Higher Brand Recall Research Articles

In-Game Advertising: Role of Virtual Reality and Persuasion Knowledge

ABSTRACT This experimental research examines the effect of brand placement (prominent or subtle) and use of technology (2D or head-mounted-display (HMD) VR) in in-game advertising (IGA) on brand recall and how persuasion knowledge moderates this relationship. Results showed that for a prominent brand placement, a 2D game resulted in higher brand recall than an HMD VR game. Players with high persuasion knowledge, showed superior recall for the embedded brands in two game conditions: a prominent placed 2D game and a prominent placed HMDVR game. However, insignificant results were found for a subtle brand placement-2D game and a subtle placement-HMD VR game irrespective of whether the player has high or low persuasion knowledge. Further the study provides strong theoretical and managerial implications and avenues for future research in the gamified-advertising context.

Associations between adolescent and young adult External Food Cue Responsiveness (EFCR) and brand recall, product craving and product purchasing in the livestreaming food marketing environment.

To evaluate the utility of three validated food responsiveness scales in measuring recall of, and responsiveness to, food marketing exposure on social media. Cross-sectional survey among adolescents and adults who used the social media platform Twitch.tv (Twitch). Responsiveness to food marketing was self-reported as craving or purchasing any brands participants observed on Twitch. Participants completed three validated scales of food responsiveness: the revised 18-question Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), the external eating subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and the External Food Cue Responsiveness (EFCR) scale. Adjusted linear regression models assessed the predictive ability of each scale on recall and responsiveness outcomes. Online survey. Five hundred and sixty-eight Twitch users (90·1 % male, 60·6 % White, 43·7 % aged 18-24, 25·9 % under 18). In separate adjusted linear regression models, scores on the TFEQ were not related to any outcome, while DEBQ scores related to product cravings (OR: 1·10, 95 % CI 1·01, 1·19, P = 0·02). In contrast, scores on the EFCR scale were significantly associated with higher brand recall (incident rate ratio: 1·42, 95 % CI 1·20, 1·68, P < 0·001), product craving (OR: 3·93, 95 % CI 2·22, 7·17, P < 0·001) and purchasing behaviour (OR: 3·97, 95 % CI 1·99, 8·26, P < 0·001). A subset of three EFCR scale items related to influencer marketing were similarly associated with each outcome with greater precision in the point estimates than the overall EFCR. The EFCR scale predicted recall of and responsiveness to food marketing via Twitch, suggesting its utility in monitoring the effects of food marketing on social media.

The effect of novelty in in-game advertising: examining the moderating role of interactivity and congruency

PurposeThe motivation behind the study is to look at the impact of novelty in games on brand recall and attitude, and to dissect the directing job of game interactivity from the points of view of “contrast effect,” “engagement theory” and “transportation theory”.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (novelty: congruent or incongruent) × 2 (game interactivity: high or low) between-subject measures design was used. In total, 172 management students participated in the study. A 2 × 2 between-subjects measure multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was utilized to test the hypotheses.FindingsIncongruent novelty results in higher brand recall but less favorable brand attitude than congruent novelty. Interactivity moderates the relationship between novelty congruence and brand recall such that in a high-interactivity condition, incongruent novelty results in higher brand recall than that in the low-interactivity condition. But, in case of the high-interactivity condition, congruent novelty results in more favorable brand attitude than that in the low-interactivity condition.Practical implicationsDeveloping high brand recall rates and attitudes are the prime objectives of the marketers for choosing a medium to advertise their brands. This investigation adds knowledge to the area of interactive marketing, particularly in-game advertising as a media technique to promote brands taking novelty and game interactivity factors into thought.Originality/valueFrom the perspectives of interactive marketing, psychological elaboration, mind-engagement and transportation of experience, this investigation adds to the literature of advanced media advertising, explicitly to in-game advertising by looking at the effect of novelty and game interactivity.

