Article Review #3: Introduction to the special issue on aesthetics, images and vision

Article 5: Introduction to the special issue on aesthetics, images and vision by Jonathan Schroeder

This short article raised interesting considerations of the impact of aesthetics, images and vision in the experience economy. Although they are indirectly related to the topic of my research, however they are directly related to the industry I am researching – mobile games, and placement of marketing communication in mobile environment. Some of the topics that raised my eyebrows include the legal and ethical implications of image representation to consumers (misrepresentation? ethical?), cultural influence in aesthetic values (does it matter in the virtual world or must they be cultural sensitive like in physical world?). In addition, the topic also raised other thoughts in my research area – in the virtual world, do gamers (consumers) view aesthetics, images and vision in the same way as they see / interpret in the physical world? Do these elements influence their consumption or buying behavior in the virtual and/or real world? Does the choice of aesthetic and images affect the gamers’ (i.e. consumers) perception to that firm and its brand? These may be interesting questions to be answered in the research phase where I will work with a company, its marketer and a team of game developers to experiment the impact of in-game advertisement on the gamers’ consumer behavior.