Custom Interactive Options Give Brands More Bang
How do you make a successful advertisement in a kids’ video game? Give kids interactive options, according to a Journal of Consumer Psychology study. Children who played interactive versions of a Nike-branded FIFA soccer video game picked the Nike brand more often than those who played a non-interactive version. In other words, custom interaction with a brand expands its placement power.
Take aways
- Interactivity greatly enhances effectiveness of brand placement, especially in situations where children have to rely on their memory to make their choice.
- Interactivity is especially important for consumer behavior outside the retail environment, for example when making wish lists.
- Children were being influenced without being aware of the brand placement.
- Awareness and understanding of such marketing techniques could be improved, for example with forewarnings and media education.
Study information
The question?
Does interactivity in a branded video game influence brand placement effectiveness?
Who?
207 9- to 10-year-olds
Where?
Shanghai, China
How?
In the school computer lab, children played different versions of a FIFA soccer game: an interactive version, where children could choose the shirt for their team and a non-interactive one where they could not. Nike logos were present in half of both the interactive and non-interactive games. After playing the game, half of the kids were asked to spontaneously write down the brand they would pick. The other half picked from a list of brands
Facts and findings
- The children who played the interactive game with Nike logos picked Nike most often.
- The kids who played the interactive version of the game were the most likely to write down Nike spontaneously.
- When kids were given a list of brands to choose from, playing an interactive version did not affect the brands they picked..
- Only 10 to 24% of the children remembered seeing the Nike logo in the game. So most of the kids didn’t even realize the advertisements.
- Fun Fact: after playing the game, 97% of the children said they were in a good mood and 90% said they were very excited.
