Evaluating Consumer Permission in SMS Advertising

Fatim Bamba University of East Anglia, UK

Stuart Barnes University of East Anglia, UK

Abstract
This study examines the phenomenon of consumers’ willingness to give permission to receive Short Message Service (SMS) advertisements. The purpose of this research is threefold: to better understand the phenomenon of consumers’ willingness to give permission to receive text message (SMS) advertisements, to provide empirical data that supports our understanding, and to develop and test a basic model of consumers’ willingness to give permission to receive SMS advertisements. The study utilised a multi-method research approach with both qualitative and quantitative data – via focus group and scenario-based survey. The results show that even if the relevance of the advertisement is high it does not on its own make consumers give permission; it need to be combined with the control over opt-in conditions to assure consumers and gain permission. Regarding brand familiarity, this appears to have little impact on consumers’ willingness to give permission to receive SMS advertisements. The opt-in conditions valued the most are: the possibility to withdraw at any time, personal data disclosure only with consent, and mobile phone operators as a primary advertising filter. The paper rounds off with conclusions, implications for marketing practice and directions for future research into permission in SMS advertising.

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Reference:	Bamba, F., Barnes, S. (2006). "Evaluating Consumer Permission in SMS Advertising," Proceedings > Proceedings of Helsinki Mobility Roundtable . Sprouts: Working Papers on Information Systems, 6(41). http://sprouts.aisnet.org/6-41
Keywords:	Permission; SMS; Mobile; Advertising; Opt-in; Conditions
Item Type:	Article - Volume 6 Article 41 (2006)
Language:	English
Email:	Fatim Bamba (fatim.bamba@uea.ac.uk) Stuart Barnes (stuart.barnes@uea.ac.uk)

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