Download the effectiveness of online viral advergaming as a marketing strategy

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE VIRAL ADVERGAMING
AS A MARKETING STRATEGY
Author: Tamara Gabriel
Presented as part of the requirement for an award within the Modular Scheme
at the University of Gloucestershire
April, 2010
© 2010 Tamara Gabriel
DECLARATION
This dissertation is a product of my own work and is the result of nothing done in
collaboration.
I agree that this dissertation may be made available for reference either in print
or online*.
Word length: Approx 5,200
Signed:____________________________
Tamara Gabriel
* Online dissertations will be made available through the Learning Centre
Catalogue but may be subsequently moved to a suitable University digital
repository.
Access to online dissertations is currently restricted to University staff and
students, on a read-only basis.
© 2010 Tamara Gabriel
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Table of Contents
Abstract…..………………………………………………………………………………….5
Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................... 6
1.1
Main Objectives ........................................................................................... 6
1.2
Project Overview .......................................................................................... 6
Chapter 2: Literature Review................................................................................. 7
2.1
Advergames: A Definition ............................................................................. 7
2.2
Viral Marketing/Advertising: A Definition ...................................................... 7
2.2.1
The Effectiveness of Viral Advertising and the Advantages ................... 9
2.2.2
The Disadvantages of Viral Marketing ................................................. 10
2.3
ROI: Return on Investment ........................................................................ 10
2.4
Competition-Based Games: Advantages, Issues & Hacking ...................... 11
2.4.1
Scoreboard Hacking: White Hat Hackers ............................................. 11
Chapter 3: Research Question ............................................................................ 12
3.1
Summary of the Research Question .......................................................... 13
Chapter 4: Methodology ...................................................................................... 14
4.1
Research Approach ................................................................................... 14
4.2
Study Design ............................................................................................. 14
4.2.1
Subject Base ....................................................................................... 14
4.2.2
Hypothesis .......................................................................................... 14
4.2.3
Null Hypothesis ................................................................................... 14
Chapter 5: Method ............................................................................................... 15
5.1
Tasks ......................................................................................................... 15
5.2
Questionnaire ............................................................................................ 15
5.3
Discussion Session .................................................................................... 15
5.4
Potential Problems ..................................................................................... 15
5.4.1
Issues .................................................................................................. 16
5.4.2
Bias ..................................................................................................... 16
© 2010 Tamara Gabriel
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5.5
Focus Group Materials and Environment ................................................... 16
5.6
Prototype Development.............................................................................. 16
Chapter 6: Results ............................................................................................... 19
6.1
Collecting the Results ................................................................................ 19
6.1.1
Participants.......................................................................................... 19
6.1.2
Tasks................................................................................................... 19
6.1.3
Questionnaire Results ......................................................................... 19
Chapter 7: Discussion ......................................................................................... 21
7.1
Discussion Results ..................................................................................... 21
7.1.1
The Product ......................................................................................... 21
7.1.2
Advergames and Product Placement .................................................. 21
7.1.3
Social Networking and Online Games ................................................. 21
7.2
Analysing The Results ............................................................................... 22
7.3
Conclusion ................................................................................................. 23
Chapter 8: Bibliography ...................................................................................... 24
Appendices
Appendix A: Consent Form……………………………………………………………26
Appendix B: Tasks……………………………………………………………………….27
Appendix C: Questionnaire……………………………………………………………..28
Appendix D: Discussion Questions…………………………………………………..29
© 2010 Tamara Gabriel
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Abstract
Advergames and in-game advertising are becoming more recognised as a viable
form of advertising a brand, product or services for businesses and organizations.
Even with the constant influx of online games, there is still a market for advergames
if they target the right audience. Viral marketing and distribution of these games is
becoming more popular with social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The
success of advergames and in-game advertising lies mainly in the execution of the
development. The key point is to keep advertising subtle but still clear enough to
communicate effectively the brand message to the intended market.
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Chapter 1:
Introduction
1.1 Main Objectives
The main objectives of this dissertation is to look at viral advergames and how
gamers respond to them, as well as to look at their role in online marketing;
assessing whether these types of games are a successful tool for businesses and
companies to create and boost brand awareness. This paper will also look into how
valuable viral advergames are to companies wanting to promote their products and
