the influence of mobile marketing on brand equity

The Influence of Mobile Marketing on Brand Equity.

Is mobility on demand a good investment?

Stijn Driessen Bart van Leeuwen

Friday, 23 January 2009

The Influence of Mobile Marketing on Brand Equity

- 2 -

The Influence of Mobile Marketing on Brand Equity.

Is mobility on demand a good investment?

The research question in this research is ‘Does the use of mobile Internet marketing have an

influence on the brand equity of an organisation?’ This research concludes that the usability

of a website influence the brand equity of a company. This was determined by Keller (1993),

Lassar et al (1995) and Resnick (2001). So to determine whether the use of mobile Internet

marketing has an influence on brand equity we researched if the usability of an adjusted

website for mobile Internet users was significantly better or not than a normal website. The

usability of a website can be measured by several points, according to Palmer (2002) and

Brackel (2008). We combined these two in our research to measure the usability of a website,

and consequently we used four criteria: Navigation, Response Time, Content and Lay-out. We

also hypothesised these four criteria were moderated by the type of cellular phone (classic

phone vs. modern phone). In order to measure these four components we have done an

experiment among 100 respondents between the age of 17 and 26, because this group has

more association with mobile Internet marketing. Each respondent was questioned several

statements about one type of website and one type of cellular phone. This, so the respondent

was not influenced with his opinion to make a difference between the type of website and the

type of cellular phone. Consequently the results of our research supported our hypothesis and

showed that all four components were influenced by the type of website. Also Navigation,

Response Time and Lay-out are moderated by the type of cellular phone. We therefore

recommend businesses to adjust their website for mobile Internet users.


- 3 -

Table of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS __________________________________________________________________ 3

1. INTRODUCTION______________________________________________________________________ 4

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ________________________________________________________ 5

2.1 DEFINITIONS ________________________________________________________________________ 6 2.1.1 Brand equity ____________________________________________________________________ 6 2.1.2 Usability _______________________________________________________________________ 7 2.1.3 Mobile marketing ________________________________________________________________ 7

2.2 HYPOTHESES ________________________________________________________________________ 9 2.2.1 Navigation _____________________________________________________________________ 9 2.2.2 Response Time __________________________________________________________________ 9 2.2.3 Content _______________________________________________________________________ 10 2.2.4 Lay-out _______________________________________________________________________ 10 2.2.5 Moderators ____________________________________________________________________ 11 2.2.6 Theoretical model_______________________________________________________________ 11

3. RESEARCH DESIGN _________________________________________________________________ 11

3.1 METHODOLOGY ____________________________________________________________________ 11 3.2 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ___________________________________________________________ 13 3.3 OPERATIONALIZATION _______________________________________________________________ 13

4. RESULTS ___________________________________________________________________________ 14

4.1 NAVIGATION _______________________________________________________________________ 15 4.2 RESPONSE TIME_____________________________________________________________________ 15 4.3 CONTENT__________________________________________________________________________ 16 4.4 LAY-OUT __________________________________________________________________________ 16

5. CONCLUSION _______________________________________________________________________ 17

6. DISCUSSION ________________________________________________________________________ 17

7. RECOMMENDATIONS _______________________________________________________________ 18

LITERATURE _________________________________________________________________________ 19

APPENDIXES __________________________________________________________________________ 21

APPENDIX A SURVEY ___________________________________________________________________ 21 APPENDIX B NAVIGATION _______________________________________________________________ 23

Type of website _____________________________________________________________________ 23 Type of cellular phone – Mobile website__________________________________________________ 25 Type of cellular phone – Normal website _________________________________________________ 27

APPENDIX C RESPONSE TIME _____________________________________________________________ 29 Type of website _____________________________________________________________________ 29 Type of Cellular phone – Mobile website _________________________________________________ 31 Type of Cellular phone – Normal website _________________________________________________ 32

APPENDIX D CONTENT __________________________________________________________________ 33 Type of website _____________________________________________________________________ 33 Type of cellular phone – Mobile website__________________________________________________ 34 Type of cellular phone – Normal website _________________________________________________ 35

APPENDIX E LAY-OUT __________________________________________________________________ 36 Type of website _____________________________________________________________________ 36 Type of cellular phone – Mobile website__________________________________________________ 38 Type of cellular phone – Normal website _________________________________________________ 40


- 4 -

1. Introduction

Over the past few years many business activities have been adjusted by new technology. Ever

since the introduction of Internet, many businesses not only sought new ways to advertise, but

also to distribute their products over the Internet (Geyskens, Gielens, & Dekimpe, 2002). Not

only the Internet had a major impact on business activities, but also the introduction of the

cellular phone several decades ago. When the cellular phone was introduced the only way to

communicate was through voice communication. The revenues of voice communication are

no longer growing and therefore, telecom providers continuously work to introduce value-

added services: mobile services in addition to the traditional voice calls, often based on new

technologies. Asides from voicemail and text message as value-added mobile services, the

time now has come to promote the Internet as value-added mobile service. Especially now

that the technology on accessing the Internet through cellular phone has improved over the

past few years, adopting this value-added service seems inevitable (Prins, 2008; Brackel,

2008).

