A Technology Intervention Perspective of Mobile Marketing

Abstract

In the last decade, the explosive growth and adoption of mobile phones has become commonplace in our everyday lives (Haghirian, Madlberger, & Tanuskova, 2005). In 1997, there were only 215 million people worldwide who used mobile phones as communication devices (Bauer, Barnes, Reichardt, & Neumann, 2005). Today, it is estimated that 2 billion people own a mobile phone worldwide and this number makes up a third of the entire human population (Wireless Intelligence, 2005). Mobile phones are no longer thought of as mere personal communication tools (Cheong & Park, 2005; Ito & Okabe, 2005). They have become a fashion symbol for teenagers and young adults (Katz & Sugiyama, 2005). Personalised ring tones, colours, display logos and accessories are individualised accordingly to suit individuals’ preferences (Bauer, Barnes, Reichardt, & Neumann, 2005). Furthermore, mobile phones are no longer just a platform for voice calls and sending and receiving text messages such as short messaging service (SMS). Photos, pictures and video clips can be attached as a multimedia message service (MMS) for communication purposes too (Okazaki, 2005a). With the recent introduction of 3G mobile technology, mobile phone users are able to perform more activities via their 3G enabled phone sets. They are able to browse the Internet fairly quickly, access online banking, play video games wirelessly, watch television programs, check for weather forecasts, allow instant messaging, and perform live video-conferencing (Okazaki, 2005b).