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A project Report on TO STUDY CUSTOMERS ATTITUDE TOWARDS MOBILE ADVERTISING

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE COURSE OF MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2010-2012)

VIKAS DOGRA MBA ( B & I) ROLL NO : 13094

University Institute of Applied Management Sciences, P.U

CERTIFICATE FROM THE CANDIDATE

I, .................................student of MBA (.......................) Roll No. . do hereby certify that the Project work titled ............. ...........................................................................is a bonafide work carried out by me.

Signature of the candidate: ______________________ Name: _____________________ Branch: ___________________ Roll No.____________________ DATE: _____________ PLACE: ____________

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CERTIFICATE FROM THE GUIDE

This is to certify that the project work titled ........................ ................................................. ...................................................................................... is a bonafide work carried out by ................ .............. .............. Roll No. ................................................ a candidate for the MBA......................................................................examination of the University Institute of Applied Management Sciences under my guidance and direction.

SIGNATURE OF GUIDE NAME: DESIGNATION: NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION: ADDRESS:

DATE: PLACE:

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I am very grateful to my project-guide Dr.Arunachal Khosla for encouraging me to take up a project on CUSTOMERS ATTITUDE TOWARDS MOBILE ADVERTISING. It was a very enlightening project. It gave me a practical understanding about the subject. The guidance that was provided from time to time helped me to keep track record of the project in proper order

I am heartily thankful to Mr. Vivek Gill for his kind and valuable support for providing me detailed information regarding my project and to extend his cooperation. And also thankful to all faculty members for their kind support.

Last but not the least; I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the faculty members who have taught me in my entire MBA curriculum and to our Director Prof. Sanjeev Sharma who has always been a source of guidance, inspiration and motivation.

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CONTENTS

Chapter No. I II III IV V

Title Introduction Literature Review Research Methodology Data Analysis Conclusion References

Page no. 6-20 21-22 23-27 28-41 42-47 48

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INTRODUCTION
The rapid proliferation of mobile phones and other mobile devices has created a new channel for marketing. The use of Short Messaging Service to access customers through their handheld devices is gaining popularity, making the mobile phone the ultimate medium for one-to-one marketing. The high penetration rate of mobile phones has resulted in the increasing use of handheld devices to deliver advertisements for products and services. Short Messaging Service (SMS), in particular, has been very successful. The rising popularity of SMS has created a new channel for advertising, called mobile advertising. Ads are rendered as short textual messages and sent to mobile phones. The growth of mobile advertising has opened a new area for research. For instance, given its limited textual presentation, will this new medium have the same effect as other media? What do consumers think about SMS-based advertisements? What mechanisms would be more effective for advertising? A better understanding of these issues is critical to the effective use of mobile advertising. It is especially important to know how consumers feel about the ads delivered to their mobile phones. Public attitudes toward advertising have been a focus of attention for a long time. Although some earlier literature reported positive attitudes toward advertising, most of the more recent researchers have found that consumers generally have negative attitudes toward ads. At the same time, however, Internet advertising seems to generate positive consumer attitudes. This is because Internet advertising is often thought to be informative and entertaining. Given the difference between consumer responses to general advertising and to advertising over the Internet, it is unclear how consumers feel about advertising messages on their mobile phones and how their attitudes affect their behavior

ADVERTISING VIA MOBILE DEVICES


Kotler defines advertising as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor . Advertising via mobile devices or mobile advertising (in the following abbreviated as advertising via mobile devices) is defined as the usage of interactive wireless media (such as cellular phones and pagers, cordless telephones,
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personal digital assistants, two-way radios, baby crib monitors, wireless networking systems, GPS-based locators and maps) to transmit advertising messages to consumers in form of time and location sensitive, personalized information with the overall goal to promote goods and services. There are different synonyms for advertising via mobile devices, such as wireless advertising or wireless advertising messaging . Usually, mobile advertising messages are transmitted via short message service (SMS). Mobile advertising allows marketers to exploit the mediums unique features in order to customized their messages to consumers attributes. Good marketing management emphasizes the building of long term relationships . Mobile advertising can support these goals in various ways because it allows reciprocal communication processes between marketer and consumers. As more wireless bandwidth will be available, content rich advertising involving audio, pictures, and video clips can be produced for individual users with specific needs, interests, and inclinations . It is therefore assumed that mobile advertising will be also an important revenue source for mobile operators in the future

ANTECENDENTS OF ATTITUDE TOWARD ADVERTISING VIA MOBILE DEVICES


Advertising Value of Mobile Marketing Advertising value is a measure for advertising

effectiveness and may serve as an index of customer satisfaction with the communication products of organizations. It is defined as a subjective evaluation of the relative worth or utility of advertising to consumers. A value can be described as an enduring belief that a specific conduct or state is personally-psychologically or socially-culturally preferable to a converse mode of conduct or an opposite end state of existence Value potentially derives from the expectations about an offering itself, from experiences accompanying the exchange, and from the residual of having engaged in behaviors necessary to achieve the exchange. Hence, value can reflect the worth of the element itself as well as the experience associated with the transaction. Values are the basis of actions, attitudes, and judgments in advertising as well as in other aspects of social life . Advertising value of web advertising has shown to have a significant influence on attitude toward web advertising . We thus conclude that a highly perceived value of advertising
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via mobile devices also reflects positively on the consumers attitude toward advertising via mobile devices.

