Marketers are going to have to give cash or give away free products and services in order to have college students accept advertisements via their cell phones, says a new study from Ball State.

A survey of 669 college students found that the majority did not want marketers to contact them via cell phones, but 66 percent could be dissuaded if they were paid, while 29 percent said they would change their minds if given a free service or product.

Overall, 96 percent of college students surveyed have cell phones, which are used as personal computers, digital music players and cameras, said Mike Hanley, a journalism professor who has conducted several studies on cell phone advertising, also known as "mobile marketing."

"College students are typically the first age group to embrace technology," he said. "Today, we have college students who have grown up with cell phones and can't live without them. Their whole life revolves around these devices."

Hanley believes companies wanting to peddle the latest clothing trends, new vehicles and computer technology to college-age students and recent graduates have little choice but to turn to cell phones.

"It is difficult to reach this age group because these young people don't watch much television and rarely listen to commercial radio," he said. "Marketers have found that college students shun Internet-based advertising and dislike unwanted e-mails."

His study found that it may be extremely costly to tap into the market, considering that 

35 percent wanted to be paid $1 for each ad. Twenty-four percent said it would cost more than a dollar per ad, while 28 percent would accept a quarter.

To determine which free services or products students preferred, the study allowed participants to pick more than one and resulted in the following choices:

• ring tones, 45 percent
• minutes, 37 percent
• music, 29 percent
• gifts, 27 percent
• cell phone upgrades, 25 percent
• additional access to the Internet, 25 percent

Hanley said mobile marketing will be extremely effective because unlike traditional advertising channels where the consumer is often anonymous, the cell phone is personal. Marketing can be tailored to the individual by his or her past purchases as opposed to a common message blasted to millions of people through television or radio advertising.

"The thinking is that this age group will enter the workforce in the next few years, and marketers want to gain their loyalty now," Hanley said. "When college students become working professionals, they'll be looking for cars, computers, homes, clothing and other goods. You want them to know you brand now and become a  lifelong customer.

"If you don't give them free stuff now to get their loyalty, they'll turn to someone who will," he said. "Usually, when customers go to a new brand, they are hard to get back."

The study is the lead research article in the June issue of the Mobile Marketing Association's (MMA) International Journal of Mobile Marketing and was conducted in cooperation with Ball State's Center for Media Design (CMD), a research and development facility focused on the creation, testing and practical application of digital technologies for business, classroom, home and community. In addition to Hanley, coauthors included Jackie Martinsen, CMD's testing project supervisor, and Michael Becker, a doctoral student at Golden State University.

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Hanley at mhanley@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8213.)