Why young consumers are not open to mobile marketing communications

This paper explores young people's motivations for using mobile phones. Older adolescents' everyday use of traditional and new forms of mediated communication were explored in the context of their everyday lives, with data generated from self-completion questionnaires, diaries and mini focus groups. The findings confirm the universal appeal of mobile phones to a youth audience. Social and entertainment-related motivations dominated, while information and commercially orientated contact were less appealing. While marketers are excited by the reach and possibilities for personalisation offered by mobile phones, young people associated commercial appropriation of this medium with irritation, intrusion and mistrust. In other words, while marketers celebrated mobile phones as a 'brand in the hand' of youth markets, young people themselves valued their mobiles as a 'friend in the hand'. This suggests that the way forward for mobile marketing communications is not seeking or pretending to be young consumers' friend, butrather offering content that helps them maintain or develop the personal friendships that matter to them

Postmodern poachers: young adult experiences of advertising

This thesis addresses young adults' everyday experiences of advertising. It aims to enhance understanding of their relationship with this pervasive and persuasive form of communication. While the findings may be of interest to advertisers, it is hoped that they will contribute to debates about the social, cultural and public policy implications of advertising.As there is little research addressing advertising experiences directly, literature is reviewed in the areas of consumer attitudes, involvement and literacy with respect to advertising. Research in these areas suggests that consumers' relationship with advertising is rich and complex. It is argued, however, that previous research has been dominated by an American, managerial, quantitative, and positivist perspective. A lack of integration between academic and practitioner research in these areas was also observed.Qualitative research was undertaken to explore consumers' relationship with advertising in a Scottish context. A preliminary phase consisted of interviews with ten advertising research practitioners. The main phase of the research focused on young adults aged 18-24, and compared their experiences across boundaries of age, gender and occupational status. Following a pilot study, fourteen small group discussions and fourteen individual interviews were conducted.The young adults were found to be more active, selective and sophisticated consumers of advertising than the practitioners had suggested. They are characterised as "postmodern poachers" of advertising, reflecting their ironic and playful approach to much of it, and their often independent consumption of advertisements and brands: they appropriated advertising elements for their own purposes, many of which had little to do with marketing transactions. There appeared to be many common areas of advertising experience among the young adults, although several substantial differences emerged. The thesis concludes by considering the implications of the findings for the study, practice and regulation of advertising