Title: The influence of advergames on consumers' attitudes and behaviour: an empirical study among young consumers

Authors: Martin K.J. Waiguny, Ralf Terlutter, Melanie E. Zaglia

Addresses: Department of Business Management: Marketing and International Management, School of Management and Economics, Klagenfurt University, Universitaetsstrasse 65-67, A-9020 Klagenfurt, Austria. ' Department of Business Management: Marketing and International Management, School of Management and Economics, Klagenfurt University, Universitaetsstrasse 65-67, A-9020 Klagenfurt, Austria. ' Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism, School of Management, University of Innsbruck, Universitaetsstrasse 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Abstract: Companies are increasingly making use of advergames. Advergames are regarded as innovative tools for relationship building with the customer, which are suitable for both existing and new products, for both established companies and business start-ups. This paper investigates the influences of advergames on consumers| brand attitudes and behaviour intentions. As most of the current advergames target children, this study reports on findings from an experiment conducted with 97 school pupils aged between nine and 12. Implications of the use of advergames; e.g., for launching new products, public policy issues and selected limitations will be discussed. This research can be considered highly innovative since hardly any studies exist, which have analysed the effects of advergames on existing consumer attitudes. No single study has shown the influence on behaviour, and finally, this study has been applied in the special context of young consumers.

Keywords: advergames; branded entertainment; children; young consumers; consumer attitudes; consumer behaviour; branding; customer relationship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEV.2011.041273

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2011 Vol.3 No.3, pp.231 - 247

Published online: 24 Oct 2014 *

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