Effect of Social Environment on Brand Recall in Sports Video Games

摘要

Studies have shown that in-game advertisements can be effective. However, these studies typically examine single player scenarios. This study aimed to investigate the effects of social dynamics on brand awareness of in-game advertisements in sports video games. Two studies were conducted with soccer and basketball simulation games. In each study, participants were split into two groups where they either played against a computer-controlled opponent or against another player. For both studies, independent-samples t-tests were conducted to compare the recall rates between both groups. Both studies showed similar findings where respondents in the single player group reported higher recall and recognition rates when compared to respondents in the multi-player group. These findings suggest that the social environment can affect the effectiveness of in-game advertisements.