Online engagement on esports streams

The global esports market is expected to generate 950 million dollars online in 2020, being 18.2 million from streaming with an audience of 495 million and has been growing 10% per year, opening opportunities for brands to connect with their clients (Newzoo, 2020). This dissertation goal is to understand how esports streams viewers experience can influence ultimately impact their reaction on brands advertising on the stream. More specifically, how esports streams viewing experience influences online engagement and how does online engagement influence brand attitude and purchase intention. A questionnaire was elaborated and shared on social media related to gaming and the data collected was analysed using a quantitative analysis using simple linear regression models. Main findings are that experience does have a positive impact on online engagement and online engagement has a positive impact on purchase intention, while there was no evidence of online engagement having impact on brand attitude. The main takeaways from this analysis is that a positive experience watching esports plays a vital role on engagement highlighting the importance of a quality content being produced can make advertising during the stream more effective, thus resulting in better ROI results for brands. Was also found that consumers are more subject to commercial aspects being communicated from advertising than branding aspects. As for further research this dissertation opens questions for how does experience and online engagement influence other variables and if there are different results depending on the type of streams.Espera-se que o mercado global de esports gere 950 milhões de dólares online em 2020, sendo 18,2 milhões de streaming com uma audiência de 495 milhões e tem vindo a crescer 10% ao ano, abrindo oportunidades para as marcas se conectarem com seus clientes (Newzoo, 2020). O objetivo desta dissertação é entender como a experiência dos espectadores de esports streams pode influenciar o impacto de publicidade de presente nas streams. Mais especificamente, como a experiência a ver esports streams influencia o online engagement e como esse influencia a atitude da marca e a intenção de compra. Um questionário foi elaborado e partilhado nas redes sociais relacionadas com jogos e os dados foram analisados por forma quantitativa usando modelos de regressão linear simples. As principais conclusões são que a experiência tem um impacto positivo no online engagement e o online engagement tem um impacto positivo na intenção de compra, porém não existe evidência de que o online engagement tenha impacto na atitude da marca. A principal conclusão é que uma experiência positiva a ver esports streams desempenha um papel vital no online engagement, destacando a importância de um conteúdo de qualidade para tornar a publicidade mais eficaz, resultando em melhores resultados de ROI. Também foi constatado que os consumidores estão mais sujeitos aos aspectos comerciais sendo comunicados pela publicidade do que aos aspectos de branding. Para investigação futura, esta dissertação abre questões sobre como a experiência e o online engagement influenciam outras variáveis e se existem resultados diferentes dependendo do tipo de stream

Online gaming platform choice as a moderator between social interaction or time flexibility and continuous purchase intention: The case of Fortnite

The video game industry has grown exponentially in the last decades. The emergence of Free-to-Play games and the ability to play the same game with friends, while being on different gaming platforms have been a tremendous help to the industry’s growth. Until now, much research has been published regarding the players’ motivations to play or spend money on in-game virtual items. However, in a day where players’ loyalty is more than ever important, none has focused on cross-platform games to understand the impact the specific choice of a gaming platform might have over the players’ continuous purchase intentions. Filling this literature gap is the objective of this study by focusing on the game Fortnite. A questionnaire was distributed in Fortnite online communities on Reddit and Discord. With a total of 278 responses obtained, a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) bootstrapping technique, was conducted and showed that gaming chosen platform is a moderator between time flexibility or social interaction and continuous purchase intentions to play on consoles or PC, compared to mobile devices. The model also confirms that the variable continuous play is a mediator between (1) Competition, (2) Diversion, (3) Fun, (4) Social interaction or (5) Time flexibility and the variable continuous purchase intentions. The implications of developing new game profitability cycles based on free-to-play games as well as incorporating new social interactions between players during games must also be considered.A indústria de videogames cresceu exponencialmente nas últimas décadas. O crescimento da indústria foi muito impulsionado pelo lançamento de jogos Free-to-Play, assim como pela possibilidade em jogar o mesmo jogo em simultâneo com amigos a partir de diferentes plataformas de jogos. Até hoje, muitos estudos foram publicados sobre as motivações dos jogadores para jogar ou gastar dinheiro em itens virtuais do jogo. No entanto, apesar da elevada importância da lealdade dos jogadores, nenhum dos estudos se concentrou em jogos multiplataforma para entender o impacto que a escolha específica de uma plataforma de jogos pode ter sobre as intenções de compra contínuas de bens virtuais relacionados com o próprio jogo. Preencher essa lacuna da literatura é o objetivo deste estudo ao focar no jogo Fortnite. Um questionário foi distribuído nas comunidades online do Fortnite no Reddit e no Discord. Com um total de 278 respostas obtidas, as relações entre construtos latentes foram estimadas a partir do método Partial Least Squares Structural Equation modeling (PLS-SEM) com recurso ao software SmartPLS). Esta estimação confirmou que a plataforma em que se joga o Fortnite é uma variável moderadora entre a variável Flexibilidade do tempo para jogar ou a Interação social e a variável dependente Intenção contínuas de compra durante o jogo consoante se jogue em consolas ou portáteis quando comparados com dispositivos móveis. Também se concluí que a variável jogar continuadamente é mediadora entre (1) Competição, (2) Distração, (3) Diversão, (4) Interação social ou (5) Flexibilidade do tempo e a variável dependente Intenção de compra contínua durante o próprio jogo. Devem ser ainda consideradas as implicações de se desenvolverem novos ciclos de rentabilidade de jogos baseados em jogos free-to-play e de se incorporarem novas interações entre os jogadores durante os jogos

