Marketing promotions in social network games: Making them work

Abstract

More than 55 per cent of Americans play video games, and advertisers are turning to games as a viable platform for marketing communications and promotion. Both managers and consumers stand to benefit from a deeper understanding of how marketing communications can be integrated into existing games. This paper proposes a typology of social network game-based marketing promotional strategies using two dimensions: (1) functional congruency (the ability to respond to the promotional offer while playing the game) and (2) motivational congruency (the promotion aligning with players’ motivations for playing the game). Interviews with players of a popular social network game are used to confirm and refine the proposed framework. Findings support prior research and extend existing knowledge in two ways. First, even promotions that are congruent with the storyline can result in negative brand attitude or resentment when misaligned with the functional or motivational aspects of the game. Secondly, a deep understanding of the wider context of social network games is paramount when developing promotions to ensure integrated marketing communications are well received by players.