Sport video games (SVGs) are a popular form of sport media and sponsorship, and advertising in SVGs is increasingly common. This study assessed the effectiveness of SVG in-game advertisements in 3 consumption domains: cognitive, affective, and conative. An experimental study was designed with 89 gamers randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: (a) experimental, playing an SVG with advertisements, or (b) control, playing an SVG without advertisements. Consumption background and identification level were incorporated as covariates to ensure group equivalence. Participants responded to a questionnaire measuring brand awareness, brand attitude, and purchase intentions. MANCOVA revealed that after controlling for the effect of covariate variables, the experimental group had a significantly (p < .05) greater mean brand-awareness score than the control group. Mean brand-attitude and purchase-intention scores were not significantly (p > .05) different between groups. The findings indicated that SVG in-game advertising was effective in creating awareness.

The attitude towards advertising (AG) construct has been the focus of several investigations in marketing literature, in part because of the suggestion that it is an antecedent to additional variables affecting

PurposeThe paper investigates the factors influencing spectators’ adoption of digital (mobile) ticketing by expanding the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, 1989) to include two variables overlooked in previous ticketing research: (1) trust of digital ticketing and (2) willingness to pay convenience fees. The study provides information on consumer behavior that may aid sports managers’ decision-making.Design/methodology/approachThrough a paper-and-pencil survey of high school American football spectators (N = 523) over 12 games, the study examined perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, the trust of digital ticketing, willingness to pay convenience fees and their effects on spectators’ intention to use digital ticketing.FindingsTrust of digital ticketing, willingness to pay a convenience fee and the perceived ease of use were found to influence the perceived usefulness of the technology, which, in turn, had a significant effect on the intention to use. Willingness to pay fees also had a direct effect on intention.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough every intention was made to ascertain a diverse sampling of schools (urban vs. suburban, large vs. small), it is worth noting that the sample location may be a limitation for the overall applicability.Practical implicationsThe manuscript includes practical applications for marketers and ticket sales staff. Digital (mobile) ticketing is on the rise. As segments like high school athletics adopt the technology, spectators’ evaluation of digital ticketing must be considered, given its impact on intentions to use.Originality/valueThe findings support the use of willingness to pay convenience fees and trust of digital ticketing as considerations in the TAM for understanding digital ticketing.

This study examined the differential effectiveness of television commercials, athlete endorsements, venue signage, and combined promotions as assessed by Generation Y consumers. A 2 × 4 independent-group experimental design was conducted, consisting of two experimental conditions (experimental and control) and four video footage interventions with different promotional procedures (television commercial, athlete endorsement, venue signage, and combined promotion). A total of 253 subjects were randomly assigned into the eight groups. The subjects responded to a questionnaire that measured brand awareness in terms of unaided recall, aided recall, and recognition. A factorial MANCOVA revealed that after controlling for differences in the consumption backgrounds of action sports among the subjects, all four promotional procedures effectively increased brand awareness during a televised action sports event. Television commercials were the most effective, followed by combined promotion, athlete endorsement, and venue signage.

Social media marketing, including the use of Facebook, is becoming a prevalent part of the promotional marketing mix by recreation and sport organizations. While use of Facebook as a marketing tool is common, empirical evidence of its use is lacking. This study examined the effectiveness of social media marketing on college students in a campus recreation setting. Specifically, the effectiveness of Facebook status messages were assessed via a 2 × 2 repeated factorial within-subjects design to determine their influence on awareness of, interest in, and intention to participate in a campus recreation special event. Participants were assigned to experimental ( n = 26) or control ( n = 29) groups. ANCOVAs revealed significant differences in awareness based on the treatment, but not in interest or intention. Findings suggest that social media marketing was effective in increasing awareness, and the study served as an empirical foundation for future research.