Sport Marketing Quarterly, 2008, 17, 201-208, 2008 West Virginia University
BRAND MANAGEMENT
Brand Recall and Recognition: A
Comparison of Television and Sport
Video Games as Presentation Modes
Patrick Walsh, Yongjae Kim, and Stephen D. Ross
Abstract
In todays cluttered marketplace it is essential that cor-
porations seek new and innovative ways to reach their
target audience. Sport video games represent an
emerging media forum for brand management as cor-
porations are now engaging in brand placement within
sport video games in an attempt to reach consumers in
a non-traditional way. Despite the growth of this prac-
tice little research has been conducted to determine its
effectiveness, particularly as it compares to placement
within more traditional mediums. As such, the pur-
pose of this study is to compare the recall and recogni-
tion rates for brands appearing in a sport video game
and brands appearing in a televised sport contest. The
results have important implications for corporate mar-
keters and indicate that recall for brands that appeared
in a televised NASCAR race were higher than those in
a NASCAR themed video game; however, recognition
rates were not statistically significant.
Introduction
From 1996 to 2006 computer and video game sales in
the United States grew from $2.6 billion to $7.4 billion
(Entertainment Software Association, 2007). Of that
$7.4 billion in sales, sport video games are one of the
most popular genres, ranking second in total number
of units sold in 2006, accounting for 17% of industry
sales (Entertainment Software Association, 2007). Due
Patrick Walsh, PhD, is a visiting assistant professor of
sport administration at the University of Miami. His
research interests include sport brand management, new
media marketing, and corporate sponsorship.
Yongjae Kim is a doctoral candidate in the School of
Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota. His research
interests include consumer psychology and behavior in a
virtual environment and brand management.
Stephen D. Ross, PhD, is an assistant professor of sport
management at the University of Minnesota. His
research interests include sport brand management, sport
consumer psychology, and sport marketing as it relates to
the youth segment.
Volume 17 Number 4 2008 Sport Marketing Quarterly 201
In addition to league video game licenses, corpo-
rate marketers are utilizing this new medium by
engaging in brand placement within video games.
to the growth of the industry, video games now seem to
be a major competitor for traditional forms of enter-
tainment, discretionary income, and consumer leisure
time. In fact, 2004 sales of video game items surpassed
movie theater box office receipts in the US market (e-
Strategic Research, 2005), and millions of Americans
own some type of video game system. A large portion
of US households (33%) own a console video game sys-
tem, and 41% of Americans indicated that they planned
to purchase one or more video games in 2007
(Entertainment Software Association, 2007).
This growth has also led many professional and colle-
giate properties to consider sport video games as an
innovative tool to reach existing sport consumers,
attract new customers, and access younger market seg-
ments by incorporating their brands into interactive
games (Arrington, 2003; Lefton, 2005). In addition to
league video game licenses, corporate marketers are uti-
lizing this new medium by engaging in brand place-
ment within video games. The technology research firm
The Yankee Group estimated that $70 million in adver-
tising revenue was generated via in-game ads in the US
in 2003, and that number is predicted to increase to
more than $700 million by 2010 (Yankee Group, 2006).
Despite this growth little research has been conducted
on the effectiveness of corporations placing their brand
within sport video games, in particular as it compares
to more traditional brand placement methods utilized
during a live sporting event such as venue signage, logo
placement, and sponsored segments.
Brand Recall and Recognition
When corporations place their brand within sport video
games their likely end goal is to positively impact brand
equity, and in turn have an effect on some marketplace
outcomes such as image enhancement, product sales,
and brand exposure. In order to have an impact on
brand equity Aaker (1996) suggests that factors such as
brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality, and
brand associations must be impacted in a positive way.
Keller (1993) also proposed that brand equity relies on
the knowledge one has for the brand, which consists of
brand awareness and brand associations.
In sport, the study of brand equity has been a focus
in recent literature, primarily due to the shift of many
professional sport teams and leagues from the realiza-
tion of short-term profits to more of a strategic focus
on managing a teams brand (Gladden, Irwin, &
Sutton, 2001). Gladden, Milne, and Sutton (1998) were
the first to provide a framework for brand equity in
sport and posited that there are a number of
antecedents in collegiate sport that could impact per-
ceived quality, brand awareness, brand associations,
and brand loyalty. Gladden and Milne (1999) also
developed a brand equity framework that was applica-
ble to professional sport and determined that brand
equity has a positive effect on marketplace outcomes
such as merchandise sales. More recently, Ross (2006)
contended that professional sport is a service-based
brand and Gladden et al.s (1998) and Gladden and
Milnes (1999) models of brand equity were derived
from frameworks that were developed with consumer-
based goods in mind (Aaker, 1996; Keller, 1993).
Therefore, Ross (2006) developed a spectator-based
brand equity model that included antecedents that
may impact both consumer- and service-based brands
such as the actual customer experience. Ultimately in
Rosss (2006) model marketplace outcomes such as
loyalty, exposure, sales, and revenue solicitation were
impacted by the teams spectator-based brand equity,
which includes brand awareness and brand associa-
tions.
While there are some conflicting theories as to the
components of brand equity, each framework includes
some form of brand awareness (Aaker, 1996; Gladden
et al., 1998; Gladden & Milne, 1999; Keller, 1993; Ross,
2006). In addition, while there are many objectives of
brand building activities, it has been suggested that
none may be more important than creating brand