Characteristics of Message Content Entertainment: Entertainment of advertising information is significantly related to advertising value of traditional advertising. A high degree of pleasure and involvement during interaction with computer-based media leads to concurrent subjective perceptions of positive affect and mood of the consumer . Peoples feeling of enjoyment associated with advertisements play the greatest role in accounting for their overall attitudes toward them. Entertainment denotes its full ability to fulfill consumers needs for escapism, diversion, aesthetic enjoyment or emotional release. Entertainment is also a crucial factor for mobile marketing. It is essential that the message is concise and funny, and thus immediately captures consumers attention . Entertainment services can increase customer loyalty and add value for the customer. As most people have a natural playfulness, providing games and prizes via text messaging (SMS) yields high participation. Delivering games and prizes to the customers cell phone is a successful way to attract and keep customers. Interactive games for example can also be played via text messages. These features can be used to involve customers more deeply and make them more familiar with the advertised service or product . Therefore we conclude that an entertaining advertising message is being perceived more positive by the recipient.

Informativeness The quality of information placed on a companys web site shows a direct influence on the customers perceptions of the company and the companys products. Accordingly, information delivered to them via mobile devices also needs to show qualitative features like accuracy, timeliness, and usefulness for the consumer . Apart from this, the user needs quick access to the information he is looking for his/her current content of use. There is even the possibility that information may be delivered automatically to the consumer. In any event, consumers want the content of mobile services to be tailored to their interest. On top of this, they are interested in
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getting messages that are relevant for them. Information is thus considered a very valuable incentive in mobile marketing because recipients react very positively to advertisement that transfer incentives. Not surprisingly, informativeness of advertising information is therefore strongly related to the advertising value when it is transferred via traditional media vehicles

Irritation Indignity people feel when being addressed by advertisements has a very great influence on peoples attitude toward advertising . When advertising employs techniques that annoy, offend, insult or are overly manipulative, consumers are likely to perceive it as unwanted and irritating influence. Mobile advertising may provide an array of information that confuses the recipient and can be distracting and overwhelming the consumer with information. Consumers may feel confused about them and react negatively. Another point of possible annoyance are unwanted messages, commonly known as spam. Spam intrudes into consumers privacy and stifle consumer acceptance. We therefore conclude that irritation caused by an incomprehensive or unwanted mobile advertising message may reflect negatively on the perceived advertising value of mobile marketing.

Credibility:

Advertising credibility turned out to be significantly relevant to advertising value of web advertising (Brackett and Carr, 2001). Credibility of an advertisement is influenced by different factors, especially by the companys credibility and the bearer of the message. But it is also influenced by the advertising medium. For example, it was found out that a message on the Internet achieves less credibility than a printed message unless the message is communicated by a strong brand. There is no empirical evidence on the overall credibility of messages transferred to mobile devices and their influencing factors. Considering the findings cited above we conclude that the credibility of a mobile advertising message has a positive influence on consumers attitude toward advertising via mobile devices and on the perceived advertising value of the consumer

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Frequency of Exposure The number of advertising messages received via mobile devices is an important factor that influences the advertising value for the consumer . Informativeness and entertainment of advertising information should decline with repetition because the information will be learned by the audience and thereby lessening its value . As the quantity of promotional message rises, the attitude of the individual towards the promotional vehicle also worsens and leads to tedium from consumers point of view . Frequency of exposure of an advertising message is negatively correlated with a positive attitude toward advertising via mobile devices. Frequency of exposure of an advertising message is negatively correlated with a high advertising value.

Consumer
Consumer Attitude toward Privacy

Privacy refers to the degree to which personal information is not known by others. Customer privacy has always been a critical issue in marketing, but has assumed a greater significance in recent years with the rise of Internet-based commercial transactions. Most consumers are still quite uncomfortable with the concept of mobile business and they are sceptical whether these businesses are feasible and secure. Originally meant to connect the world of business, the mobile phone has been increasingly applied by private households and therewith entered the domestic sphere. Accordingly, the mobile phone has changed its identity: it has lost its internal coherence and its connotations of being a mobile technology. Consumers regard their mobile phone a very private item. Mobile technologies are considered personal technologies, attached to a particular body or person. Consequently, they are very sensitive about receiving messages from unknown persons or organizations. Data control by unknown individuals can easily lead to annoyance among receivers. Moreover, advertising via electronic communications media like telephone, fax or e-mail is prohibited by law in several Western European countries unless the

