ABSTRACT
This chapter studies the uses-and-gratifications approach to improve the understanding of advergame-playing consumption. It discusses the motivations for advergame playing were explored as antecedents, while attitude toward the site, relationship building, and purchase intention were examined as consequences. The chapter examines what motivates online users to play advergames on commercial Web sites, presuming that a distinction must be made between the motivations of online and offline gaming consumption. Advertisers have offered advergames on their Web sites as a new vehicle to reach consumers while decreasing budgets as a percentage of sales and increasing fragmentation of mass media. As electronic games have become an ingrained part of consumers' recreational life, advertisers have focused their attention on using online game-related advertising tactics. The interactive nature of the Web provides the company with opportunities to build a relationship with its consumers by producing a brand experience and maintaining contact with its consumers.
