.  Through innocent eyes , 2009 .

[19]  B. Sternthal,et al.  Ease of message processing as a moderator of repetition effects in advertising. , 1990 .

[20]  France Leclerc,et al.  Can Advertising Copy Make FSI Coupons More Effective ? , 2001 .

[21]  Ronald A. Yaros,et al.  Examining the Influence of Telepresence on Spectator and Player Processing of Real and Fictitious Brands in a Computer Game , 2006 .

[22]  J. Little,et al.  Can Advertising Copy Make FSI Coupons More Effective? , 1997 .

[23]  T. B. Cornwell,et al.  Cashing in on crashes via brand placement in computer games , 2005 .