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consumer agrees explicitly to receive the message. Privacy issues are therefore very important when using mobile devices in addressing the consumers. This calls for application of permission marketing. Before receiving advertising messages via a mobile device, consumers need to empower a marketer to send promotional messages in certain interest categories to them. Typically, this is done by asking the consumer to fill out a survey indicating his or her interest when registering for a service. After that, the marketer can match advertising messages with the interests of the consumer . These processes allow a new kind of interactivity, which often leads to marketers collecting, compiling, and using information about customers Relevance of privacy is negatively correlated with a positive attitude toward advertising via mobile devices. Relevance of privacy is negatively correlated with a high advertising value Relevant Demographic Variables Besides the above-mentioned influencing factors that are mainly related to the message and its attributes itself as well as to related privacy issues, we also assume that demographic variables also can affect perceived advertising value and attitude toward advertising.

Age: Generally, young people are heavy users of mobile services. For them mobile devices have become as much as a fashion accessory as they are a communication device. Younger consumers also show a more favorable attitude toward traditional advertising in a number of dimensions. They like looking at ads and they feel more comfortable when doing so. Not surprisingly, they also show a very positive attitude toward mobile ads, whereas older consumers are also positive about mobile ads, but more prudent. Considering these facts we come to the conclusion that younger consumers value advertising messages via mobile devices to a higher extent than older consumers and also show a more positive attitude toward them. Age of the consumer is negatively correlated with a positive attitude toward advertising via mobile devices. Age of the consumer is negatively correlated with a high advertising value.

Gender: Gender has shown to be relevant in forming overall attitudes on mobile phones. Women and men perceive mobile phones and their usage differently. The role of the mobile
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phone differs between genders. Generally male consumers show a more favourable attitude toward ads than female consumers. Since there is so far no research done on the attitude of the genders toward advertising via mobile devices, we can only conclude that there are differences in their attitude toward this form of marketing and its value. Attitudes toward advertising via mobile devices differ between men and women. Advertising value differs between men and women. Education

As educational level increases, the level of negative attitude toward mobile phones increases also. These findings are supported by writers who consider economic conditions as an influencing factor on adoption and usage of mobile phones. Persons with less education and lower income generally report a more favorable attitude toward advertising in general. We therefore conclude that interviewees with a higher level of education show a more negative attitude toward advertising via mobile devices and perceive a lower value. A high level of education is negatively correlated with a positive attitude toward advertising via mobile devices A high level of education is negatively correlated with a high advertising value.

Mobile as a media
This unobtrusive two-way communications caught the attention of media industry and advertisers as well as cellphone makers and telecom operators. Eventually, SMS became a new media - called the seventh mass media channel by several media and mobile experts - and even more, it is a two-way mobile media, as opposed to one-way immobile media like radios, newspapers and TV. Besides, the immediacy of responsiveness in this two-way media is a new territory found for media industry and advertisers, who are eager to measure up market response immediately. Additionally, the possibility of fast delivery of the messages and the ubiquity of the technology (it does not require any additional functionality from the mobile phone, all devices
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available today are capable of receiving SMS), make it ideal for time- and location-sensitive advertising, such as customer loyalty offers (ex. shopping centres, large brand stores), SMS promotions of events, etc. To leverage this strength of SMS advertising, timely and reliable delivery of messages is paramount, which is guaranteed by some SMS gateway providers. Mobile media has begun to draw more significant attention from media giants and advertising industry since the mid-2000s, based on a view that mobile media was to change the way advertisements were made, and that mobile devices can form a new media sector. Despite this, revenues are still a small fraction of the advertising industry as a whole but are most certainly on the rise.Mobile advertising in 2007 was worth $2.2 billion. This is less than 0.5% of the approximately $450 billion global advertising industry Types of mobile advertising are expected to change rapidly. In other words, mobile technology will come up with a strong push for identifying newer and unheard-of mobile multimedia, with the result that subsequent media migration will greatly stimulate a consumer behavioral shift and establish a paradigm shift in mobile advertising. A major media migration is on, as desktop Internet evolves into mobile Internet. One typical case in point is Nielsens recent buyout of Telephia However it should be kept in mind that the rapid change in the technology used by mobile advertisers can also have adverse effect to the number of consumers being reached by the mobile advertisements, due to technical limitations of their mobile devices. Because of that, campaigns that aim to achieve wide response or are targeting lower income groups might be better off relying on older, more widespread mobile advertising technologies, such as SMS.

