Consumer Perceptions and Attitudes toward SMS Advertising: Recent Evidence from New Zealand

Purpose - To investigate consumer perceptions and attitudes towards mobile advertising via SMS.

Design/methodology/approach - Provides background information on mobile marketing and consumer perceptions of the advertising medium. Drawing on the Barnes and Scornavacca (2004) model, investigates a number of factors, which are believed to be the most important variables influencing consumer acceptance (user permission, wireless service provider control and brand trust). Outlines how qualitative focus groups and cross-sectional questionnaires were used to explore perceptions of mobile advertising and to test 16 propositions.

Findings - Reveals how a number of factors were found to be significant in consumer acceptance of mobile advertising; highlights how explicit permission and appropriate delivery were essential; puts forward that the control of the wireless service provider had the least impact on consumer acceptance; points to the fact that the brand being marketed had little effect on message acceptance.

Research limitations/implications - Tests only three variables; adopt a longitudinal research design.

Practical implications - Marketers should be cautious around factors that may determine consumer acceptance; focus on the relevance of the content, timeliness and frequency of the delivery of marketing messages.

Originality/value - Contributes to the literature examining wireless marketing.