How dark stories boost recall

ABSTRACT This article demonstrates the value of brands employing the use dark stories. Dark stories, also referred to as ‘grotesque’ stories, are created by using shocking, disgusting, or deviant imagery. This paper operationalizes dark storytelling and takes initial steps in scale creation, validating a preliminary three-item scale for the construct. In an experiment, ads employing dark storytelling have higher brand recall relative to ads using non-dark stories. This effect operates through a deepening of brand experience. The effect occurs for established brands that are mainstream or luxury, but not when a brand is unknown. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

In-game advertising: the role of newness congruence and interactivity

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effect of game newness and game interactivity on players’ brand recall and brand attitude using contrast effect, mind-engagement and transfer effect theories.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (newness: congruent or incongruent) × 2 (game interactivity: high or low) between-subjects measures design was conducted. A total of 224 undergraduate management students participated in the study. A 2 × 2 between-subjects measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsFindings show that incongruent-newness results in higher brand recall but less favorable brand attitude. Under incongruent-newness condition, high interactivity results in higher brand recall. However, under congruent-newness condition, both high- and low-interactivity conditions result in similar brand recall. Under congruent-newness condition, high interactivity results in more favorable brand attitude, whereas under incongruent-newness condition, both high- and low-interactivity conditions result in similar brand attitude.Practical implicationsDeveloping high brand recall rates and attitudes are the prime goals of advertisers for selecting a medium to promote their brands. This experimental study adds to the knowledge of online media advertising, especially in-game advertising (IGA) as a media-strategy to advertise brands taking newness and game-interactivity factors into consideration.Originality/valueFrom the perspectives of attention, cognitive elaboration, engagement and transportation of experience, this study adds to the literature of IGA by examining the impact of newness and game interactivity.

Are you able to recall the brand? The impact of brand prominence, game involvement and persuasion knowledge in online – advergames

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the impact of brand prominence, game involvement and persuasion knowledge on gamers’ brand recall and attitude in the context of online advergames. Specifically, this investigation uses limited capacity model of attention and persuasion knowledge model to expound the conditions under which brand placements create attention, elaboration and subsequent brand recall and brand attitude.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (brand prominence: prominent versus subtle) × 2 (game involvement: high versus low involvement) × 2 (persuasion knowledge: high versus low) between-subjects measures design is used. A total of 224 student gamers participated in the study. A between-subjects measures multivariate analysis of variance is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that an advergame with prominent brand placement under low game involvement condition results in high brand recall but less favorable brand attitude than under high game involvement condition. Furthermore, a three-way interaction shows that for a prominent brand placement advergame with high game involvement, the subjects with high persuasion knowledge report high brand recall than the subjects with low persuasion knowledge. The findings also reveal that for a prominent brand placement advergame with high game involvement, the subjects with high persuasion knowledge report less favorable brand attitude than the subjects with low persuasion knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper adds to advertising literature from a non-traditional advertising viewpoint, predominantly in the context of online advergames, and expounds the role played by brand placement and its boundary conditions to create customers’ brand memory and attitude. Furthermore, this investigation adds to the marketing knowledge on how and where to position and embed the brands effectively in advergames taking into account the characteristics of the gamer, such as the game involvement and gamers’ persuasion knowledge about the advergame.Originality/valueThis study adds to the works of online advertising, particularly the advergames by discovering the impact of brand prominence, game involvement and persuasion knowledge on gamers’ brand recall and attitude. Also, this study is the first in its stream toward understanding the moderating role of persuasion knowledge on Indian gamers’ recall and attitude in the context of online advertising.

