In-Game Advertising: Role of Virtual Reality and Persuasion Knowledge

This experimental research examines the effect of brand placement (prominent or subtle) and use of technology (2D or head-mounted-display (HMD) VR) in in-game advertising (IGA) on brand recall and how persuasion knowledge moderates this relationship. Results showed that for a prominent brand placement, a 2D game resulted in higher brand recall than an HMD VR game. Players with high persuasion knowledge, showed superior recall for the embedded brands in two game conditions: a prominent placed 2D game and a prominent placed HMDVR game. However, insignificant results were found for a subtle brand placement-2D game and a subtle placement-HMD VR game irrespective of whether the player has high or low persuasion knowledge. Further the study provides strong theoretical and managerial implications and avenues for future research in the gamified-advertising context.