services online; to see whether or not it is a cost effective platform for advertising
and to track information about customers and clients as well as monitor the volume
of traffic to a company‟s website due to the game itself. This paper also aims to
investigate whether the distribution of the games through social networking sites and
implementing a competition with a good prize also increases the volume of people
playing the game; thus increasing traffic to a company‟s website.
1.2 Project Overview
This paper will go into detail about advergames and what they are as well as
discussing in-game advertising otherwise known as product placement. The paper
will also be going into detail about viral marketing, its different forms, advantages
and issues. Following that there will be a discussion about the research carried out
and the results gathered.
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Chapter 2:
Literature Review
2.1 Advergames: A Definition
Advergames fit into the category of Branded Entertainment. They are online games
developed specifically for the company or business to communicate with its
consumers, by delivering messages about their products or services to the consumer
in an interactive way (Wise, Bolls et al. 2008). In advergames the central feature of
the game is usually the brand, product or service the company is wishing to promote,
whereas in-game advertising focuses on product placement, where the products are
embedded in the background of a game on objects such as billboards, logos on
character clothing, etc (Winkler and Buckner 2006). The aim of advergames is to
promote brand awareness for new businesses and companies and to also boost
brand awareness for companies that are already established. Not only do these
games advertise but, they also collect data about new and existing customers, as
well as supporters and clients, (Winkler and Buckner 2006). Once the advergame
has been developed it is normally accessible via the company‟s corporate website.
From a gamer‟s perspective, the popularity of the idea about having the real
commercial world simulated within a game is not very high, which shows the gamer‟s
reluctance to engage with and view brand content that is intrusive or overtly obvious.
From the perspective of a marketer, developing these types of games can be
challenging when trying to expose a brand or product by developing a game that
embeds the brand message or the brand itself (Nichols, Farrand et al. 2006). This
suggests that it may be more effective to advertise subtly with in-game advertising
rather than obvious product placement advertising objects and assets that do not fit
in with the gameplay or the theme and environment of the game.
2.2 Viral Marketing/Advertising: A Definition
The term „viral marketing was established in 1996 by Steve Jurvetson and Tim
Draper, who described their marketing strategy for the free Hotmail email accounts
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by sending out emails that originated from Hotmail accounts telling people about
these free email accounts (Porter and Golan 2006). Viral marketing was also
interpreted as a method to not only market but to also distribute; describing it as a
means for consumers to forward information about new brands and products through
the use of email to people in their social networking circle, of friends, family and
colleagues (Porter and Golan 2006).
The meaning of viral marketing is any strategy whereby a marketing message is
passed onto individuals from others. Through this the message grows exponentially
in exposure and influence (Wilson 2000). Viral marketing can be referred to in many
ways, one of which is Electronic word-of-mouth marketing (Porter and Golan 2006).
It can be described as a medium for a marketing message to be passed on through
networks of friends, family and colleagues through the use of digital media
communication (Smith 2006).
According to Dobele and Toleman et al (2005:62) viral marketing is also referred to
as “buzz marketing, convergence marketing and reaching the tipping point”. They
also state that these keywords are simply another way to describe viral marketing as
word-of-mouth communication. For viral marketing to be effective it first needs to
provide exceptional content to engage the consumer from the start, and make them
want to endorse the advert by passing it on (Howell and Smith 2003).Howell and
Smith (2003) suggest that first impressions are key and important in any type of
marketing strategy to grab and hold the attention of the consumer and leave an
everlasting, positive impression.
Seven years ago, Howell and Smith (2003:31) took a rather pessimistic view of viral
advertising claiming that “viral has become synonymous with vaguely interactive,
lazily rebranded games,” suggesting that viral marketing campaigns were poorly
constructed and lacked creativity. However, four years ago Winkler and Buckner
(2006) state that advergames are effective for generating brand prominence.
This shows signs of progression regarding the way in which viral advertising is being
viewed and consumed. There now appears to be a more positive attitude towards
virally marketing.
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2.2.1 The Effectiveness of Viral Advertising and the Advantages
Viral advertising has been compared to and described as a virus due to the speed at
which it is passed on (Tsai 2009). Viral marketing is a fast way for a brand, product
or service to become recognised amongst the public. Word-of-mouth provides a
good opportunity to spread the word and get approval of a product or service. It
allows for praise so that when people hear the product name or brand name, they
automatically associate that product brand or service with positive connotations
(Dobele, Toleman et al. 2005).
Viral advertising has become a desired form of advertising due to the low cost,
cheap and yet effective, ways of communicating a brand, product or service
message. This can be done by mediums such as email and SMS; costs that are born
by the consumer as they forward the message onto their social network or friends,
family and colleagues (Dobele, Toleman et al. 2005). By using viral marketing the
recipient of the forwarded message is more likely to appreciate what is being
advertised as they were chosen by the sender in particular, who has automatically
engaged with the target market – the recipient.
Another form of viral marketing that keeps the cost down to a low figure is the use of
popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. As these social
networking sites are free to create profiles, businesses and individuals companies
and organisations see this as a cost effective way to market a product or service as
well as distributing games.
Through observation it appears that Facebook is a perfect platform for delivery and
viral distribution of games; it‟s a good way for a company to advertise or a game
