“Insert Coin to Play”: The Evolution of Communication Dynamics Between Brands and Video Games

As part of the dynamics of marketing and communication, the practice of celebrity endorsement has seen an increasingly prolific development over the years alongside a new form of brand communication oriented to enhance brand/product perception through endorsements of authoritative celebrities. In more recent times, the advent of the video game medium, and in particular video games, has led brands to develop new promotional and communication methods from scratch or borrow from other mediums. One that is certainly evocative among those derived from other media fields is product placement. Among the practices developed from scratch, especially in recent years, it is possible to find the use of characters or elements from video games within brand communications. This study was developed to understand this new communication mode adopted in specific contexts by brands, the effects it has on the target audience and the economic and image returns. The contributions made to the matter by this study concern that part of marketing that is focused on the target audience's perception of the brand to develop a connection, a feeling and to boost sales. Moreover, being one of the first studies developed with qualitative methodology, it allows to observe a deeper level of perception from the target audience’s side. The study involved a sample of seven people from various parts of Italy, interviewed in a focus group to show how positive and relevant the impact of this form of communication is to the target audience and their impulse to purchase, in addition to the high level of brand awareness this methodology brings. Furthermore, during the focus group, it emerged that this practice could be a strong bridge between brands and gamers, by developing a solid feeling of inclusion in the target audience.