Level Up! The Role of Progress Feedback Type for Encouraging Intrinsic Motivation and Positive Brand Attitudes in Public Versus Private Gaming Contexts

• We examine motivation, flow, and attitudes toward in-game ads when building a character versus completing a status bar.
• We examine the influence of public versus private game play on in-game advertising outcomes.
• Motivation, enjoyment, and flow are heightened in a public character building experience.
• Both enjoyment and flow mediate the direct relationship between progress visibility (public/private) and brand attitude.
• Progress visibility plays a significant role on brand attitude only when a character is used for game feedback.

With the popularity of video games and the resulting gamification of everyday activities comes an increase in in-game advertising (IGA). As a result, video game players' engagement and motivation to level-up or master a video game are becoming increasingly important for marketers hoping to increase exposure to their brands. Across two experimental studies, we provide evidence that games played publically (versus privately) are more motivating to players, and also demonstrate the important influence of feedback via building a character or completing a status bar. In study 1, we find that, for public gaming contexts, players experience more enjoyment, effort, and flow when progress is shown via building a character. Furthermore, in study 2 we extend study 1's findings and discover a moderated mediation model for brand attitudes. Specifically, the relationship between public gaming context and brand attitude is mediated by enjoyment and flow. Further, the mediation of enjoyment and flow is moderated by feedback type, where progress affects brand attitude when a character is used for game feedback, but not for status bar feedback. We examine our research questions within the context of intrinsic motivation, specifically self-determination theory.