Consumers' Responses to Advertising in Social Network Games.

Digital games are an important medium for advertisers to reach their target audiences. However, the contemporary trend of playing games in social network sites (e.g. Facebook games) has been underresearched in the in-game advertising literature. The first research objective is to study which different types and formats of in-game advertisements exist in social network games by means of a content analysis of in-game ads in social network games. Specific attention will be payed to 'value exchange ads', that allow players to engage with the brand or ad in exchange for in-game content and rewards. A second research objective is to investigate how consumer respond to these value exchange ads, by means of an experimental study. Social network games possess several distinctive characteristics. Social network games have an social interaction element as they are played with people within one's existing social network (e.g. friends) on social network sites. They are casual games that involve short, easier gameplay and a more simplistic game environment than hardcore games, and they can be played on mobile platforms (e.g. smartphone and tablet) that have haptic technologies (i.e. touchscreen) and a smaller screen size than desktops. The third objective is to research the effects of social interaction, casual games, haptic touch, and screen size on consumer responses towards in-game advertising, by means of three experimental studies.

Keywords:DIGITAL GAMES, SOCIAL NETWORKS

Disciplines:Communication sciences, Journalism and professional writing, Media studies, Other media and communications