MOBILE ADVERGAMES TARGETING CHILDREN A PORTABLE PLAYGROUND TO
MOBILE ADVERGAMES TARGETING CHILDREN A “PORTABLE PLAYGROUND” TO BUILD BRAND RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUNG CONSUMERS? Valérie HEMAR-NICOLAS Université de Paris Sud, RITM. 4 th ICBR Conference, 21 -23 May, 2015. Porto, Portugal
CONTEXT A fast-growing usage of tablets by children 75 % of 8 -11 year old British children have access to a tablet at home (2014, a). 29 % of 7 -12 year old French kids own their tablet (2015, b). Ø Tablets widely used for gaming. Brand communication: a shift from TV advertising to digital advertising content. Advergames: free brand-produced video games embedding marketing messages in entertaining animated (Moore and Rideout, 2007 ; Blades et al. 2013). (a) Source: Ofcom 2014 ; (b) IPSOS Junior Connect’, 2015
RESEARCH PURPOSE o How do children “read” and appropriate mobile advergames? o To what extent may these branded mobile games contribute to build a “fair” brand-child relationship?
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND CHILDREN’S ADVERTISING LITERACY Advertising literacy in a cognitive psychology perspective The advertising-related knowledge, ie the ability to ü distinguish advertisements from programs, ü understand the advertiser’s motivations. Ø Children’s understanding of advertising intents depends on their age and the persuasive tactics. Ø No evidence that conceptual knowledge of advertising decreases children’s susceptibility to its effects. (Martin, 1997; Nairn and Fine, 2008 ; Livingstone, 2009 ; Rozendaal et al. 2011)
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND CHILDREN’S ADVERTISING LITERACY Advertising literacy in a cultural studies perspective “The skills of analyzing, evaluating, and creating persuasive messages across a variety of contexts and media” (Livingstone and Helsper, 2006: 562). Ø Ø Ø How children “read” and interpret advertising. How children make use of media/advertising in their own perspectives. The use of advertising as a social resource within the peer group. (Lawlor and Prothero, 2008 ; Hémar-Nicolas et al. 2013)
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND DIGITAL ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN More engaging and interactive branded experiences than the traditional 30 -second TV advert. Ø In-app advertising, in-app purchases and links to social media. The gaming: in-game product placement, advergame. Ø ü ü An immersive environment, source of entertaining experiences. brand recall and recognition, Implicit persuasion processes. (Mallinckrodt and Mizerski, 2001 ; Dias and Agante, 2011; van Reijmersdal et al. 2012 ; Rifon et al. 2014)
METHODOLOGY HOW DO CHILDREN “READ” AND APPROPRIATE MOBILE ADVERGAMES? A child-orientated qualtitative methodology to observe children’s own advergames experiences. Multi-methods: discussions, observations, drawings. Two age groups: 10 1 rst/2 d grades – 10 4 th/5 th grades. Data collection by pair of 2 friends or individually. A content analysis.
FINDINGS A daily practice of mobile devices for gaming. ü Source of interaction and recognition within the peer group, especially among boys. “This game is awesome! We really have a good time!” (Jean, 9 years old) “We talk about the new games. If you don’t play certain games, you’re a loser” (Florian, 9 years old). ü Yet, no child mentions advergames spontaneously. A good understanding of advertising intents. Yet, a definition of advertising based on the traditional 30 -second format. “When you watch a movie on the i. Pad, before there is an ad, and then you can watch the movie” (Ava, 6 years old).
FINDINGS 14 in 19 children’s drawings included brand.
FINDINGS No attention paid to sidebars and interstitial ads. “On the i. Pad, when you play a game, at the beginning there is an ad. You click on the cross to remove it” (Anouk, 8 years old) A pretty good identification of the informative and persuasive intents of the game “It [Babybel] is made with 98 % of milk. It is written. ” (Jovan, 8 years old) “There is a Mc Donald’s game to make people feel hungry” (Zoe, 7 years old). “The game where you need to launch the smile into the box is an ad for Mc. Donalds” (Solal, 10 years old). Yet, an ability to identify the advertising intents first in the case of brand familiarity?
FINDINGS The game used to promote the brand OR the reverse? “[They made the game Mc. Play, because] many people eat at Mc Donald’s, so maybe these people would be interested in playing Mc. Play” (Livna, 10 years old). “Fanta [the advergame] is first a game. They put the game on an app store to sell it!” (Raphael, 10 years old). “This F stands for Facebook. Some people play the game and display their scores on Facebook in order to show them to other players. Thanks to Facebook, Babybel game can have more players” (Flavie, 9 years old).
FINDINGS The children first interested in the executive elements and game contents, regardless of the brand Ø Ø Few attention paid to information included in the game. Advergames preferences according to the entertaining features and the challenges. “I like Mc. Play, because you need to think over like in Lego Star Wars” (Florian, 10 years old, who told us at the interview that he did not like Mc. Donald’s food). “I enjoy playing Fanta game, but I don’t like the beverage” (Raphael, 10 years old).
CONCLUSION & DISCUSSION 4 key takeaways to study further A good ability to identify advertising intents only when brand is familiar. A pleasure-based relationship with brand, suggesting implicit persuasion processes. Gaming: a social resource. Advergames: not simply an ad, but a branded product on its own. What about the cognitive defenses based on advertising knowledge?
Thank you very much for your attention.
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