Study: Students more receptive to mobile ads

A new study issued by Ball State University reports that college students are growing increasingly receptive to mobile advertising, with 56.3 percent of respondents saying they would accept mobile ads in exchange for free services or content. Among the findings of the BSU survey:

• 37.4 percent of students would accept advertising in exchange for a free ringtone
• 21.4 percent of students would accept advertising in exchange for discount or coupon to a restaurant, movie or grocery store
• 20 percent of students would accept advertising in exchange for free minutes, upgrades, access to the internet or music

According to the study, 36.7 percent of college students received a text ad in 2007, up 13 percent from 2005; only 25 percent of respondents said they are "very concerned" about how a business obtains their mobile contact information, with the percentage of subscribers who are "very concerned" dropping 25 percent from two years ago. 

"Just a couple of years ago, few college students accepted ads on their mobile devices because they felt it was an invasion of their privacy," said Michael Hanley, Ball State advertising professor and mobile marketing researcher. "Now all you have to do is offer free ringtones, cash or access to the Internet, because this age group has grown up with cell phones and other mobile devices. It is the way they communicate with each other as well as with the outside world."

For more on the Ball State study:
- read this Marketing Charts article [1]

Related Articles:
Report [2]: Ad preferences based on age, gender
Study [3]: Consumers still wary of mobile ads
Report [4]: Mobile advertising heating up