developer to host their game. It seems by integrating Facebook within the game
structure and leader board, people are able to invite and challenge their friends and
upload scores to their Posts; thus, passing the word around about the game.
Therefore, allowing the product, brand or service being advertised to gain more
exposure. This will go into more detail later. Though there is a strong advantage to
viral marketing there are also the disadvantages to consider.
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2.2.2 The Disadvantages of Viral Marketing
With the internet, current technologies and communicative media tools in place:
mobile phones, PDAs, instant messaging, emailing; this can pose somewhat of a
disadvantage to viral marketing. People are now able to instantly alert their friends,
family, colleagues about bad services or products before they become known in
greater aspects of the media such as newspapers, magazine reviews and TV
(Dobele, Toleman et al. 2005).
Even though the distribution costs of the advert is born by the consumer; thus being
extremely cheap for the company or organisation, in order to produce a marketing
strategy and an engaging advert, the company is more likely to need to invest a
great deal of time and money to create a phenomenal campaign (Howell and Smith
2003), which suggests spending a substantial portion on time and money to develop
an advergame or a game with product placement is extremely important. This being
said, according to Ward (2000) by planning a viral marketing campaign it does not
guarantee that the message will be distributed amongst the public by word-of-mouth
or otherwise. The message is only distributed among avid consumers if the product
or service being advertised is what people want and the message is worthy of the
consumers‟ time (Ward 2000).
Applying this to the development of advergames signifies that the game being
developed needs to not only appeal to the target market for the product or service
but also appeal to gamers, through being addictive, fun and highly interactive and
something they will want to share with their friends. This also implies that
advergames can only really be used as an effect marketing strategy if the target
market for the product or service enjoys playing games, if they do not then to
develop an advergame to promote brand awareness for a company is a waste of
time and money; therefore, the campaign will not be successful.
2.3 ROI: Return on Investment
According to Howel and Smith (2003) justifying a cost for a service, brand or product
increases the ROI (Return on Investment), however Ferguson (2008) states that ROI
is more difficult to track and measure than the return brand awareness produces.
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ROI has no clear scientific method for gauging how effective an advert or marketing
strategy is (Ferguson 2008). Relating this to online games, from recent observation a
suggestion would be to monitor click through rates. Another opportunity that involves
social networking would be to create a fan page on Facebook and monitor how many
members become fans of the page.
2.4 Competition-Based Games: Advantages, Issues & Hacking
Competitions appear to be a good way to get people interested in a message,
especially if the prize is something of worth to the target market. Through recent
researched it has been proven that when developing a flash based game that holds
a competition attached to the scoreboard itself, can be problematic. Scoreboards can
be invaded by two types of Hackers: White Hat and Black Hat. This paper will focus
of White Hat Hackers due to the Card Thieves score board being hacked by this
particular kind.
2.4.1 Scoreboard Hacking: White Hat Hackers
Unlike Black Hat Hackers who are malicious hackers out to cause havoc and
destruction, White Hat Hackers are hackers that benefit from attempting to find holes
in security in order to make people aware and make security better. Some White Hat
Hackers end up being employed by security firms or directly being employed by the
government (Computer Weekly 2009). When the game Card Thieves was hacked,
the hacker was identified as a White Hat hacker, as the hacker was alerting the
developer to the issue of security within the game. This was particularly useful due to
the fact that the score board was hacked with a counterfeit score being inputted and
the competition was based on the person with the highest score winning the cash
prize of £50.
Through research it has been made aware that attaching competitions to score
boards in particular is very uncommon due to security issues that cannot always be
avoided with Flash based games.
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Chapter 3:
Research Question
This paper‟s overall objective is to assess how viral advergaming can be an effective
strategy for companies wanting to market their products and services; aiming to create
brand awareness and communicate a message to its consumers. This is not the only area
to look at; the other key points will include information about:
1. The users‟ reaction to the game Card Thieves that was advertising AfterDark
Magazine. The Users will be asked about their first initial reaction in regards to layout,
design and navigation.
2. The next area to be addressed will be the users‟ interest in AfterDark. Whether they
were interested in the product being advertised and whether they were interested in
the company itself at all.
3. The study also aims to address a consumer‟s thoughts about in-game advertising and
advergames. The users will be asked about how they feel about games that are
developed solely to advertise a product or service and they will also be asked about
games that are developed with the intention of subtly advertising a product within the
game environment. The question aims to find out whether the user is less likely or
more likely to play the two types of games.
4. To test the accuracy of the games playability for the intended demographic, the users
will be asked to comment on their gameplay experience in terms of complexity,
character movement and control, enemy combat and the clarity of the game
instructions.
5. As well as the game play experience, the paper will address social networking for viral
marketing purposes. The users will be asked to comment on their thoughts about
social networking, whether they use sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Beebo, etc to
share links with their network of friends and family.
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6. One of the most important aspects of the study the paper will address is the type of
games users from the chosen demographic like to play. The users will be asked to
comment about the kind of games they like to play online.
3.1 Summary of the Research Question
By summarising the research questions there is a clear focus about what the study is
aiming to achieve:

