Product placement in video games. An analysis of the impact of product placement in video games on customers purchasing decision

1. PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN VIDEO GAMES An analysis of the impact of product placement in video games on customers purchasing decision

Chernikova Angelina
MA in Marketing and Advertising
Supervised by: Murilo Branco

2. Table of contents

Introduction [3]
Literature review [6]
Table of
contents
Methodology [16]
Results [19]
Discussion [24]
Conclusion [30]

3. Introduction

4.

The problem of the effectiveness of product placement is
central in the study
The research questions are: In which cases product
placement in video games is effective (leads to a goal)?
What influences the effectiveness of this advertising
technology? When purchasing decisions are made by
consumers?
The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of product
placement in FIFA 19 and Final Fantasy XV video games
on gamers’ decisions on the purchase of goods from
advertised brands and attitudes towards these brands.

5.

• The research is relevant
because its topic corresponds
to the current situation in
marketing, and people who
play games that include
product placement are
participants in the conducted
survey. The players were
asked specific questions
regarding product placement
in selected games for analysis.

6. Literature Review

7.

Product placement has been used in video games since the 1980s (Lehu 2009)
Pepsi Invaders (1883)

8. Games can be created specifically for the sake of advertising a brand or product (so- called advergames).

Burger King games (2006)

9. Product placement in video games can be present at the visual or verbal level.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011)

10. Example of effective advertising in video games-the presidential campaign of Barack Obama

Xbox 360’s Burnout Paradise

11. The most primitive type of product placement in a computer game

FIFA 19

12. The second level of quality of advertising integration is illustrative integration

Final Fantasy XV

13. In the present study we aim to understand the effectiveness of product placement and, considering the literature review carried

Brand Familiarity
In the present study
we aim to understand
the effectiveness of
product placement
and, considering the
literature review
carried out, we
designed the
following model
consisting of 6
variables:
Brand Recognition,
The type of advertising used in product placement
The kind of a game
The qualities of VR in this game
The impact of product placement on emotional
response to product placement.

14. Conceptual model and hypotheses

15. Hypotheses

H1: The product placement perception has a
positive impact on Brand Recognition.
H2: The product placement perception has a
positive impact on Virtual Reality.
Hypotheses
H3: Brand Recognition has a positive impact on
Brand Familiarity.
H4: Quality of Virtual Reality has a positive
impact on Brand Familiarity.
H5: Brand Familiarity has a positive impact on
Emotional Response.
H6: Emotional Response has a positive impact
on Purchasing Intention.

16. Methodology

17.

• Research epistemology used in this paper is both positivist
and interpretivist.
• A quantitative descriptive study is used in the paper.
• The survey method was used in this study to collect data.
• To participate in the survey video games users were
attracted.
• The Google file was shared on forums, groups on social
media and directly by email and messengers. The period of
collecting the answers for the survey was from 11 of May to
14 of May.

18. Demographic characteristics of the sample

19. Results

20.

The present study utilized a Partial Least
Square-Structural Equation Modelling
(PLS-SEM) approach to test the
conceptual framework.

21. Descriptive, Cronbach’s Alpha, CR, rho_A and AVE scores

22. Discriminant validity-HTMT ratio scores

Discriminant
validityHTMT ratio
scores

23. Hypothesis test

24. Discussion

25. Summary of results

The respondents are fans of computer
games of different ages, levels of
education and levels of income.
Summary of
results
77,4% of respondents were older than
26 years old
Most of the survey participants (78,5
%) played at least one of the analyzed
games or both these games

26. Conformation of research hypotheses

• H1: The product placement perception has a positive impact on Brand Recognition.
-Product placement is, in any case, the repetition of the brand name, which contributes to
the brand’s memorability, helps to recognize it.
• H2: The product placement has a positive impact on virtual reality.
-Respondents agreed that advertising makes the virtual reality of the game more realistic.
• H3: Brand Recognition has a positive impact on Brand Familiarity.
• -Brand recognition by players indicates that the brand is well known to the audience.
Researchers also proved that Brand Familiarity is a result of brand’s influence on audience in
any ways – to have a clear brand image in mind, the audience must recognize the brand first.

27. Conformation of research hypotheses

• H4: Quality of Virtual Reality has a positive impact on Brand Familiarity.
-The quality of Virtual Reality is high in games chosen for analysis. Product
placement in games is well recognizable.
• H5: Brand Freedom of Emotional Response.
-Many brands advertised in games caused an emotional response in respondents.
Most often, the emotions were positive.
• H6: Emotional Response has a positive impact on Purchasing Intention.
-The connection between the emotional response to the appearance of brands in
the game and the desire to buy the products of these brands was found in the
survey results

28. The correlation between current research and other researches in the field

Mau et al. (2008) assume that in-game product placement strengthens the positive
image of well-known brands in the gamers’ minds.
This assumption was confirmed in the current study, where the attitude of the
players to the brands, most of which are well known to a wide audience, was
considered.
Researchers of product placement point out that this type of advertising is almost
never annoying to the audience, except when advertising is too intrusive.
The study showed that although respondents understand that they see advertising
in the game, they do not change their attitude towards brands for the worse and
are ready to purchase goods of advertised brands.

29. The correlation between current research and other researches in the field

Glass (2007) considers product placement in computer games as a powerful
marketing tool that shapes the gaming user experience (for example,
creating real-life situations of interaction with the brand is one of the
methods of product placement).
The results of the survey proved that product placement in games
becomes a part of gaming experience – and it is usually a pleasant part
that disturb gamers neither visually nor semantically. Thus, our research
doesn’t deviate from major researches in this field.

30. Conclusion

31.

The aim of the study was
to investigate the impact
of product placement in
FIFA 19 and Final
Fantasy XV video games
on gamers’ decisions on
the purchase of goods
from advertised brands
and attitudes towards
these brands.
The aim of the study
was achieved. It was
shown that the
attitude of most
players to product
placement is
positive.

32.

The research questions were the following: In
which cases product placement in video games is
effective (leads to a goal)? What influences the
effectiveness of this advertising technology?
When purchasing decisions are made by
consumers?

33. -Product placement is effective in cases when brands that are well known to the audience are advertised unobtrusively. -The

effectiveness of the quality of the game itself is affected by the quality
of product placement.
-The effectiveness of advertising in the game is influenced by how truly this
advertisement is integrated into the virtual reality of the game and can
impact the players emotional response
-The effectiveness of the use of such advertising, which is most similar to
advertising in life, has been confirmed, also in this study.

34. -The attitude of players to such advertising affects the effectiveness of product placement in video games. Advertising should

not interfere with
the gameplay
-The effectiveness of advertising depends on which brand is advertised.
-Product placement enhances the positive impressions of the advertised
brand, enhancing recognition and familiarity. The framework in this
study explains that it is possible that in case of a need for specific
products, survey participants make a choice in favor of the advertised
brands.

35.

• The survey method was used in this study to collect data.
• To participate in the survey video games users were attracted.
• Survey participants are gamers who spend their time on thematic
websites and forms – in other words, they are a part of video gamers
community.
• 465 people took part in the survey.
• Only video game lovers participated in the survey.

36.

• Respondents are generally positive about product placement.
Advertising in the game enhances its realism and does not distract from
the gameplay.
• Advertised brands are mostly of interest and cause positive feelings.
• Most respondents are adults who are able to make purchases, including
expensive brands, and have a fairly high level of education.

37. Advertised brands should entertain the audience by mimicking artistic content and at the same time standing out. Brand

advertising must be present in
the virtual reality of games, just as it
presents in real life, advertising
integration must be authentic.