Consumer motives for playing board games

V zadnjem desetletju je igranje namiznih iger postalo zelo popularno. Vse več je tako iger kot igralcev, hkrati pa je na voljo tudi vedno več platform, prek katerih lahko namizne igre igrajo ali o njih debatirajo. V Sloveniji je, tako kot tudi drugje po svetu, mogočih več načinov, s katerimi ljubitelji namiznih iger dostopajo do namiznih iger. Trgovine, kot sta To je to in Črna luknja, ponujajo prodajo ter izposojo iger, novejši lokal Dobra poteza pa ima poleg običajne gostinske ponudbe na voljo tudi več kot 300 namiznih iger za igranje. Z naraščanjem proizvodnje namiznih iger in ponudbo različnih storitev na ta račun je vse pomembnejše tudi razumevanje potrošnika teh izdelkov in storitev. Za razumevanje vedenja potrošnika pa je ključno raziskovanje njegovih potreb in motivov za potrošnjo. V diplomskem delu sem s pomočjo kvalitativne metode projekcijskih tehnik in intervjuja raziskovala ali so sodelujočim za igranje namiznih iger pomembni motivi, kot so socialna interakcija, tekmovalnost in želja po zmagi, izziv, zabava, fantazija in eskapizem ter estetika. Na podlagi rezultatov analize uporabljenih metod sem ugotovila, da sodelujoče za igranje namiznih iger motivirajo vsi izbrani motivi, med seboj pa se razlikujejo po pomembnosti. Različne metode so prikazale različne jakosti izbranih motivov.Playing board games has become very popular in the last decade. There has been an increase in the number of players and board games manufactured each year, as well as in the platforms through which people can play board games and comment on them. In Slovenia, as well as the rest of the world, there are many possibilities for board game enthusiasts to get in touch with board games. Stores such as To je to and Črna luknja offer board games for sale and rentals. At the cafe Dobra poteza, you can choose among more than 300 board games to play while having a beer or a coffee. The increases in the production of board games and the variety of services that come along have made it increasingly important to understand the use of these products and these services. In order to understand consumer behaviour, consumer needs and motives have to be researched. The purpose of the diploma thesis is to determine whether participants play board games because they are influenced by social interaction, competition with desire to win, challenge, fun, fantasy with escapism, and aesthetics. Using different types of qualitative methods, projective techniques and an interview, proved that all six motives influence the participants for playing board games, but the motives are not equally influential. Each method showed different strengths of the chosen motives

Managing the Paradox of Growth in Brand Communities Through Social Media

The commercial benefits of online brand communities are an important focus for marketers seeking deeper engagement with increasingly elusive consumers. Managing participation in these socially bound brand conversations challenges practitioners to balance authenticity towards the community against corporate goals. This is important as social media proliferation affords communities the capacity to reach a scale well beyond their offline equivalents and to operate independently of brands. While research has identified the important elements of engagement in brand communities, less is known about how strategies required to maximise relationships in these circumstances must change with growth. Using a case study approach, we examine how a rapidly growing firm and its community have managed the challenges of a maturing relationship. We find that, in time, the community becomes self-sustaining, and a new set of marketing management strategies is required to move engagement to the next level

Managing the Paradox of Growth in Brand Communities Through Social Media

The commercial benefits of online brand communities are an important focus for marketers seeking deeper engagement with increasingly elusive consumers. Managing participation in these socially bound brand conversations challenges practitioners to balance authenticity towards the community against corporate goals. This is important as social media proliferation affords communities the capacity to reach a scale well beyond their offline equivalents and to operate independently of brands. While research has identified the important elements of engagement in brand communities, less is known about how strategies required to maximise relationships in these circumstances must change with growth. Using a case study approach, we examine how a rapidly growing firm and its community have managed the challenges of a maturing relationship. We find that, in time, the community becomes self-sustaining, and a new set of marketing management strategies is required to move engagement to the next level