In-Game Brand Collaborations: Consumer Psychology and Behavioral Impacts

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-801-6_112How to use a DOI?

Keywords

In-game Brand Collaborations; Consumer Psychology; Ideal Self-identification; Virtual Avatars; Social Comparison

Abstract

This article undertakes a thorough and systematic assessment of the influence of brand collaborations within games on consumer psychology and behavioral patterns. This article fills the important research gap identified by the disorganized nature of previous research. By thoroughly synthesizing the existing body of research literature, two primary psychological constructs are identified: “the identification of the ideal self through virtual avatars” and “social comparison and virtual goods as status symbols and scarcity-induced conspicuous consumption and belonging”. The three brand strategy insights are: “product attributes directly influence brand coolness and value,” “experiential dimensions such as enjoyment and self-expression are the foundation of brand loyalty,” and “avatars act as a psychological bridge between brand meaning and personal identity construction.” The article also employs a methodological approach in which the supply-side game-theoretic, and the demand-side social psychological theories are integrated. The research findings are also presented in the article. These research findings are: “the gamification effect varies significantly depending on the characteristics of the group,” “the value delivery mechanism is different for luxury and functional brands,” and “mainstream and non-mainstream groups have different perceptions of social evaluations.” The article concludes with a recommendation for further research on the research findings, and a suggestion for the brand community to “move beyond brand placement and value co-creation via identity resources and conspicuous consumption psychology.”

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Jingying Zhang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/23
TI  - In-Game Brand Collaborations: Consumer Psychology and Behavioral Impacts
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 2nd International Conference on Financial Innovation and Marketing Management (FIMM 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1079
EP  - 1088
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-801-6_112
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-801-6_112
ID  - Zhang2026
ER  -