Viral marketing As mobile is an interactive mass media similar to the internet, advertisers are eager to utilize and make use of it [viral marketing] methods, by which one recipient of an advertisement on mobile, will forward that to a friend. This allows users to become part of the advertising experience. At the bare minimum mobile ads with viral abilities can become powerful interactive campaigns. At the extreme, they can become engagement marketing experiences. A key element of mobile

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marketing campaigns is the most influential member of any target audience or community, which is called the alpha user

PERCEPTIONS AND PREFERENCES OF MOBILE ADVERTISING IN INDIA


Penetration of mobile phone world over is growing at an exponential rate. This medium provides interesting opportunities for advertising to a marketer. Developing economies like India has leap frogged in newer technological acceptance which is evident from the fact that mobile phones have penetrated rural India too. In India there are 300 million mobile subscribers. Most handsets in India currently support basic web browsing. This brings the advertisers an opportunity to go where nothing else can reach particularly reaching the rural belt. Mobile advertising is a form of advertising via mobile (wireless) phones or mobile devices. Thus advertising appearing on mobile phones, laptops, dash tops including GPS navigation satellite radio and WIMAX enabled dash top payment are mobile advertising. It is also defined as a digital media exposed on a mobile advice. It is estimated that of total advertising expenditure about 1% is allocated to mobile advertising. Characteristics of the medium 1. Reach: as the penetration is expanding rapidly this medium is providing instant reach. In

india the mobile subscribers are growing substantially. Particularly in rural areas where internet penetration has not occurred mobile advertising has made inroads. 2. Immediacy : with the possibility of building interactive features on mobile advertising it

may prompt a mobile user to act immediately/instantly. As a result it provides a chance to convert mobile into transaction immediately. 3. Mobility and ubiquity: mobile is carried everywhere hence it provides unmatched

mobility and access.


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4.

Interactivity: new generation of mobile phones have interactive capabilities which

enables mobile advertising to build in such features for mobile user involvement. It facilitates unobstrusive two way communication. 5. Intimate and personal: it is possible for a marketer to send personal, useful and relevant

messages. It is very effective efor promotional activities like sending m-coupons or special discounts. Real time triggers such as billing triggers, location triggers and voice application triggers can be used through mobile alerts. 6. Multiple touch points: as newer generatiobs of mobile phones and other such devices

offer multiple mobile delivery channels like web browsing, audio/video streaming, audio/video download, messaging, voice etc multiple touch poinys can be used to reinforce a message and lead a user from awareness to action stage relatively quicker then the traditional advertising mediums. 7. Targeting: a marketer can take precise marketing or precise targeting by analyzing mobile

user profiles through vast storehouse of knowledge.

Types of mobile ads Mobile advertising received on mobile phones are of following type 1. 2. 3. Mobile web banner (top of the page) Mobile web poster (bottom of the page) SMS (short message service) advertising.

Other forms include 1. 2. 3. MMS (multimedia message service) advertising Advertising within mobile games and mobile videos. During mobile TV receipt.

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4.

Full screen interstices which appear while a requested mobile page or web page is

loading 5. 6. Audio advertisements that can take the form of a jingle before a voicemail message. An audio recording playing while interacting with a telephone based service such as

movie ticketing or directory services.

Mobile advertisements can be further classified into on device displays and off device displays On device mobile display advertising may be in the form of text ads, graphical banners, graphical banners with links, video pre roll or traditional TV commercials at standard length. Such ads may range from a pure brand building ads to direct response ads. Off device mobile advertising may take the following form: mobile coupons to help a receiver to drive point of sale, mobile PINS to help drive webpages, mobile ticketing to help drive to an event or mobile option to an onward going customer relationship management.

Attitudes Toward Advertising in General


Consumer attitudes toward advertising in general have long been found to benegative. attitudes toward advertising became increasingly negative after the 1970s. Early surveys of consumer attitudes revealed somewhat positive results. A majority of respondents liked advertising and found it to be informative. More people held favorable attitudes toward advertising than unfavorable attitudes. The trend changed after 1970. A majority of respondents considered TV advertising to be seriously misleading. Later studies have provided more evidence of the unfavorable public attitude toward advertising .More recent studies have focused on attitude structures. Elliot and Speck investigated six major media (TV, broadcasting, magazines, newspapers, Yellow Pages, and direct mail) and found that television and magazines exhibited the highest level of ad-related communication problems (hindered search and disruption) . Perceived clutter, hindered search, and disruption were related to less favorable attitudes and greater ad avoidance. These effect varied in different media . The differences in the way different
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media affects consumer attitudes were also reported by Bogart . Television ads often have a higher degree of irritation than radio ads, which are less irritating because radio programs usually serve as background music.

Attitude Toward Internet Advertising The emergence of the Internet as a new medium for communication and advertising has motivated a substantial amount of research that focuses on the Internet . It has also driven studies on attitudes toward Internet advertising in the Web-based environment. Because of the interactive nature of the Internet, some surveys report that respondents viewed Internet advertising as more informative and trustworthy than a demographically similar sample found in general advertising . The content (informativeness) and form (entertainment) of ads are important predictors of their value and are crucial to the effectiveness of Web advertising. Along with entertainment and informativeness, irritation caused by advertisements also influences peoples attitude toward them . This is consistent with earlier research findings that interesting and pleasing ads have a positive impact on consumers attitudes toward a brand [24, 29]. Schlosser and colleagues reported that attitudes toward Internet advertising are affected by enjoyment, informativeness, and the ads utility for making behavioral (purchasing) decisions . In order to study how the above factors affect consumer attitudes toward Internet advertising, Bracket and Carr modified several attitude models of Internet advertising and developed an integrated Web advertising attitude model . This new model, as shown in Figure , is based on the premise that the perceived entertainment, informativeness, irritation, and credibility of an advertisement affect the way consumers evaluate it. Besides these four variables, the model also includes relevant demographic variables.