awareness among consumers, and developing strength
of brand presence in a consumers memory (Aaker,
1992). If consumers are unaware that a brand exists
their products will not become part of the individuals
consideration set. Brand placement within sport video
games provides an opportunity to create this awareness
in order for the organizations product to move into an
evoked set. As creating brand awareness is so funda-
mental to impacting brand equity it was the focus of
the present study.
The most common way to measure brand awareness
is to utilize recognition and recall measures (Pitts &
Slattery, 2004). Recognition refers to the ability of a
consumer to simply remember that there was past
202 Volume 17 Number 4 2008 Sport Marketing Quarterly
exposure to the brand (Aaker, 1992) and is typically
measured using an aided technique in which many
brands are listed and the consumer chooses which ones
they recognize. A brand is said to be recalled if the
brand name is able to be correctly retrieved from
memory without any mention of product class or
other brand names (Aaker, 1992). A number of vari-
ables have been shown to have an impact on brand
recall and recognition such as age, consumption levels
of televised sport, level of identification with sport, and
prior attitude toward the event (Gwinner & Swanson,
2003; Meenaghan, 2001; Pham, 1992).
However, one area that has not been examined is the
presentation mode of the brands. That is, no research
has examined if there are significant differences in the
recall and recognition of brands within a televised sports
contest and a sport video game. As the sport landscape
becomes more cluttered organizations are looking
toward new forms of media to support their marketing
activities. The relatively new practice of brand place-
ment within sport video games has started to garner
some attention by both practitioners and academicians.
However, one area that has not been examined is
the presentation mode of the brands. That is, no
research has examined if there are significant differ-
ences in the recall and recognition of brands within
a televised sports contest and a sport video game.
Sport Video Game Research
Nelson (2002) was the first to examine the effectiveness
of brand placement within a sport video game.
Specifically, the research measured recall and recogni-
tion of brands immediately following participants game
play and then again after a five-month delay. While the
study did not go into detail on how recognition and
recall were assessed, the findings indicated that 25-30%
of brands that appeared in the game were recalled in the
short term, and 10-15% were recalled after a five-month
delay (Nelson, 2002). Further research by Nelson,
Keum, and Yaros (2004) aimed to assess consumer atti-
tudes toward the practice of advertising within video
games along with determining purchase intentions
toward brands that appeared in the game. The results
suggested that most consumers had positive feelings
about in-game advertising when it adds realism to the
game, and those that had negative attitudes about in-
game placement were negative about the practice of
advertising in general (Nelson et al., 2004). Therefore,
having advertisements around the dasher boards of an
arena in a NHL-themed hockey game would invoke
positive reactions as these types of advertisements are
very common at an actual hockey arena. However, these
results were examined qualitatively with a small sample
size, which suggests that more research should be con-
ducted in an attempt to quantify this affect.
While the previous studies attempted to measure a
game players explicit memory through recall and
recognition techniques, Yang, Roskos-Ewoldsen, Dinu,
and Arpan (2006) examined in-game advertisings
impact on implicit memory. Using an experimental
design, subjects were placed into one of three groups;
two experimental groups in which subjects either
played a racing video game or a soccer video game, and
the control group in which no game was played. After
approximately 30 minutes of game play the partici-
pants implicit and explicit memory of the brands that
appeared within the game were measured. The results
indicated that both implicit and explicit memory was
impacted by video game play. In particular, participants
had better performance on an implicit memory task for
brands that appeared in the game in which they had
just played, as compared to those that either played a
different game in which the brands did not appear, or
compared to those who did not play the game at all.
Additionally, the results suggested that while explicit
memory was impacted, the recognition rates were rela-
tively low (Yang et al., 2006). These results would sug-
gest that brand placement within a video game is
impacting the game players memory and ability to rec-
ognize brands that appeared in the game.
While previous research has focused on recall of
and consumer attitudes towards in-game advertis-
ing, a new line of sport video game research has
emerged that attempts to examine the psychological
and consumptive behaviors of sport video gamers.
While previous research has focused on recall of and
consumer attitudes toward in-game advertising, a new
line of sport video game research has emerged that
attempts to examine the psychological and consump-
tive behaviors of sport video gamers. This research has
been developed in an attempt to understand why con-
sumers play sport video games, game player character-
istics, and to legitimize targeting sport fans through
brand placement within sport video games. Kim and
Ross (2006) developed a scale to determine what moti-
vated sport video gamers to engage in game play.
Using a Uses and Gratifications framework, they con-
ducted focus groups to determine the primary reasons
why individuals play sport video games and to develop
survey items for these primary dimensions. Following
the focus groups these motives were then measured in
a survey of 207 individuals to assess sport video game
play motivations. The resulting Sport Video Gamer
Motivation Scale (SVGMS) suggests there are seven
prevailing motivations; identification with sport, enter-
Volume 17 Number 4 2008 Sport Marketing Quarterly 203
tainment, fantasy, knowledge application, social inter-
action, competition, and diversion.
Finally, as corporations begin to target sport fans
through brand placement within sport video games it
is necessary to understand the characteristics of these
sport video game players. In order to examine the psy-
