ABSTRACT
Approximately 450 million people are online worldwide, about one third of these in the
United States (Nielsen/Net Ratings, 2004)—they are surfers, chatters, shoppers,
information seekers, game players, and more (Fallows, 2004). Many of these online
consumer activities are investigated in other chapters within this book. This chapter
focuses on the entertainment aspect of online consumer behavior, particularly gaming,
and suggests ways that brands can be incorporated into entertainment content. The first
part of the chapter provides an overview of gaming and then describes a taxonomy of
brand usage in games, drawing on real-world examples and academic research to explore
consumer response and brand effectiveness. The second part of the chapter presents
results of primary research designed to investigate effectiveness of background ads in
racing games. Areas for future research and ethical and public policy implications are
also discussed.