User interest in a company advertising a product or service

Users‟ thoughts about in-game advertising and advergames, are they more or
less likely to play these games?

What is the level of complexity a game can be before it gets to the point of not
being enjoyable and fun? What makes a game addictive?

Are social networking sites an effective tool for marketing and reaching
consumers?
When all these questions are answered and addressed during the focus group, the
study will be able to reveal the conclusion of whether viral advergames can be an
effective strategy for companies wanting to market their products and services;
aiming to create brand awareness and communicate a message to its consumers.
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Chapter 4:
Methodology
4.1 Research Approach
A Qualitative study was carried out on the 22 nd February 2010. Participants were
asked to take part in a Focus Group, they were then asked to fill out a Consent
Form, stating that their identity would not be revealed and that they were free to
leave the group at anytime. They were then asked to play the game Card Thieves,
designed and developed by Tamara Gabriel accessible via the TAGD:1 Games
website at http://www.tagd1games.co.uk/CardThieves.html or on the disc at the back
of this paper, for a maximum of 12 minutes. After having played, the participants
gathered around a table and were asked various questions relating to the game and
to advergames in general.
4.2 Study Design
4.2.1 Subject Base
A total of 6 participants were asked to take part in the Focus group. The participants
were all Level 1 and Level 2 students studying a course of Interactive Games Design
at the University of Gloucestershire; aged between 18 and 20 years old.
4.2.2 Hypothesis
The participants will confirm that viral advergames are a viable and effective tool for
online marketing and for companies and businesses to promote brand awareness
amongst their consumers.
4.2.3 Null Hypothesis
The participants will not confirm that viral advergames are a viable and effective tool
for online marketing and for companies and businesses to promote brand awareness
amongst their consumers, and will lean more to traditional forms of online
advertising.
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Chapter 5:
Method
5.1 Tasks
The first part of the Focus Group will concentrate on the participants carrying out a
series of tasks. The participants will first be asked to fill out a consent form
(Appendix A), they will then be asked to complete a series of tasks (Appendix B),
including navigate through the TAGD:1 Games website, locate the game Card
Thieves and play it for a total of 12 minutes; whilst aiming to complete the game and
upload their score to the scoreboard. Prior to playing the game the participants will
not be briefed on aspects of the site or game that they should look out for, they will
merely be asked to play the game.
5.2 Questionnaire
After 12 minutes the participants will be asked to come back to the table and fill in a
questionnaire that will be handed out to them by the Focus Group Conductor. The
questionnaire will be structured in a way that will to ask them questions about the
game they will have just played and the site they will have visited that hosted the
game. The questionnaire will also present the participants with a section to add extra
notes about their gameplay experience, for more in-depth feedback (Appendix C).
5.3 Discussion Session
The discussion session will enable the participants to comment in further detail about
their individual gameplay experience, whilst being prompted with questions from the
Focus Group Conductor about certain aspects of the participants‟ experience. The
questions will be open so that it gives the participants the chance to go into detail
rather than give „yes‟, „no‟ answers. During this discussion session detailed notes will
be taken and transcribed by the conductor in order for them to be thoroughly
analysed in the Results and Discussion part of this paper.
5.4 Potential Problems
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5.4.1 Issues
There potential problems that could arise from the Focus Group, which relate to
equipment failure, incorrect versions of the required software needed to run the
website and the game. With regards to participants, there could be a low turnout of
participants on the day. The only way to plan and overcome these issues is to carry
out pre-checks on equipment and test the product on all of the PCs that will be used