chological and consumptive behaviors of sport video
gamers, Kim, Walsh, and Ross (2008) surveyed 239
gamers from four popular online video game websites.
The survey included questions designed to measure the
sport consumptive behavior of the game players (e.g.,
how often they watched sports on TV, read the sports
paper, played sports, visited a sport news website), how
often gamers engaged in game play, and their level of
psychological commitment with sport. The results sug-
gest that the majority of heavy gamers are highly iden-
tified sport fans who engage in more sport
consumptive behavior than light gamers, who also had
significantly lower levels of identification. These find-
ings are important as they suggest that those playing
sport video games are sport fans, and that in-game
brand placement may represent a viable tool to reach
the loyal sport fan.
Purpose
While the use of video games and sport video games
specifically as a marketing tactic is now starting to gar-
ner some attention, surprisingly little empirical
research has been conducted to legitimize this practice,
particularly as it relates to the effectiveness of in-game
branding as compared to more traditional mediums.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the
brand awareness (recall and recognition) of brands
within sport video games as compared to the aware-
ness of brands appearing in a televised sports contest.
In particular, this study compared recall and recogni-
tion of the brands within the EA Sports NASCAR Total
Team Control video game and the 2006 NASCAR USG
Sheetrock 400 race that aired on the FOX television
network on July 9, 2006.
Method
Participants and Procedures
In a lab setting for a NASCAR-themed video game and
a televised NASCAR race, an experiment was conduct-
ed with 72 undergraduate students enrolled at a large
Midwestern university in the United States. Using a
convenience sampling technique, subjects were recruit-
ed through classroom announcements that asked for
study volunteers. To promote incidental learning dur-
ing the experiment the intent of the study was con-
cealed from the subjects. Once consent was provided
each subject was randomly assigned to one of two
experimental groups. In the videogame group (n=34), SPSS 14.0. In preparation for data analysis, the brand
subjects were asked to play a 15-minute segment of a recall and recognition rates were calculated for each
sport video game, which included practice time, quali- respondent by subtracting the number of incorrect
fying, and the race. In similar vein, subjects in the tele- responses from the total number of brands recalled or
vision group (n=38) were asked to watch a 15-minute recognized. To describe the demographic information,
segment of an actual NASCAR race. Following the sub- frequencies and descriptive statistics were used. One-
jects exposure to either the video game or the race they way ANOVA tests were then performed to test the sta-
were asked to complete a survey designed to measure tistical difference of recall/recognition rates of the
brand recall and recognition. It is important to note brands that appeared in the televised race and the
that all members of the video game experimental group video game (presentation modes). Prior to testing the
played with the same car and track during the 15 recall/recognition rates among the presentation modes,
minute time. Similarly, the television experimental ANCOVA tests were performed to examine the effects
group watched an actual race from the same track rep- of the presentation mode on the recall and recognition
resented in the video game experimental setting. rates, with the volume of consumption of televised
sport and the level of identification defined as covari-
Measures ates. For analysis, summated scores were computed for
Brand name recall and recognition measures were the respondents identification level.
adapted from those used in previous studies to assess
consumer awareness of sponsorship and commercials Results
(Cuneen & Hannan, 1993; Miloch & Lambrecht, 2006;
Pitts, 1998; Sandage, 1983). In order to asses recall, Sample Characteristics
subjects were first asked to list as many brands as pos- In terms of the overall sample, the majority of the
sible from memory immediately following video game respondents (79.2%) were between 18 and 24 years of
play or after having watched the televised race through age, while 19.5% of the respondents were between 25
an open-ended question format. The number of and 29 years old. The gender distribution of respon-
brands recalled correctly by any one subject became dents was 23.6% female and 76.4% male, with 91.7%
the measure of unaided recall (recall scores for sub- of the respondents indicating that they were single.
jects). Next, subjects were given a list of 10 brand
names that included five actual brands that appeared
Table 1.
during the televised race or within the video game, as Demographics of subjects
well as five brands not appearing in either setting.
Respondents were then asked to indicate brands to Demographic Information Total(%)
which they had been exposed (Cuneen & Hannan,
1993; Pitts, 1998; Sandage, 1983; Slattery & Pitts, Sex
2002). The number of brand names correctly identified Female 17(23.6)
by a subject became the measure of recognition (recog- Male 55(76.4)
nition scores for subjects). These measures were Age
administered in the order shown above because prior < 20 15(20.8)
exposure to the recognition measures could lead to 20-24 42(58.4)
contamination in the recall data (Singh & Rothschild, 25-29 14(19.5)
1983). In addition to the recall and recognition testing, 30 < 1(1.4)
the participants level of identification and volume of Marital Status
sport consumption (e.g., watching sporting events on Single 66(91.7)
TV) were collected and presumed to be potential Married 5(6.9)
covariates. A four-item identification scale validated in Divorced 1(1.4)
previous research was utilized to measure identifica- Ethnicity
tion (James & Ross, 2002; Trail, Anderson, & Fink, Black/African American 4(5.6)
2005; Trail & James, 2001), while sport consumption Hispanic 1(1.4)
was measured by asking respondents to list how many White/Caucasian 56(81.2)
hours per week they watched NASCAR on TV. Asian or Pacific Islander 6(8.7)
Other 2(2.9)
Data Analysis
The information from the completed surveys was Note: Percentages may not add to 100 % due to
entered into a computer database and analyzed using rounding.

