Technology Acceptance Theory and Its Modeling of Advertising: Traditional Advertising or Mobile Advertising

Consumers select and enjoy media content in accordance to their state of psychological needs. They are exposed to a variety of content in which advertisements constitute a sizeable mix. While audience’s interest is situated in the main elements of program content, they come across interesting advertisements serendipitously. It is not so much the content but the technologies the devices carry that stimulate audience’s interest in advertising. Consumers’ preference toward advertising has been shifting from one media platform to another in search of the optimal opportunities presented by their devices. Such possibilities become attractive from a combination of convenience, functionality, and accessibility to consumers. The convergence of technologies has now placed sophisticated multimedia devices in to the palms of consumers with numerous social media apps. At the same time advertisers have gone niche to serve the unique preferences of audience. The study focus is on the growing shift in consumers’ usage of technology in accessing content using mobile devices. The study attempts to offer a theoretical proposition that the acceptance of technology by consumers is driving advertising through mobile devices. An online survey of 180 young respondents was conducted to understand mobile users’ preferences for mobile advertising. Findings show that mobile users have yet to embrace mobile advertisement. Sixty four percent of the respondents did not view the mobile advertisements that appear on their mobile phone. They were more responsive to traditional media compare to mobile advertisement. However, the study also shows that there is a growing preference for technology driven mobile advertisements.