The effect of product placement on persuasion for mobile phone games

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the persuasive effect of product placement on mobile phone games. An experiment was conducted with a 2 (type of game: high level of attention vs low level of attention) × 2 (placement location: focal vs peripheral) × 2 (type of brand: high-familiarity brand vs low-familiarity brand) between-subjects design to examine whether the type of game, type of brand and product placement of mobile phone games affect gamers’ (N = 324) memories, attitudes towards product placement and purchase intentions. The results showed that: (1) gamers have higher recall of brands embedded in the focal area than those in the peripheral areas of the game; (2) gamers’ product-related recall improves when high-familiarity brands rather than low-familiarity brands are embedded within games; and (3) gamers who exhibit more positive attitudes towards product placement are more likely to exhibit stronger purchase intentions.