Partnerships within the gaming economy: can a brand partnership within the gaming economy alter the brand personality of the sponsoring brand

Abstract

As the gaming economy thrives, marketers must identify the threats and opportunities that arise from targeting the new, digitally inclined gaming audience. This paper examines the brand transference of an advergaming partnership between a gaming provider with a vibrant brand personality and a cosmetics company with an inactive brand personality. Three brand personality dimensions were analysed: Inactiveness, Sincerity, and Vibrancy. It was hypothesized that there would be a brand personality transference when 1) initially exposed to the partnership, 2) one-week after the exposure and, 3) brand personalities unrelated to advergaming (i.e., sincerity) would not be affected. H1 and H2 were accepted whilst H3 was rejected. Managerial implications are discussed based on the findings.