Introduction

This introduction provides a brief definition of promotional alternate reality games (ARGs) and sets them in the context of contemporary marketing strategies. It gives an overview of previous scholarship pertaining to ARGs, observing that previous work has preferred to examine their role as media paratexts or examples of participatory culture rather than focus on their origins in advertising. The chapter outlines the key aims of the book to provide a more holistic approach to examining the form, history, and function of promotional ARGs in contemporary media marketing. It considers both production and reception contexts and uses this analysis to challenge received notions about participatory culture, consumer/producer relationships, and political economies of labour in digital promotional culture. Research methodology is explained, and a summary of each chapter is provided.