within the chosen lab and to have a back-up list of participants that can step in at the
last minute if needs be.
5.4.2 Bias
When carrying out Focus Groups there is a possibility for bias, with the conductor
potentially swaying the conversation in one particular direction. The participants may
also feel pressured into providing positive feedback to the conductor as they may
feel wary about expressing their full opinion so as not to be negative about the
product.
5.5 Focus Group Materials and Environment
The focus group will take place in a lab with approximately 12 PCs, a projector and a
big table in the middle. The equipment that will be used to carry out the Focus Group
will be a HDD Panasonic Camera on a tripod. Only 6 of the PCs will be used.
5.6 Prototype Development
In order to carry out this study a prototype Flash game was developed along with a
portal website. The Flash game was developed in order to advertise the company
AfterDark Magazine and promote their product, which was a discount card. The
client wanted a game that would be quite simple and easy to play, and also one that
fully advertised the company and the product. With this in mind the following
guidelines for the game were decided by the developer and the client:
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
The game was to target a specific demographic of people aged between 18
and 35 years old. Both male and female, with a specific aim to target all levels
of university students.

The game had to be developed with a specific resolution of 550x400 pixels in
order for it to be comply with the guidelines of Flash game portal websites
(such as Mochimedia) that freely distribute flash games across the web.

The client required that the game be very simple and easy to learn from the
first level. The game needed to get progressively hard to challenge the player,
but not to the point where it was too frustrating to continue playing. The client
also required that the game be short so that the user could play it within 10-15
minutes, so as to appeal to those who might be on a lunch break or have a
spare few minutes. The game developed, Card Thieves, had 6 levels to
complete and lasted between 10 -12 minutes complete depending on the
player‟s experience and prior knowledge of the gameplay.

The main focus of the game had to be to promote brand awareness for
AfterDark, therefore, rather than develop a game that presented in-game
advertising, the client specified that the game should be an advergame and
the gameplay should centre on the discount card. Therefore, the main
objective was to collect all the discount cards that had been stolen by
attacking enemies; engaging in combat consisting of jumping on and
punching the enemies. The second objective was to collect the bonus icons
that revealed places around Cheltenham where the discount card could be
used and the level of discount offered.
The guidelines for the website the game would be hosted on would adhere to the
following design and navigation layout:

The home page would feature the game of the month, which was Card
Thieves, and a paragraph about the competition it held. The colour scheme
was chosen using Adobe Kuler and was designed for this project in particular.

The page that held the game would follow the colours of the AfterDark brand,
therefore; this page was designed solely with the company‟s image in mind,
also using Adobe Kuler to blend colours together.
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
The game page also featured information about AfterDark Magazine, the
competition and a link to the AfterDark website, as well as a form for users to
send valuable feedback to the developer about their gameplay experience.

The competition had to be appealing to the user therefore the client and the
developer decided upon a cash prize for the player with the highest score by
the 1st March 2010.
The prototype game and site were developed using a range of design tools and
software packages:

The game was developed using Adobe Flash CS4 to design the overall look
of the game; the environment, characters and menu interfaces. A Wacom
Intuos 4.0 Professional Pen graphics tablet was used to carry out the drawing
to give more precision and accuracy, rather than using a mouse. Actionscript
3.0 was used to script the game; controlling character and enemy movement
and interaction with the game environment and menu interfaces. As well as to
communicate with the server through PHP in order for players to upload their
high scores.