Effect of nature of the game on ad-persuasion in online gaming context

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of nature of advergame and moderating roles of game-product congruence and need for cognition (NFC) on gamers’ ad-persuasion from attention and elaboration perspectives.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (nature of game: fast or slow)×2 (game-product congruence: high or low)×2 (NFC: high or low) between measures design is used. In total, 224 graduate students participated in the study. A 2×2×2 between subjects ANOVA is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that slow-paced advergames result in high persuasion than fast-paced advergames. A 2 way-interaction indicates that for a slow-paced advergame, low game-product congruence result in high persuasion than in high game-product congruence. Furthermore, findings reveal that for a slow-paced advergame with low game-product congruence, subjects with high NFC report high persuasion than subjects with low NFC. For a fast-paced advergame with low game-product congruence, subjects with high NFC report high persuasion than subjects with low NFC.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study are very important for advertising practitioners as selection of media that fit the advertised product with reference to the content of the media is a planning strategy that has been widely used by media planners. Thus, if high brand recall and recognition is the primary goal for advertisers, then, slow-paced advergames with low-congruent brand placements can be considered a better media strategy for in-game advertising. Furthermore, advertising managers can design advergames by taking into account NFC factor to make sure that the implementation has the strongest positive effect on consumers’ persuasion. Furthermore, advertising managers can design advergames by taking into account NFC factor to make sure that the implementation has the strongest positive effect on consumers’ persuasion.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the literature of non-traditional online advertising, specifically advergaming context by exploring the impact of nature of game and game-product congruence on gamers’ ad-persuasion. Also, this study is the first attempt toward understanding the moderating role of NFC on gamers’ ad-persuasion in the context of online advertising.

Advergame speed influence and brand recall: The moderating effects of brand placement strength and gamers’ persuasion knowledge

This study explores the effect of advergame speed, brand placement strength and consumers’ persuasion knowledge on brand recall from the perspectives of attention and elaboration. Results show that low-speed advergames result in high brand recall as compared to high-speed advergames. A two-way interaction effect between advergame speed and brand placement strength reveals that for a low-speed advergame, a prominent brand placement results in higher brand recall than a subtle brand placement; for a high-speed advergame, there is no difference in brand recall between a prominent brand placement and a subtle brand placement. Further, for a low-speed advergame with prominent brand placement, subjects with high persuasion knowledge report higher brand recall than subjects with low persuasion knowledge. However, for a high-speed advergame with prominent brand placement, there is no difference in brand recall between subjects with high persuasion knowledge and subjects with low persuasion knowledge. Implications are provided.

Impact of nature of advergames on brand recall and brand attitude among young Indian gamers: moderating roles of game-product congruence and persuasion knowledge

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to enhance the knowledge of advertising effects of nature of advergame (game speed) on gamers’ brand recall and attitude. More specifically, this study investigates varying effects of game speed in advergames on young Indian gamers’ brand recall and attitudes under varied game-product congruence and persuasion knowledge conditions from attention, elaboration and persuasion perspectives. Design/methodology/approach – A 2 (nature of advergame: fast or slow) × 2 (game-product congruence: high or low) × 2 (persuasion knowledge: high or low) between-subject measures design is used. Experimental data were collected from 235 Indian graduate students. ANOVAs and MANOVA with pre-planned contrasts are used to test the hypotheses. Findings – The results indicate that for a slow-paced advergame, low game-product congruence result in high brand recall than high game-product congruence. For a fast-paced advergame, there is no difference in brand recall between low game-product congruence and high game-product congruence. Furthermore, findings reveal that for a slow-paced advergame with low game-product congruence, subjects with high persuasion knowledge report high brand recall and less favorable brand attitude than subjects with low persuasion knowledge. On the other hand, for a fast-paced advergame with low game-product congruence, there is no difference in brand recall and brand attitude between the subjects with high persuasion knowledge and the subjects with low persuasion knowledge. Practical implications – The findings of the study are very important for advertising practitioners, as selection of media that fit the advertised product with reference to the nature and content of the media is a planning strategy that has been widely used by media planners. Thus, if advertisers want to create high brand awareness by creating high brand memory, then slow-paced advergames with low congruent brand placements can be chosen as an effective in-game media strategy for online advertising. Additionally, game developers and marketers can plan and develop more effective advergames by taking into account the persuasion knowledge factor so that the implementation would have the strongest positive effect on consumers’ brand recall and brand attitude. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature of non-traditional media advertising, specifically advergaming context by exploring the impact of nature of game and game-product congruence on gamers’ ad-persuasion. Also, this study is the first attempt to understand how the game speed and its boundary conditions influence gamers’ brand recall and attitude and in attention, elaboration and persuasion perspectives.