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Entertainment Attitude towards advertising ngng

Informativenes s

Advertising Value

Irritation

Credibility

Relevant demographic variables

Diagram of web advertising

Mobile Marketing and Advertising

As an extension of the Internet environment, the high penetration of mobile phones in recent years has created a good opportunity for wireless Internet applications, including wireless marketing and advertising. Wireless Internet services allow interactive access to Internet-based applications and contents using wireless devices such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The Wireless Advertising Association (WAA) defines wireless marketing as sending advertising messages to mobile devices such as mobile phones or PDAs through the

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wireless network. Wireless Internet service can be offered by a range of different service providers, including cellular operators, fixed and wireless portals, wireless application service providers, device vendors, consumer brands, and mobile virtual network operators . Empowered by the Webs interactive and quick-response capabilities, wireless marketing is a very promising direct marketing channel. Many direct-response advertisements and some brand building ones have been used for time-sensitive communication . Mobile advertising and Internet advertising have many features in commonboth are emerging media used to deliver digital texts, images, and voices with interactive, immediate, personalized, and responsive capabilities . Internet advertising allows individual customers to be identified and their behavior to be analyzed. Mobile advertising relaxes the mobility constraint associated with fixed-line Internet access. One may expect mobile advertising to be more favorable to consumers for location-sensitive and time critical events. Since the mobile phone is a very personal device that allows an individual to be accessed virtually any time and anywhere, mobile advertising must be more personalized and may take different forms. Based on different strategic applications, wireless marketing can be either permission-based, incentive based, or location-based. Permission-based advertising differs from traditional irritative advertising in that messages about specific products, services, or content are sent only to individuals who have explicitly indicated their willingness to receive the message. Consumers often impatiently ignore the message when interrupted by an advertisement. By relying on the permission of the target audience, permission-based advertising focuses on reducing the irritation .Incentive-based advertising provides specific financial rewards to individuals who agree to receive promotions and campaigns. For example, mobile phone companies may reward customers with free connection time for listening to voice advertisements. Both permission-based and incentive-based advertising mechanisms are feasible for mobile advertising because the wireless technology makes it possible to identify individual users. In addition to individual identification, mobile technology also makes it possible to locate a particular consumer. Location-based advertising takes advantage of this feature to target people in a certain location. Advertisements are sent based on where the user is or where the user is going.

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Need of the study


The purpose of this research is to study the consumer view of mobile advertising in order to discover how consumers perceive mobile advertisements Today the field of advertising is going through fundamental changes. Primarily, rapid technological development has led to the digitalization of media. This digitalization has resulted in new types of media such as the mobile phone, which offers richer possibilities to reach consumers and interact with them. However, in order to fully exploit the potential of the mobile phone as an advertising channel, marketers must understand the unique characteristics related to it and the ways that consumers interact with this channel. In part, media transition has acted as a catalyst for another significant change in the advertising industry, namely, consumer empowerment. The digitalization of media has meant that there is a wide variety of information readily available for the consumer. This has made it easier for consumers to compare product offerings and prices before significant purchase decisions. In addition, the rise of social media and brand communities has meant that consumers can share their experiences efficiently with others Therefore a rising trend has been to utilize digital media in advertising campaigns either individually or as a part of the media mix. The internet has been used as a marketing communication medium for sometime where as the mobile phone has only gained interest during the recent year. Since the mobile phone is a relatively new channel for advertising, academic research in this field has been, to a large extent, inconsistent and fragmented. Current mobile marketing research has been divided into three categories:

Consumer: acceptance, perception, attitude, responsiveness and efficiency

Business and Management: value chain, performance measurement, business models and branding

General research: key factors and consequences, legal and political factors, adoption and diffusion This study will look into the relationship between attitudes and purchase intentions with the purpose of gaining more understanding concerning mobile consumer behavior.

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LITERATURE REVIEW
International Journal of Electronic Commerce / Spring 2004, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 6578. Consumer Attitudes Toward Mobile Advertising: Melody M. Tsang, Shu-Chun Ho, and Ting-Peng Liang ABSTRACT: The rapid proliferation of mobile phones and other mobile devices has created a new channel for marketing. The use of Short Messaging Service to access customers through their handheld devices is gaining popularity, making the mobile phone the ultimate medium for one-to-one marketing. The present research investigates consumer attitudes toward mobile advertising and the relationship between attitude and behavior. An instrument for measuring attitudes toward mobile advertising is developed. The results of a survey indicate that consumers generally have negative attitudes toward mobile advertising unless they have specifically consented to it, and there is a direct relationship between consumer attitudes and consumer behavior. Thus it is not a good idea to send SMS advertisements to potential customers without prior permission.