204 Volume 17 Number 4 2008 Sport Marketing Quarterly

The majority of the respondents (81.2%) were
White/Caucasian, with 8.7% of the respondents indi-
cating Asian/Pacific Islander decent, and 5.6% indicat-
ing Black/African American (see Table 1).
Brand Recall
Prior to testing brand recall rates, ANCOVAs were per-
formed to examine the effects of the presentation
mode on the recall rates with the volume of consump-
tion of televised sport and the level of identification
defined as covariates. The results revealed there were
no significant main effects of the level of identification
(F(1,68) = .25, p = .618, 2 = .004) and the volume of
sport consumption (F(1,68) = 1.24, p = .269, 2 = .018)
on the recall rates. After determining that the two
covariates had no significant impact, recall rates
between the two presentation modes were examined.
Nearly all (97.1%) of the television setting group
along with the majority (85.3% ) of the video game
setting group correctly recalled at least one brand after
the treatment. In addition, 76.3% and 41.2% correctly
recalled five or more brands in the television and video
game settings, respectively. The results of the ANOVA
test revealed a significant difference in recall rates
based on presentation modes (see Table 2). Brands in
the television setting (M= 6.34, SD= 2.22) were
recalled more than in the videogame setting (M = 4.26,
SD = 2.79), t (70) = - 3.51, p =.001). Controlling for
the two covariates, presentation mode had significant
main effects on the number of recalled brands (F(1,68)
= 16.65, p = .000, 2 = .20). In addition, comparisons
between the number of brands correctly recalled across
the two groups indicated that those in the TV setting
correctly recalled (M = 5.79) a significantly higher (p
=.000) number of brands than the video game group
(M = 3.71). However, the number of brands incorrect-
ly recalled was not significantly different between two
presentation modes (p = .283).
Brand Recognition
In terms of recognition rates, 82.4% and 81.6% of sub-
jects correctly recognized at least one of five sponsors in
the television and video game settings, respectively.
Additionally, 67.6% and 55.3% recognized two or more
sponsors in the television setting and video game set-
ting, respectively. The ANCOVA results revealed there

