This study conducts a systematic literature review to provide a comprehensive and updated understanding of gamification in advertising. It addresses the limitations of earlier reviews that narrowly focused on specific formats such as advergames or discrete elements like product placement.
The review follows a rigorous methodology, drawing on 115 peer-reviewed articles sourced from Web of Science and Scopus. A hybrid approach combines qualitative synthesis with data mining techniques to analyze thematic patterns, theoretical underpinnings and methodological trends. The review leads to the development of an integrative research framework and a future research agenda.
The review identifies 12 thematic areas and organizes the findings across theory, characteristics and methodology. Limited capacity models and the Persuasion Knowledge Model are prominent theoretical foundations, while experimental approaches dominate the research designs. The synthesis informs an integrative framework and a research agenda addressing theoretical integration, broader samples and gaming contexts and methodological diversification.
This paper provides a foundational synthesis of gamification in advertising, bridging conceptual gaps and offering structured guidance for scholars and practitioners. It sets a solid foundation for future studies by clarifying the field's structure and highlighting emerging opportunities.