Effects of brand placement strength, prior game playing experience and game involvement on brand recall in advergames

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of brand placement strength on gamers’ brand recall as moderated by gamers’ prior game playing experience and game involvement in the context of advergames. Specifically, this research utilizes Limited Capacity Model of attention to explain how and under what conditions brand placements create attention, elaboration and subsequent brand recall. Design/methodology/approach – A 2 (brand placement strength: prominent versus subtle) × 2 (prior game playing experience: experienced versus inexperienced) × 2 (game involvement: high versus low involvement) between-subjects measures design is used. Empirical data were obtained from 220 undergraduate student gamers. A between-subjects measures ANOVA is used to test the hypotheses. Findings – There are several important findings that can be inferred from the results. First, inexperienced gamers report high brand recall in prominent brand placements than subtle brand placements, whereas for experienced gamers, no significant difference in recall rates is found between prominent brand placement and subtle brand placement. Second, inexperienced gamers with low game involvement playing an advergame with prominent brand placement report high brand recall compared to inexperienced gamers with high game involvement playing an advergame with prominent brand placement. Research limitations/implications – The study contributes to the advertising literature from a non-traditional advertising perspective, particularly in the context of online advergames, and explains the role of brand placement and its boundary conditions to create customers’ brand memory. Moreover, this research contributes to the marketing knowledge on how to locate and embed the brands effectively in advergames, taking into account the individual characteristics of each advergame. Practical implications – The findings are very important for advertising practitioners because selecting media that enhances the brand memory of the consumers through entertainment is a planning strategy that has been widely used by media planners today. Hence, advertising managers should think about designing advergames by taking into account the game involvement factor to make sure that the implementation has the strongest positive effect on consumers’ memory. Originality/value – This research contributes to the literature of online advertising, especially the advergames by exploring the impact of brand placement strength and prior gaming experience on gamers’ brand recall. In addition, this study is the first step toward understanding the moderating role of game involvement on Indian gamers recall in the context of online advertising.

Disclosing the persuasive nature of advergames: moderation effects of mood on brand responses via persuasion knowledge

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the effects of advergame disclosures were moderated by gamers’ moods. More specifically, we tested whether the effects of disclosures on brand recall, game attitude, and brand attitude via activated persuasion knowledge were different for people in positive moods than in negative moods. An experiment (n = 127) showed a moderated mediation effect: advergame disclosures activated persuasion knowledge, which resulted in higher brand recall, but also in more negative game and brand attitudes. This mediated effect was only significant for people in positive moods: a disclosure raised awareness of the advergame's persuasive nature, which subsequently led to more critical processing. People in negative moods already processed the advergame in a critical manner. These findings have important implications for theory, legislation, and the advertising practice.

Meaning or Sound? The Effects of Brand Name Fluency on Brand Recall and Willingness to Buy

This research argues that both meaning fluency (conceptual fluency) and sound fluency (perceptual fluency) of a brand name affect brand evaluations. Specifically, this research investigates the effects of brand name meaning and sound fluency through an application of information processing fluency theory. The results provide insight into previously unexplained findings in the brand management literature. Two experiments demonstrate that perceptually more fluent brand names lead to higher brand recall, for perceptually less fluent brands names, high conceptual fluency leads to higher brand recall and in cases of low consumer involvement, high perceptual fluency leads to higher willingness to buy.

Mixing advertising and editorial content in radio programmes

Although the literature on brand placement is rapidly evolving, no studies thus far have focused on radio brand placement or on the effects of the combination of brand placement and commercials. Therefore, the present experiment (N = 153) focused on the effects of radio brand placement on liking, credibility and brand recall. In addition, the effects of the combination of brand placement and a commercial were studied. As predicted based on source credibility and intentional exposure theory, the results showed that brand placement is more liked and perceived as more credible than commercials, and that exposure to brand placement has a stronger effect on brand recall. A combination of brand placement and a commercial evokes higher brand recall than exposure to a commercial alone. However, there were no synergy effects for the combination of brand placement and a commercial. Underlying mechanisms were tested, showing the importance of format credibility in brand placement effects.

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.