Table 2.
Comparison of Recall across Presentation Modes (Means and SD)
Video Game Setting Television Setting p-value

Brands recalled 4.26 6.34 .001

(2.79) (2.22)

Brands recalled correctly 3.71 5.79 .000

(2.44) (2.44)

Brands recalled incorrectly 0.56 .037 2.83

(.86) (.59)

Table 3.
Comparison of Recognition across Presentation Modes (Means and SD)
Video Game Setting Television Setting p-value

Brands recognized 2.79 2.82 .961

(1.86) (1.92)

Brands recognized correctly 1.85 1.63 .424

(1.18) (1.15)

Brands recognized incorrectly 0.94 1.18 .348

(1.07) (1.11)

Volume 17 Number 4 2008 Sport Marketing Quarterly 205

were no significant main effects of the level of identifi-
cation (p = .644) and the volume of sport consumption
(p = .172) on the recognition rates. Subjects in the
video game setting accurately recognized an average of
1.85 of the actual brand names, as compared to those in
the TV setting who had a correct recognition rate of an
average of 1.63 brand names (see Table 3). However,
while there were differences between the experimental
groups on average number of brands recognized cor-
rectly, the results of the ANOVA test indicated no sig-
nificant difference between the experimental
environments (p = .381). Additionally, the results from
comparisons of brands incorrectly recognized reveal
that there was no significant difference between the TV
group and the video game group (p = .424).
Discussion and Implications
This study represented a first attempt to determine if
differences exist between the brand awareness levels
among a televised sports event and a sport video game.
The findings indicated that significant differences exist
between the two mediums. It is anticipated that the
resulting data derived from this study will spark future
research in this growing area of sport marketing and
brand management, while providing practical implica-
tions for organizations considering brand placement
strategies.
When examining brand recall, the more traditional
presentation mode of brand placement within a tele-
vised sports contest generated a significantly higher
number of correct responses. On average those that
watched the televised race correctly recalled nearly six
brands (M=5.79), while those that participated in
video game play correctly recalled just under four
brands on average (M=3.71). This result suggests that
if an organization was looking to make an immediate
impact on their brand awareness levels through some
form of sport media, then brand placement within a
televised contest would be superior to that of a sports
videogame. However, the current study did not take
into account outside factors such as television ratings
and number of video game units sold. Therefore, all
else being equal, these findings suggest that an organi-
zation looking to create awareness for their brand
among sport fans should engage in brand placement
activities with a televised sport as opposed to a sports
video game. This strategy would allow corporations to
make better use of limited resources when attempting
to successfully reach the desired target market.
Interestingly, no significant differences were found in
the recognition of brands that appeared in the televised
race (M=1.63) and the NASCAR-themed video game
(M=1.85). At first glance this result may not seem logi-
cal given that differences did occur for sponsor recall
206 Volume 17 Number 4 2008 Sport Marketing Quarterly
and not for sponsorship recognition; however, the lim-
ited capacity model (Lang, 2000) may provide some
explanation for the results. The limited capacity model
posits that individuals are information processors in
that they receive stimuli, create a mental picture of
these stimuli, expend some mental resources on these
representations, and then reproduce these mental
images in some form (Lang, 2000). The model further
assumes that individuals only have a limited amount of
resources to contribute to this process, and at some
point there is a threshold at which new information will
no longer be able to be processed (Lang, 2000).
In order to asses recall, subjects were first asked to
list as many brands as possible from memory
immediately following video game play or after
having watched the televised race through an
open-ended question format.
As brand recall is unaided, more mental resources
are expended by an individual in order to recall a
brand as opposed to simply recognizing that they were
exposed to a brand name. In addition, the participants
in the video game group had the extra mental burden
of having to manipulate the game controller to
advance throughout the video game, while those in the
television group had few competitors for their atten-
tion and as such may have been able to devote more
attention to the brands that appeared during the tele-
vised race. This aspect of user control could negatively
impact the respondents ability to recognize and recall
the brands that appeared in the video game (Eveland &
Dunwoody, 2001; Southwell & Lee, 2004; Southwell,
2005). Therefore, it is possible that recall was higher
for those in the television group given they did not
have the extra mental processing burden as those
respondents in the videogame group setting. However,
the fact that there was no significant difference in the
recognition of the brands would indicate that the
respondents had the ability to both manipulate the
game controller and still be able to process enough
information in order to properly recognize sponsors
within the video game.
This finding is important as the potential benefit of
brand placement within sport video games is not neces-
sarily the initial exposure to the brand, but rather the