International Journal of Electronic Finance


AUTHOR Justin Beneke School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa Volume 5, Number 1/2011 This research aims to establish how attitudes towards mobile advertising ultimately influences purchase intention. A conceptual model was developed, linking the constructs attitudes, attention, involvement and purchase intention in the context of mobile advertising. The model was tested with a sample of 250 young adults using Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis. Findings indicated that a positive relationship exists between a consumer's attitude towards mobile advertising and his or her purchase intention. However, this relationship was found to be partially mediated by the attention that a consumer pays to the mobile advertisement, as well as his or her involvement in it.
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Factors affecting consumers responses to mobile advertising from a social norm theoretical perspective

Sandra Soroa-Koury, Kenneth C.C. Yang

Department of Communication, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, United States Received 16 December 2008. Revised 28 April 2009. Accepted 9 June 2009. Available online 16 June 2009.

Abstract
As mobile technology continues to diffuse, the numbers of mobile subscribers continue to grow. With a high penetration of mobile subscribers in the United States, the mobile phone and network is promptly becoming a feasible marketing channel as mobile phones facilitate the exposure to advertisements deliver through a variety of mobile technologies. The purpose of this study was to examine whether misperceptions of social norms of mobile advertising play any role in predicting consumers responses to mobile advertising. The study used a questionnaire survey method to measure mobile users attitudes, perceived usefulness (PU), perceived-ease-of-use (PEOU), and adoption intention of mobile advertising. A total of 343 college students from a large southwestern public university were recruited to participate in this study. The study demonstrated that misperceptions of social norms predicted consumers perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of mobile advertising. Both PU and PEOU are critical variables predicting consumers adoption of technologies. The study also found that PU predicted attitudetowards mobile advertising, whereas PEOU did not predict attitudetowards mobile advertising. Lastly attitudetowards mobile advertising significantly predicted the intention to adopt mobile advertising.

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Research methodology
Research can be defined as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. According to Clifford Woody research comprises defining and redefining problem, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching conclusions and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis. Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as the science of studying how research is done scientifically.

Objectives of the study


1. To study the perception of customers towards mobile advertising. 2. To analyze the impact of mobile advertising on customers. 3. To analyze the role of mobile advertising In influencing the buying behavior of customers

Research design
A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. In fact, the research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. One may split the overall research design into following parts:

a) The sampling design which deals with the method of selecting items to be observed for the given study.

b) The observational design which relates to the condition under which the observations are to be made.

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c) The statistical design which concerns with the question of how many items are to be observes and how the information and the data gathered are to be analyzed.

d) The operational design which deals with the techniques by which the procedure specified in the sampling, statistical and observational design can be carried out.

Need for a research design


Research design is needed because it facilitates the smooth sailing of the various research operations thereby making research as efficient and possible yielding maximal information with minimal expenditure of effort time and money. It stands for the advance planning of the method used or adopted for collecting the relevant data and the techniques to be used in their analysis, keeping in view of the objectives, time and money.

Data sources:
The task of data collection begins after a research problem has been defined and a research design has been chalked out. While deciding about the methods of data collection, the researcher should keep in mind two types of data:-

1. Primary data 2. Secondary data. The primary data are those data which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happen to be original in character. The secondary data on the other hand, are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have already been passing through the statistical process. The researcher would have to decide which sort of data he would be using for his study and accordingly he will have to select one or the other method of data collection. The methods of collecting primary and secondary data differ since primary data are to be originally collected, while in case of secondary data the nature of data collection work is merely that of collection and

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compilation of information collected through various newspapers, magazines and internet etc. In this research, primary data will be collected by designing questionnaires and getting them filled by the respondents.

Research instrument
The primary data was obtained during the course of doing research in a systematic manner with the help of questionnaires and interviewing peoples.

Questionnaire method: this method of data collection is quite popular, particularly in case of big enquires. In this method a questionnaire is sent to the persons with a request to answer and return the questionnaire. A questionnaire consists of a number of questions in a definite order on a form or a set of forms. The questionnaire used by me for the purpose of data collection was of structured type. It was designed keeping in mind the research problem which included close ended questions. The questionnaire was given to the respondents who were expected to read and understand the questions and write down the reply in the space meant for the purpose in the questionnaire itself.

Sampling design
A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to the technique or procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the sample. Sample design may as well lay down the items to be included in the sample i.e., the size of the sample. Sample design is designed before data are collected. There are many sample designs from which a researcher can choose. Some design is relatively more precise and easier to apply than others.

