We have examined the acceptance and use of mobile marketing among companies and consumers. Our research has studied business-to-consumer applications of the mobile platform with companies such as adidas, Enpocket, Nokia and others across global markets. For example, we conducted in-depth case studies that examined adidas’s mobile efforts in such areas as entertainment and major sporting events such as the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and we are working on similar case studies in India and Pakistan.

As part of this continuing line of research, we conducted an empirical study of consumer attitudes and acceptance towards mobile marketing practices across two distinct markets: the United States and Pakistan. The U.S. survey was administered to both undergraduate and graduate students at a large university in the Northeast. The Pakistan survey was administered to undergraduate and graduate students at universities in Lahore and Islamabad. All surveys were written and administered in English.

The choice of a student sample for this study was based on widespread usage characteristics of mobile devices for communications and data services among the youth market. According to a recent Harris Interactive Inc. study, more than 50% of U.S. teens aged 13 to 18 now have mobile phones. The appeal of mobile communications and data services among the youth market is also evidenced by the growth of content providers such as Viacom Inc.’s MTV Networks Company, the music and entertainment network targeting teens and young adults, which is now the world’s largest source of content for mobile phones.

The surveys included proposed drivers of mobile marketing acceptance, defined as individuals’ willingness to engage in mobile marketing activities such as accessing content, registering for contests and incentives and receiving advertisements via their mobile phones. Overall, the surveys consisted of questions designed to gauge the drivers of acceptance as well as classify the respondents according to age, gender and region. For the U.S. survey, 169 responses were obtained over a one-week period in December 2005. For the Pakistan survey, 215 responses were obtained over a two-week period in December 2005. (See “Characteristics of Survey Respondents.”) The survey data were analyzed by comparing mean response scores among respondents from the U.S. and Pakistan and by conducting a regression analysis. The results of the study — and the implications of those findings — are presented in the accompanying