FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSUMER’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS ADVERGAMES

Abstract

Internet technology, as well as development of mobile phone was fast adopted by people for recreational, economical and business reasons. The Internet technology development and the new communication systems made marketers to orientate their promotional campaigns and efforts towards new ways of reaching their actual and potential client. They started to use new and innovative ways to get public’s interest and to encourage purchase. In this context, Internet offered a complex environment to support the development of innovative brand strategies. One of the emerging new techniques in advertising is advergaming. Advergames represent the use of video game interactive technology for delivering brand messages to public. They are electronic games accessible on companies own websites, on social media sites and on application which can be downloaded on mobile devices. For marketers is important to understand the way that advergames work and what consumer’s attitude towards this practice is. The formation of attitude depends on a series of factors which are common to all types of advertisements based on Internet technology. These factors responsible for consumers’ attitude towards online advertising and implicit for attitude formation over advergames are informative component, entertainment, source credibility and irritation. Beside these four elements, there are additional criterions which consumers use for evaluating advertising in video games: the viral component, interactivity and telepresence. For marketers it is important to understand these factors and to find practical ways for using them for a better brand communication and for higher result of advertising campaigns which include the use of advergames as part of the promotional strategy. The present paper is looking to make a description of the factors influencing consumer’s attitude formation towards advergames, in conjunction with the Internet environment and the specific features of these media channel. Also, the presentation of the relevant factors is based on the fundamental elements defining consumer’s attitude and it’s particularities in online environment.

Keywords

• consumer’s attitude, video games, advertising, advergames, online