Population
Population refers to part of universe from which the sample for conducting the research is selected. Universe and population can be same in some researches. It may be finite or infinite. In finite universe the number of items is certain, but in case of infinite the number of item is infinite

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i.e., we cannot have an idea about the total number of items. The population for my study constitutes of mobile phone users

Sampling unit
Sampling unit refers to smallest possible individual eligible respondent. In my study the sampling unit is single individual mobile phone users.

Sampling size
This refers to the total number of respondents selected from the universe to constitute a sample. The size of the sample should neither be excessively large, nor too small. It should be optimum. An optimum sample is one which fulfills the requirement of efficiency, representativeness, reliability and flexibility. The sample size for my research is hundred respondents using mobile phones.

Sampling techniques
In this research study, convenience sampling technique is used. . This sampling method has been mainly chosen because of time, financial constraints and lack of expertise.

Sampling frame
Frame is the list of respondents i.e. list of all the mobile phone users.

Statistical analysis
Data will be analyzed with the help of frequency distribution, percentages and other suitable statistical tools. Classification and tabulation transforms the raw data collected through questionnaires and personal interviews into useful information by organizing a compiling the bits of data contained in each of the hundred questionnaires i.e., observation and responses are converted into understandable and orderly statistics for further analysis and interpretation.

Following applications of statistics are used to organize and analyze the data:
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Simple tabulation of data using tally marks. Calculating the percentage of the responses. Formula used: Percentage= (number of responses/total responses)*100

Graphical analysis by means of bar graphs and pie chart

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DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Ques no 1. Since how long have you been using a mobile phone? No of respondents Less than 1 year 15 More than 1 year 23 More than 2 years 36 More than 2 years 26 and above Total 100 Percentage 15% 23% 36% 26% 100

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 less than 1 year more tah 1 year more than 2 years more than 2 years and above

Interpretation :
From the above data we find that maximum number of respondents have been using the mobile phones from 2 years and more than that.

Ques. No 2. On an average how many messages you send daily?


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No of respondents No messages at all 2 messages a day 3 messages a day More than 3 messages a day Total 5 16 34 45 100

Percentage 5% 16% 34% 45% 100

no messages at all 2 messages aday 3 messages a day more than 3 messages a day

Interpretation :- from the above analysis it is seen that maximum number of people are using mobile messaging services

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Ques. No. 3. How much do you read the mobile advertisements? Not at all About About About Full Total No of respondents 19 8 23 16 34 100 Percentage 19% 8% 23% 16% 34% 100

full

about 3/4

about1/2

about 1/4

not at all 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Interpretation :- from the above analysis it is seen that maximum number of people do not read the message fully

Ques. No. 4 Do you feel that the content of mobile advertising is annoying?
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No of respondents Strongly agree Partly agree Strongly disagree Partly disagree Agree Total 23 9 7 13 48 100

Percentage 23 % 9% 7% 13% 48% 100%

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 strongly agree partly agree strongly disagree partly agree agree

Interpretation : - the data depicts that mobile content is seen to be annoying

Ques no. 5. Do mobile advertisements provide the information you need?


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Never Rarely Often Always Total

No of respondents 32 4 22 42 100

Percentage 32% 4% 22% 42% 100

50 40 30 20 10 0 never rarely often always

Interpretation : - this information depicts that maximum people are not satisfied with the content provided by the mobile messages

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Ques. No. 6. Do you use the information provided by the mobile advertisements as a reference for purchasing?
No of respondents Never Rarely Often Always Total 37 21 23 19 100 Percentage 37% 21% 23% 19% 100

never rarely often always

Interpretation :- this depicts that mobile advertisements have not been able to induce the customers to buy the products

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Ques. No. 7 Do you act upon the promotional offers that are depicted through the mobiles advertisements? No of respondents 20 35 33 12 100 Percentage 20% 35% 33% 12% 100

Never Often Rarely Always Total

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 never often rarely always

Interpretation :- even the promotional offers have not been successful in inducing the customer to buy

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Ques. No. 8 Does the information provided by mobile advertisements render true facts about the products and their features? No of respondents 34 23 43 100 Percentage 34% 23% 43% 100

Hardly any Always Not exactly Total

Sales

hardly any always ot exactly

Interpretation :- these messages provide scrupulous information to the users

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Ques. No. 9. Do you think that mobile advertisements are more manipulative than informative? No of respondents 45 35 20 100 Percentage 45% 35% 20% 100

Yes No Cant say Total

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 yes no cant say

Interpretation :- above data depicts that more people find the information provided by these messages is manipulative

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Ques no 10. How many times have you brought a product upon receipt of a text message?
No. of respondents Hardly any Once More than once Never Total 13 20 17 50 100 Percentage 13% 20% 17% 50% 100

20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 hardly any once never more than once

Interpretation :- mostly messages are unable to influence the customer buying behavior

