Advergames and Consumer Brand Engagement: Experiential Satisfaction as a Mediator of Gamified Advertising Effects

Abstract

Gamified advertising formats are increasingly used to facilitate consumer interactions with a brand. Advergames in particular are believed to be an effective type of gamified advertising. This study examined the effects of advergaming on consumer brand engagement, in terms of cognitive processing, affection, and activation, and to what extent consumers’ experiential satisfaction can explain these effects. To test our hypotheses, we conducted an online experiment (N = 200) with a single-factor (Type of ad: Advergame vs. Static ad) between-subjects design. Experiential satisfaction was measured as a mediator. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypotheses. The results show that, overall, advergaming leads to higher levels of engagement on all three consumer brand engagement dimensions (i.e., cognitive processing, affection, activation). Also, experiential satisfaction was found to mediate these effects.