Adobe Photoshop CS4 (64bit) was used to edit the original images sent by
the client to incorporate into the game. Photoshop was mainly used to rescale
and crop images.

The website was developed using Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 to build the
website and create the PHP script for the leader board.

MySQL was used as the database to store the players‟ information and high
scores. phpMyAdmin was the platform used to access the MySQL database.

Google Analytics was used to track and log the visitors that visited the site.
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Chapter 6:
Results
6.1 Collecting the Results
6.1.1 Participants
The Focus Group resulted in all six participants - all of which were male with no
females taking part in the study. The participants were and mix of Level 1 and 2
students from the University of Gloucestershire.
6.1.2 Tasks
At the start of the Focus Group the participants were given 12 minutes exactly to
play the game. After the 12 minutes questionnaires were filled out and a discussion
took place. Questionnaires were provided for the participants so that it was more
useful to gather independent opinions without any of the participants feeling unable
to talk during the discussion and express their full views.
6.1.3 Questionnaire Results
Design
In terms of design 83.3% of the participants agree that the game Card Thieves was
well designed with the remaining 16.7% undecided. The 16.7% went on to explaining
how the design was good but certain elements such as jumping could have been
designed better. Suggesting that with these changes the game would be more
enjoyable to play; thus perhaps appealing to a wider audience. As expected the
results show that the design of Card Thieves clearly engaged the consumer with the
brand/product that was being advertised with 66.7% of the participants agreeing that
they were fully aware of what the game was promoting and 33.3% not entirely sure.
This suggest that subtle product placement within game-play is effective in
communicating a promotional message to the consumer.
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In-game advertising
50% of the participants believed that the in-game advertising was excellent and clear
to what was being advertised whereas 16.7% didn‟t answer and the remaining
33.3% decided it was poor. This was unexpected as the gameplay involved the
product that was being advertised and the product was used as an asset within the
game and also placed on a billboard displaying a message about the product.
Competition
Participants were asked whether they were more likely to play a game that had a
competition incentive 50% of the participants were extremely likely to play, while
33.3% were undecided and 16.7% were unlikely.
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Chapter 7:
Discussion
7.1 Discussion Results
The first reactions to the game Card Thieves were positive, especially in terms of
design. One participant had played the game before, therefore identified a couple of
issues regarding the character movement: jumping. Had this of been fixed the game
would have been more enjoyable to play.
7.1.1 The Product
When asked whether they had heard about the company being advertised:
AfterDark, half of the participants had already heard about the company, but still
were not too familiar with what the game itself was advertising. Where a few others
understood clearly that the game was advertising, which was the AfterDark discount
card. The advertising in the game and the site that the game was hosted on made
the participants want to visit the AfterDark website to learn more about the company;
who they were and what they did. As the product being advertised appealed to
students the participants were very interested in getting some more information.
7.1.2 Advergames and Product Placement
The participants were asked how they felt about advergames and in-game
advertising. The outcome was the same with all participants responding with a
positive outlook, stating that they accept advergames and in-game advertising as
long as the advertising was not intrusive, too obvious or distracting from the game,
otherwise they tend not to bother with those types of games and lean more towards
entertainment games.
7.1.3 Social Networking and Online Games
The participants were also asked if they use social networking sites such as
Facebook to play games. They were asked whether they had see Card Thieves
advertised on Facebook, only a couple answered with a yes. When asked whether
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they play games on Facebook they all replied with a yes, suggesting that social
networking sites are a good avenue for promoting games. One of the participants
went on to further discuss that although it is fun to sometimes play games on
Facebook, it can be frustrating when alerts of a friend‟s status or high score is
constantly posted, the participant referred to this a spamming. Another participant
also mentioned that the kind of games that are developed for Facebook require that
an individual be involved as they tend to require a network of people interacting
together.
The participants went on to discussing how they also like to play games on game
websites such as Miniclip and Nitrome, but they also like to play MMOs (Massively
Multiplayer Online games; suggesting that these types of games can provide an
opportunity for subtle product placement.
7.2 Analysing The Results
It is clear from the results to see how product placement within games and
advergames themselves can be an effective marketing strategy. The results prove
the earlier theory that the audience approves of product placement and advergames,
as long as the advertising is subtle. What‟s more, the intent to engage the consumer
with the product being advertised requires that the product be of some value to the
consumer in the first place before the brand message becomes clear and worth
anything. As expected, these results prove the effectiveness of the advertising within
the game due to the fact that the marketing campaign was aimed at a specific
demographic, which included students.
In terms of viral distribution, the results demonstrate how social networking sites
such as Facebook can provide an opportunity for the game to be advertised and