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Ques no. 11 Do you think mobile advertising keeps you up to date regarding new products and
services? No. of respondents Yes No Cant say Total 36 20 44 100 Percentage 36% 20% 44% 100

yes no cant say

Interpretation :- mostly users are satisfied with the information provided by mobile messages about the new products

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Ques no. 12 Do you wish to receive further mobile advertisements? No. of respondents Only limited in no. Less than 2 messages a day Less than 3 messages a day More than 3 messages a day Total 23 29 21 27 100 Percentage 23% 29% 21% 27% 100

only limited in no . less than 2 messages a day less than 3 messages a day more than 3 a day

Interpretation :- maximum people wanted to receive limited messages in a day

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Ques no. 13 Do you instantly read the mobile advertisements or altogether ignore them? No. of respondents Read instantly Ignore Read afterwards Total 33 47 20 100 Percentage 33% 47% 20% 100

read instantly ignore read afterwards

Interpretation :- most of the people are excited about reading the message instantly

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Ques no. 14 Has mobile advertising ever been successful in creating a demand for product in your mind? No. of respondents Rarely Often Not even once Always Total 25 22 43 10 100 Percentage 25% 22% 43% 10% 100

rarely often not even once always

Interpretation :- mobile advertisements are ineffective in creating a demand for the product

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CONCLUSION
Mobile advertising has still been in its evolutionary stage as a promotional tool. It has long way to go in becoming an effective tool for the promotion of products and enlightenment of customers. People in India are still not much aware about the mobile advertisement. Rapid proliferation of mobile devices has however created an effective media of advertising that can be used effectively because it can reach far distant places where even the traditional medias of advertising failed to reach. However in order to use it effectively more attention has to be paid towards the need and attitude of customers towards it. It has to be seen what the customer expect out of mobile advertising and what all content has to be supplied to them. So as to not make the message annoying and increase the chances of its acceptability by the customer. Exact and to the point can be one step towards increasing the chances of acceptability of mobile advertising. Scrupulous information is the biggest drawback of mobile messages. People feel that the true information is not provided to them and they are often cheated rhrough such messages. This has to be taken into consideration while designing mobile advertising content. Another problem associated with mobile advertising is the annoyance and disturbance created by the messages. Privacy of the customers has to be taken into mind while advertising through mobile messages. All these points if effectively implemented can go a long way in determining the success of mobile advertisements as a promotional tool.

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Questionnaire
NAME OF RESPONDENTS ADDRESS GENDER AGE EDUCATIONOL LEVEL ANNUAL INCOME OCCUPATION ........................... ........................... ........................... ............................ ............................ ............................ ...........................

1. Since how long have you been using a mobile phone? i. ii. iii. iv. Less than 1 year More than 1 year More than 2 years More than 2 years and above

2. On an average how many messages you send daily? i. ii. iii. iv. No messages at all 2 messages a day 3 messages a day More than 3 messages a day

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3. How much do you read the mobile advertisements? i. ii. iii. iv. v. Not at all About About About Full

4. Do you feel that the content of mobile advertising is annoying? i. ii. iii. iv. v. Strongly agree Partly agree Strongly disagree Partly disagree Agree

5. Do mobile advertisements provide the information you need? i. ii. iii. iv. Never Rarely Often Always

6. How much informative do you find the content of mobile advertising? i. ii.
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To quite a lot extent Not much

iii. iv.

Partly informative Totally informative Hardly informative

7. Do you instantly read the mobile advertisements or altogether ignore them? i. ii. iii. Read instantly Ignore Read afterwards

8. Do you use the information provided by the mobile advertisements as a reference for purchasing? i. ii. iii. iv. Never Rarely Often Always

9. Does mobile advertisements provide any source of valuable information about the products? i. ii. iii. Yes No Only limited information

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10. Do you wish to receive further mobile advertisements? i. ii. iii. iv. Only limited in number Less than 2 messages a day Less than 3 messages a day More than 3 messages a day

11. Has mobile advertising ever been successful in creating a demand for product in your mind? i. ii. iii. iv. Rarely Often Not even once Always

12. Do the major brands inform you regularly about the discount and various promotional schemes? i. ii. iii. iv. v. Yes No Often Never Rarely

13. Do you act upon the promotional offers that are depicted through the mobiles advertisements? i. ii. iii. iv.
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Often Never Always Rarely

14. Does the information provided by mobile advertisements render true facts about the products and their features? i. ii. iii. Hardly any Always Not exactly

15. Do you think that mobile advertisements are more manipulative than informative? i. ii. iii. Yes No Cant say

16. Do you think mobile advertising keeps you up to date regarding new products and services? i. ii. Yes No

17. How many times have you brought a product upon receipt of a text message? i. ii. iii. iv. Hardly any Once More than once Never

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR : Hoyer,Mclinns MARKETING RESEARCH : Zikmund, Babin

PHILIP KOTLER, MARKETING MANAGEMENT


Journal of Advertising Research

Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media,

Advertising in a New Age: American Academy of Advertising Proceedings

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