potential repeated exposure over multiple interactions
with the game. While the potential exists that viewers
may watch a sporting event more than once, or be
exposed to it through other forms of media, in most
instances a televised sports contest will be watched only
once for a few hours. However, game players will inter-
act with the game on multiple occasions. Through this
repeated exposure with the game, negative effects of
having to manipulate the game controller will lessen as
the individual becomes more familiar with the device
(Eveland & Dunwoody, 2001). Thus, the game player
will have to devote less mental processing to manipu-
late the game controller and will then have the ability to
process more of the brand messages that appear
throughout the game. As such, this repetitive game
play, and subsequent exposure to the brands embedded
within the game may have an incremental positive
effect on the game players level of brand awareness
(Singh & Cole, 1993; Newell & Henderson, 1998).
However, further testing should be conducted to exam-
ine this potential relationship as at some point the
incremental exposure may not produce significantly
higher levels of brand awareness. For example, Singh
and Cole (1993) determined that brand awareness
increased when exposed to a brand message four times
as opposed to one time. However, there were no signifi-
cant differences in awareness when exposed to the mes-
sage eight times versus four times (Singh & Cole, 1993).
. . . the results of this study would support the
notion that in-game placement is a viable tool for
corporations.
While there is some support for the concept that the
repeated exposure to brands within the video games
could produce increased levels of awareness, this
would still need to be compared to the awareness levels
of the televised contest to determine which method is
most effective. However, the results of this study would
support the notion that in-game placement is a viable
tool for corporations. The fact that brand placement
within video games could have a meaningful impact is
particularly important for those who wish to target
sport fans or impact their brand by associating with a
sport team, league, or athlete. These results suggest
that this could represent an alternative strategy to
become affiliated with a sport or an athlete, or act as
another potential leveraging opportunity for brands
that are currently affiliated with a particular property.
Limitations and Future Research
This study was the first to examine the differences in
recall and recognition between brands appearing in a
sports video game and brands appearing in a live tele-
vised sports event. The results of the study provide
benchmark data from which future studies can be
developed; however, as with all studies several limita-
tions must be acknowledged. First, this study was con-
ducted with only one type of sports event, a NASCAR
race, and one NASCAR-themed video game. Future
research should consider replicating this study with dif-
ferent types of sporting events and sport video games
Volume 17 Number 4 2008 Sport Marketing Quarterly 207
that emulate other sport leagues (e.g., NFL, NBA,
MLB). Understanding these results will allow for deter-
mination as to what games and sport properties pro-
vide the best opportunities to impact brand awareness.
It is also important to note that this study was limit-
ed to the initial exposure of watching one 15-minute
segment of the live televised race and one 15-minute
game play session. It is possible that the results could
be different if a fan were to watch the entire race, or
play the sport video game for more time and more ses-
sions. The unique characteristic of the sport video
game play experience is that it is repetitive, while
watching a sports event is typically a one-time con-
sumption experience. The potential exists to conduct
studies that examine repeat exposure to both the live
sporting event and the video game to determine if dif-
ferences exist in recall and recognition rates. In addi-
tion, this study did not control for the location of the
brand messages and the number of brands embedded
within the video game and the televised broadcast.
Thus, future research should examine these two poten-
tially important constructs. Also, as this was the first
study of this kind it was exploratory by nature. As
such, the sample size was limited to 74 participants,
and future studies should include more participants in
an effort to enhance the implications of the study.
Future research should also directly examine the
impact that user manipulation of the game controller
has on recall and recognition. Studies should be con-
ducted to measure game player comfort level with the
game controller, perceived game play expertise, and the
amount of attention devoted to manipulating the con-
troller. This would then allow for determination if recall
and recognition levels will be different for individuals
with varying levels of game play and controller expertise.
Finally, while recall and recognition are important fac-
tors in the evaluation of brand management strategies
they do not solely determine their success or failure.
Other factors such as image enhancement and purchase
intentions are examples of additional outcomes that
corporations may wish to achieve through brand place-
ment within a sporting event or sport video game.
Future research should determine if there are differences
in these outcomes between brands that appear during
an actual sports event and brands that are placed within
sport video games.
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