reach a larger network of the intended demographic, but it can also be used for the
consumer to forward the message onto their network of friends and family. As
previously mentioned earlier, by the consumer reaching their own network and
specifically choosing who they want to share the message with, the recipient is more
likely to take note of the marketing campaign and this case play the game.
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Unexpectedly the results show that that only half responded with positive feedback
about games that have competition incentives. The expected outcome was thought
to be higher as a competition linked to the product that was being advertised
appeared to be a good way to engage the consumer from the start. Though the
game was originally developed with a cash incentive prize, this did not seem to sway
the consumer anymore than a game without.
7.3 Conclusion
Advergames have proven to be an effective form of advertising and a great way to
plan and execute a marketing campaign. As long as the product place placement
within the game is kept to a minimum and does don‟t intrude on the players
gameplay experience, in-game advertising is generally accepted. With regards to
advergames, they too appear to be accepted if the product is relevant to gameplay
and centers on making gameplay fun and beneficial in learning about and getting
information from the product or service.
Viral distribution of online games appears to be based on social networking sites,
where people can easily forward information and links to a game or post up high
scores to their wall. The only problem and issues this seems to cause is unwanted
messages and posts to friends within the player‟s network, which can otherwise be
interpreted as spamming.
Overall, viral advergames work in favour for businesses, organizations and
companies who wish to communicate a message with their consumers in a fun and
interactive way. Though competition incentives to play the game do not seem a
popular idea as long as the game is captivating, addictive and fun viral advergaming
is a great way for brand promotion and could be a major breakthrough in the future
of marketing.
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Chapter 8:
Bibliography
Computer Weekly (2009). UK Takes Fight To THe Hackers. Computer Weekly.
Surrey: 1/8.
Dobele, A., D. Toleman, et al. (2005). Controlled infection! Spreading the brand
message through viral marketing. Market Leader. Oxfordshire, World Advertising
Research Center Limited: 3/5p.
Ferguson, R. (2008). "Word of Mouth and Viral Marketing: Thaing the Temperature
of the Hottest Trends in Marketing." Journl of Consumer Marketing 25(3): 4.
Howell, N. and p. Smith (2003). Catching The Bug. New Media Age. London,
Centaur Communications: 2.
Nichols, D., T. Farrand, et al. (2006). Brands and Gaming: The Computer Gaming
Phenomenon and Its Impact on Brands and Business. Hampshire, Palgrave
MacMillian.
Porter, L. and G. J. Golan (2006). "From Subservient Chickens to Brawny Men: A
Comparison of Viral Advertising to Television Advertising." Journal of Interactive
Advertising 6(2): 9.
Smith, C. (2006). New Media, Same Rules. Marketing. London, Haymarket Business
Publications Ltd: 1/2 p.
Tsai, J. (2009). The Cure For The Common Virus. CRM Magazine. New Jersey. 13:
6.
Ward, E. (2000). "Viral marketing involves serendipity, not planning." B to B 85(10):
1/2.
Wilson, D. R. F. (2000). "The Six Simple Principles of Viral Marketing."
Webmarketing Today 1(70): 3.
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Winkler, T. and K. Buckner (2006). "Receptiveness of Gamers to Embedded Brand
Messages in Advergames:
Attitudes towards Product Placement." Journal of Interactive Advertising 7(1).
Wise, K., P. D. Bolls, et al. (2008). "Enjoyment of Advergames and Brand Attitudes:
The Impact of Thematic Relevance." Journal of Interactive Advertising 9(1): 16.
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Appendix A: Consent Form
CARD THIEVES CONSENT FORM
Thanks for participating in my study. I will use the data received to analyse the
effectiveness of online viral advergaming using the game Card Thieves - accessible
via the TAGD:1 Games website.
A Camera will be recording all of the focus group as I don‟t want to miss any of your
comments, so that I can fully analyse your responses. Only the people in the room
will have access to the recordings and all recordings will be erased once I have
completed my analysis.
The personal information collected will not be released, and you can withdraw from
the study at anytime.
If you have any comments or queries feel free to contact me via email at
[email protected]
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated as I try to improve the study to eliminate
any variables which I didn‟t account for.
Participant
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Appendix B: Tasks List
SCHEDULE
Introduction
Consent Forms (see attachment)
Tasks
Group Discussion
Questionnaire (see attachment)
[The Focus Group will last approx 1 hour]
Card Thieves Group Tasks
[Please don’t talk to anyone as you play and try not to look at other participants’
screens]
1. Visit http://www.tagd1games.co.uk
2. Navigate through the website to find the game Card Thieves
3. Interact with the page, play the game Card Thieves for 10 minutes and try to
complete it or get as far as you can – if get to level 6 submit your score
(I will let you know when the time is up)
4. Use the form below the game to submit a short sentence of your game
experience after the 10 minutes
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Appendix C: Questionnaire
1. What did you think of the game Card Thieves in terms of design?
2. What did you think of the game Card Thieves in terms of gameplay?
3. What did you think of the in-game advertising in Card Thieves?
4. What did you think of the advertising on the Card Thieves web page?
5. How clear was the game Card Thieves in communicating what was being
advertised?
6. How likely are you to visit TAGD:1 Games again to play more games?
7. How likely are you to play Card Thieves again?
8. How likely are you to play a game that has a competition attached to it?
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Appendix D: Questionnaire
CARD THIEVES FOCUS GROUP
Introduction

