Games as a form of communication have been examined by academics in the fields of game studies, narratology and media studies, among others, but the use of games to communicate advertising messages has not been adequately explored within the South African context. The study sought to investigate the phenomenon of advergaming, purpose-built games designed to communicate an advertising message, in South Africa, and to develop a model for the use of advergaming as a viral marketing tool in this context. Using a hybrid approach, the study examined the way that advertising agencies currently use advergames as well as the effectiveness of advergaming as a means to communicate a message. The study presents the results of a national survey of advertising agencies in South Africa, a content analysis of existing advergames and an analysis of three semi-structured group interview experiments conducted using selected advergames. The findings point to the potential of advergaming as a message communication tool, but also highlight the challenges that may hamper the widespread use of advergaming in South Africa. It proposes the use of the mobile environment as a means to reach a wider South African audience and in that way, overcome some of the obstacles to advergaming adoption. In addition, the results identify aspects of advergames that seem to correlate with the effectiveness of message communication.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences. / Department of Communication

Ng Wing Kei. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-81). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- Background --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- The Present Study --- p.4 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Literature Review / Chapter 2.1 --- The Internet as an Advertising Medium --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2 --- Advertising Hierarchy of Effects and Internet Advertising Effectiveness --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3 --- Effect of Context on Advertising Effectiveness --- p.14 / Chapter 2.4 --- Effect of Clutter on Advertising --- p.18 / Chapter 2.5 --- Effect of Advertising Repetition --- p.23 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Hypotheses / Chapter 3.1 --- Primary Hypotheses --- p.28 / Main Effect of Clutter on Advertising Effectiveness / Chapter - --- Main Effect of Advertising Repetition on Advertising Effectiveness / Chapter - --- Interaction Effect between Clutter and Advertising Repetition on Advertising Effectiveness / Chapter 3.2 --- Secondary Hypotheses --- p.32 / Chapter - --- Relationship between Attitude toward the Web page and Constructs of Advertising Hierarchy of Effects / Chapter Chapter Four --- Methodology / Chapter 4.1 --- Operational Definitions of Variables --- p.33 / Chapter 4.2 --- Pre-Test --- p.38 / Chapter 4.3 --- Design and Stimuli --- p.40 / Chapter Chapter Five --- Findings / Chapter 5.1 --- Number of Valid Responses --- p.43 / Chapter 5.2 --- Reliability of Measures --- p.45 / Chapter 5.3 --- Manipulation Check --- p.47 / Chapter 5.4 --- Data Analysis --- p.48 / Chapter 5.5 --- Primary Findings --- p.49 / Chapter 5.6 --- Secondary Findings --- p.57 / Chapter 5.7 --- Summary of Findings --- p.58 / Chapter Chapter Six --- Discussion and Conclusion / Chapter 6.1 --- Discussion of Findings --- p.61 / Chapter 6.2 --- Limitations and Future Research --- p.68 / Chapter 6.3 --- Conclusion --- p.71 / Reference --- p.73 / Chapter Appendix 1 --- Pre-Test Questionnaire / Chapter Appendix 2 --- Experimental Web page (four versions) / Chapter Appendix 3 --- Post-Experiment Questionnaire

During the late 1990s and into the new millennium, excessive claims were made about the internet as an emergent arena of commercial transactions. Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, was deemed elemental to a fundamental shift in economics. However, it was also implicated in a shifting dynamic in which the relative power of producers was diminished in favour of that of consumers. In industry literature, the e-commerce consumer was, and remains, typified as 'empowered'. This study explores this portrayal, examining the socio-historical foundations for its implementation, and also the role of this characterisation within contemporary power relations.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-108). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-108). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2010. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-101).

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-40).