Generation Y responsiveness to SMS mobile advertising in Lebanon

Abstract

As one of the mobile marketing tool, SMS (Short Message Service) advertising is achieving popularity and acceptance by gaining access to consumers through their mobile devices. Attainment of this advertising instrument depends to a great extent on its acceptance by consumers. In Lebanon, no former research investigated the factors contributing to the success of SMS advertising from customers’ perspectives. Based on the TRA model, the aim of this research is to extend the knowledge of the responsiveness of Gen Y to SMS mobile advertising in Lebanon. This will help gain a better understanding of the value of SMS advertising to guide the company strategies which include mobile ads. A conceptual model and hypotheses are tested on a sample of 130 Lebanese Gen Y mobile phone users, and analyzed quantitatively. Respondents were given a 28-item online questionnaire that included two parts. The first part consisted of statements that test the effect of the belief dimensions of TRA theory on attitude toward mobile advertising: entertainment, informativeness, credibility, irritation, permission and incentives. The second part included statements assessing the attitude and response to mobile ads influenced by the beliefs. Participants had to answer items along a five-point Likert-type scale. Data was entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The three research questions and seven hypotheses set for the study were tested based on Pearson correlation. Findings indicated that, entertainment, informativeness, credibility, permission and response have positive significant influence on consumer attitude whereas message irritation has a negative significant influence on attitude. Incentives were found not to have a relationship with attitude. Based on the results, this paper rounds off with recommendations for the future marketing research and practice into the use of SMS mobile advertising.