Introduce everyone

Discuss the aims of the focus group

Information on Recording equipment

Consent Forms

Inform all participants discussion will be analysed as a whole and participant names
will not be used
Card Thieves Group Tasks
[Please don’t talk to anyone as you play and try not to look at other participants’ screens]
5. Visit http://www.tagd1games.co.uk
6. Navigate through the website to find the game Card Thieves
7. Interact with the page, play the game Card Thieves for 10 minutes and try to
complete it or get as far as you can – if get to level 6 submit your score
(I will let you know when the time is up)
8. Use the form below the game to submit a short sentence of your game experience
after the 10 minutes
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Discussion
First Reaction
1. What was your first reaction when landing on the TAGD:1 Games website?
2. Had you visited the website before today?
-
If you did, had you already played Card Thieves?
3. What was your first initial reaction to the Card Thieves game page (where the game
was sitting)?
-
In terms of design, layout, navigation...
What did you think of the advertising, what was your reaction?
4. Were you interested in reading about AfterDark and who they were?
-
What were your thoughts about AfterDark?
-
Did you visit the AfterDark website?
-
Anything else?
Games and Ads – In-Game Advertising and Advergames
To clarify, in-game advertising is when adverts are posted on objects such as billboards,
posters, logos on character clothing, or items themselves such as a coke bottle, etc.
Advergames are games developed specifically to promote a company and its brand. So,
gameplay is centred on the company’s product.
5. What are your thoughts about in-game advertising in general?
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6. What are your thoughts about advergames?
7. Are you any less likely or more likely to play a game that has in-game advertising or a
game that has been developed to advertise a company more so than playing a game
that is developed just to entertain? Why?
Gameplay Experience
8. Describe your gameplay experience whilst playing Card Thieves...
-
Complexity
-
Game instructions
-
Character movement and controls
-
Enemy combat
9. In what ways do you think the game could be redeveloped to make it more userfriendly and more fun in terms of gameplay?
10. In general, what do you think makes an online game addictive and re-playable?
Social Networking
11. What are your thoughts on using social networking sites or email to let people know
about games?
-
Do you use Facebook features such as ‘become a fan’ or ‘share’?
-
-Do you use features such as Tell a Friend where you fill out a form with your
details and the email address to send the link to?
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12. Do you use Twitter?
13. What type of online games do you like to play?
*** END OF FOCUS GROUP ***
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