Proposal on consumer responses to mobile location-based advertising selected as winner in Marketing Research Awards
INSEAD, the leading international business school, today announced it has received a research grant from Google and WPP as part of a joint Marketing Research Programme the two companies have developed. INSEAD professors Yakov Bart, Miklos Sarvary and Andrew Stephen were selected to join an exclusive group of award recipients which will receive funding for their research.
The WPP-Google Marketing Research Programme was established to fund academic research in marketing. The collaboration is designed to tackle some of the complex questions facing marketers and media professionals today. The Marketing Research Programme will enable and support research into how online media influences consumer behaviour, attitudes and decision making. It will also provide insight on measuring advertising performance across various digital platforms.
INSEAD was chosen as one of 11 research teams from around the world to participate in the WPP-Google Marketing Research Programme for its proposal, ‘Consumer Responses to Mobile Location-Based Advertising.’ Bart, Sarvary and Stephen, all professors of Marketing at INSEAD, will receive funding to continue their research on mobile marketing and consumer behaviour.
‘The WPP-Google Marketing Research Programme has provided a platform for the academic community to research critical marketing issues as consumer preferences and digital media continue to evolve,’ said Professor Sarvary. ‘We are honoured to have been selected by two leading companies in the industry and given the opportunity to further explore timely issues in the mobile marketing space.’
The funding awarded by WPP and Google will allow the professors to further explore the effect of advertising, marketing communications and promotions delivered to consumers on mobile devices. In two distinct experimental phases, Professors Bart, Sarvary and Stephen will examine consumer reaction to mobile marketing, as well as the type of content which drives the desired results for the advertiser. They will also research mobile tracking location technology to determine how companies might leverage these innovations for more efficient marketing in the future.
Professor Stephen added, ‘Companies are searching for the latest advances in delivering information to consumers on their mobile devices. They often encounter numerous challenges in perfecting both the message delivery and the type of consumer in which they are targeting. Our research will provide invaluable insights into how companies can take their mobile marketing programmes to the next level.’
The first phase of INSEAD’s research will be conducted in the virtual world on Second Life, targeting consumers through their avatars to gauge shopping patterns and reactions to mobile advertising. The INSEAD researchers will subsequently take their research into the real world by conducting field tests with partner companies of WPP and Google. Through these real world simulations, the INSEAD team will be able to better understand what marketing incentives work with certain types of consumers.
Award recipients were selected by a program committee established by WPP and Google that evaluates proposals based on the merits and potential impact of the proposed research. Committee members come from both business and academia.
For more information about INSEAD’s involvement in the WPP-Google Marketing Research Programme or to watch a video highlighting INSEAD’s research, please visit INSEAD on YouTube
