DE GAME-ERVARINGSRADAR EEN EXPERIMENTELE STUDIE NAAR DE IMPACT VAN GAME- ERVARING OP MERKBEKENDHEID EN ATTITUDE TEGENOVER PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN RACEGAMES MET GAMEFLOW ALS MEDIATOR Wetenschappelijk artikel Aantal woorden: 9989 Femke Goossens Studentennummer: 01709160 Promotor: Prof. dr. Laura Herrewijn Copromotor: Steffi De Jans Masterproef voorgelegd voor het behalen van de graad master in de richting Communicatiewetenschappen afstudeerrichting Communicatiemanagement Academiejaar: 2018 – 2019 Deze pagina is niet beschikbaar omdat ze persoonsgegevens bevat. Universiteitsbibliotheek Gent, 2021. This page is not available because it contains personal information. Ghent Universit , Librar , 2021. DANKWOORD Deze masterproef vormt het sluitstuk van mijn opleiding communicatiewetenschappen aan de Universiteit van Gent. Het schrijven van een masterproef brengt heel wat onzekerheden en stress met zich mee. Gelukkig kon ik steeds rekenen op de steun en hulp van een aantal mensen. Ik wil dan ook graag van deze gelegenheid gebruik maken om hen te bedanken. In de eerste plaats wil ik mijn promotor Prof. Dr. Laura Herrewijn bedanken voor de uitstekende begeleiding de afgelopen twee jaar. Ik wil haar graag bedanken voor haar vakkundig advies, enthousiasme en voor het beantwoorden van al mijn vragen. Daarnaast wil ik alle 82 respondenten bedanken die deelnamen aan mijn experiment. Zonder hen zou het niet mogelijk zijn geweest om dit onderzoek tot een goed einde te brengen. Ten slotte wil ik graag mijn ouders en vrienden bedanken voor hun onvoorwaardelijke steun. Bedankt voor de nodige ontspanning en gesprekken als ik even de bomen door het bos niet meer zag. Femke Goossens 3 ABSTRACT The rapid growth of the gaming industry has made advertisers aware of its potential for reaching their audiences with brand messages through in-game advertising. However, little is known about the influence of two characteristics of the player, namely game experience and gameflow. Insight into the impact of these two characteristics of the player is necessary because the results of previous research are either limited for gameflow or contradictory for game experience. The aim of this study is to give the advertisers a better insight into the effectiveness of product placement in racing games and whether they should or shouldn’t invest in this medium to advertise. Therefore, this study used a between subjects design to investigate the impact of game experience on brand awareness and attitude towards product placement in racing games. This experiment also examined whether this relationship was mediated by gameflow. Game experience (low versus high) was manipulated by either racing one lap or six laps on the race track. 62 people participated in this experiment and were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. The results of the experiment showed that game experience has a significant effect on participants’ brand recognition and attitude towards product placement in racing games, but not on their brand recall. The experiment also showed that game experience has an impact on all the dimensions of gameflow, except on the immersion of time and self-awareness. Finally, the results showed that the effect of game experience on brand awareness and attitude towards product placement was not mediated by gameflow. 4 INHOUDSOPGAVE INZAGERECHT ................................................................................................................................................ 2 DANKWOORD ................................................................................................................................................ 3 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 INHOUDSOPGAVE ......................................................................................................................................... 5 FIGUREN-EN TABELLENLIJST ........................................................................................................................ 7 1 INLEIDING ................................................................................................................................................... 8 2 LITERATUURSTUDIE ................................................................................................................................. 10 2.1 In-game advertising .................................................................................................................................... 10 2.1.1 Wat is in-game advertising? .................................................................................................................................. 10 2.1.2 Vormen van in-game advertising .......................................................................................................................... 12 2.1.3 Product placement in racegames .......................................................................................................................... 13 2.2 De effectiviteit van product placement in racegames ................................................................................ 15 2.2.1 Kenmerken van de gamesituatie ........................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.2 Persoonsgebonden kenmerken .............................................................................................................................. 15 2.2.2.1 Game-ervaring ............................................................................................................................................ 15 2.2.2.2 Gameflow ................................................................................................................................................... 18 3 METHODOLOGIE ....................................................................................................................................... 21 3.1 Onderzoeksdesign ...................................................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Respondenten ............................................................................................................................................ 22 3.3 Materiaal .................................................................................................................................................... 22 3.3.1 Stimulusmateriaal ................................................................................................................................................. 22 3.3.2 Pretest ................................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.3 Meetschalen .......................................................................................................................................................... 24 3.4 Procedure ................................................................................................................................................... 25 4 RESULTATEN ............................................................................................................................................ 27 4.1 Manipulatiecheck ....................................................................................................................................... 27 4.2 Hoofdeffect van game-ervaring op merkbekendheid en attitude tegenover product placement in racegames ........................................................................................................................................................ 27 4.3 Het effect van game-ervaring op gameflow ............................................................................................... 28 4.4 Het mediërende effect van gameflow ........................................................................................................ 28 4.4.1 Mediërende rol van gameflow op merkherinnering .............................................................................................. 28 4.4.2 Mediërende rol van gameflow op merkherkenning .............................................................................................. 30 4.4.3 Mediërende rol van gameflow op atttitude tegenover product placement in racegames .................................... 31 5 DISCUSSIE EN CONCLUSIE ....................................................................................................................... 33 5.1 Discussie ..................................................................................................................................................... 33 5.2 Beperkingen en aanbevelingen .................................................................................................................. 35 5.3 Conclusie ..................................................................................................................................................... 36 5 6 BIBIOGRAFIE ............................................................................................................................................. 37 7 BIJLAGEN ................................................................................................................................................... 41 Bijlage A: Gamerskarakteristieken per conditie ..............................................................................................