The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Default user image.

Linda Hollebeek

Visiting professor

Default user image.

Videogames-as-a-service : converting freemium- to paying-users through pop-up advertisement value

Author

  • Ali Hussain
  • Amir Zaib Abbasi
  • Linda D. Hollebeek
  • Carsten D. Schultz
  • Ding Hooi Ting
  • Bradley Wilson

Summary, in English

Purpose: Though the videogame literature is thriving, little remains known regarding the effectiveness of pop-up ads that appear in videogames. Addressing this gap, this study, therefore, aims to explore pop-up ads as an important tool to prompt gamer-perceived advertisement value and their subsequent intent to install the advertised videogame. Design/methodology/approach: To frame the analyses, the authors adopt and extend Ducoffe’s advertising value model by incorporating the visual/audio aesthetic videogame components that are largely overlooked in prior research. Using a self-administered survey, data were collected from 321 online gamers. The authors tested the model by using partial-least-squares-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings: The results indicate that pop-up ad-related incentives, entertainment, credibility, personalization, audio aesthetics and irritation significantly affect user-perceived ad value. In turn, perceived ad value was found to affect players’ intent to install the advertised videogame. Research limitations/implications: Though the findings corroborate the importance of pop-up ads being perceived as informative and/or entertaining, they also emphasize the value of personalized ads, ad-related incentives and audio aesthetic, which impact gamers’ intent to install the advertised videogame. Practical implications: This study advances managerial understanding of videogame-based services, which is expected to be particularly useful for freemium-based videogame marketers and developers. Originality/value: By extending Ducoffe’s model of advertising value, the authors apply the proposed framework in the online videogaming-based pop-up ad context, and explore the effect of user-perceived pop-up ad value on their intent to install the advertised videogame.

Publishing year

2022

Language

English

Pages

398-415

Publication/Series

Journal of Services Marketing

Volume

36

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Topic

  • Business Administration

Keywords

  • Audio aesthetic
  • Ducoffe’s advertisement value model
  • Online video-gaming services
  • Pop-up ads
  • Visual aesthetic

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0887-6045