The Advertising Effectiveness of Political Text Messages:An Exploratory Study on Undergraduates from Five Universities in North Taiwan
Author: Hsuan-Yi Chou, Jih-shine Chou
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
In recent elections in Taiwan, candidates have sent a large number of political advertisements using text messages (SMS). SMS is a quick and precise means of communicating messages to the electorate. However, few scholars of political communications have empirically explored the effects of political advertisements sent by SMS, and many unanswered questions remain, such as how to design the contents of political SMS messages and how to target messages to certain receivers to achieve better results. This study examines the responses of undergraduate voters to political SMS messages, focusing on three aspects of political advertising by SMS message – message contents, message source, and message receiver. The study examines the effects of this advertising according to subject, appeal type, content informativeness, entertainment, sociality, interactivity, sources of the advertisement, party orientation of the receiver, and general attitudes toward mobile advertising, applying relevant theory from existing research on political advertising and mobile advertising. The experimental results reveal the following: (1) SMS advertisements that remind people to vote and disseminate positive information generate better effects when compared to those that disseminate negative information; (2) SMS advertisements with higher rationality, informativeness, entertainment, and sociality value achieved more positive responses; (3) Advertising effectiveness is higher when the receiver favors the party sending the SMS advertisement than when the sponsor is a competing party or when the receiver is an independent voter; and (4) Voters’ general attitudes toward mobile advertising impact their receptiveness to SMS political advertisements.