The figures of the Internet as value-added mobile service are increasing very rapidly in the

Netherlands. At this moment about 1,600,000 Dutch consumers are visiting websites on the

Internet with their telephones ones or more per month. The growth of active users is 30% to

40% a year. Already 75% of the Dutch consumers have a telephone that can access the mobile

Internet (Brackel, 2008).

Consequently companies now remain with the question whether they should adjust their

website for mobile Internet users: consumers that use a cellular phone to surf the Internet; or

stay with only the current version of the website. A site specially designed for mobile Internet

users is an addition on the normal Internet website. Whenever a mobile Internet user browses

to the website he will get redirected to the mobile version of the website. These two variants

run combined, only there is a slight difference in the mobile version of the website (Chae &

Kim, 2003).

In order to measure whether companies should adjust their website for mobile Internet users

or not, we measure brand equity. Keller (1993) defines Customer-based brand equity as the

differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand.

Three important concepts are included in the definition: “differential effect,” “brand

knowledge,” and “consumer response to marketing.” A normal Internet website can lead to

enhanced brand image, customer loyalty and provides an unobtrusive touch point for learning


- 5 -

more about key customers. Already many successful on-line brands have used a combination

of Internet and traditional channels to build brand equity and customer loyalty. This is created

through a combination of strategic awareness, consumer perception, image distinction and

image consistency. Building brand equity can also be done by improving the usability of a

website (Resnick, 2001).

In this paper we will describe the influence on brand equity when using mobile Internet

marketing. We believe that adjusting a normal Internet website for mobile Internet users

improves the usability and therefore the brand equity. As other papers described the use of

mobile Internet marketing or how to build brand equity, we combine these two as a whole.

The use of mobile Internet has increased over the past few years since her introduction and

therefore there are not many research studies available. This research defines whether it is

wisely for a company to adjust their websites for mobile Internet users or not. These websites

run synchronised side by side with the normal website only we believe there are some

advantages for the usability for mobile Internet users. Currently it is not known if an adjusted

Internet website increases the usability and thereby the brand equity from a company. To

measure this we want to measure the usability of a mobile Internet website in order to

conclude that companies should have an adjusted Internet website aside from a normal

Internet website or not. We find that if a mobile Internet website improves the brand equity of

a company, companies should adjust their website for mobile Internet users.

In the next chapter we will discuss the theoretical framework of this paper and our research

design. Next we will discuss our research results on the hypotheses given in our theoretical

framework. Furthermore we will discuss our conclusions of this research and consequently

we will discuss our recommendations on the matter.

2. Theoretical Framework

In the last decade of the twentieth century mobile communications and the Internet were the

two major demand drivers for telecommunication services. Combined – mobile Internet –

would be one of the major demand drivers of the first decade of the twenty-first century

(Srivastava, Goodrick, Kelly, Reynolds, & Takada, 2002).

Lately already some gigantic players on the market have invested in mobile Internet websites.

It is not for no reason they decided to invest in mobile marketing. Giants like Sony Ericsson,

My Space, Yahoo, Middlesex University etcetera have already adjusted their websites for

mobile Internet users. They claim it is value-adding to their company. Especially now that the


- 6 -

demand takes place anywhere at anytime with a cellular phone (Farber, 2008; Goldie, 2006;

Jaquith, 2008).

We believe an adjusted Internet website for mobile Internet users increases the usability, and

thereby the brand equity of a company. Thus, our research question is: Does the use of mobile

Internet marketing have an influence on the brand equity of an organisation? In order to

research this we have studied many relevant and previous studies and made several

hypotheses which form the base of our research.

2.1 Definitions

2.1.1 Brand equity

Brand equity is already studied from various perspectives. Because of the variance of studies

there are also a lot of definitions about what brand equity really is (Krishnan & Hartline,

2001). The definition that is the best in our perspective is the one that Keller (1993) defines.

He defines brand equity as the deferential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to

the marketing of the brand. Brand knowledge is the most important concept in the definition

of brand equity for our study.

Customer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds

some favourable, strong and unique brand association in memorising. A consumer forms

brand knowledge by storing nodes in his or her memory. Nodes are stored information that

are connected by links that vary in strength. These stored nodes are triggered and linked

together when the consumer takes up information from his or her environment. The more

nodes that are triggered determine the extent of retrieval in memory. Thus, the more nodes a

consumer has on a certain brand, the more brand knowledge the consumer has. This is

relevant to our study, because it states whenever a consumer has a good experience with a

website on the mobile Internet, the more favourable nodes he or she has, and thus the brand

equity of the company will increase. This is supported by Lassar, Mittal, and Sharma (1995)

who studied how to measure customer-based brand equity. They say customer-based brand

equity can be measured by measuring the performance, social image, value, trustworthiness

and attachment of a brand. Usability can increase performance, social image and

trustworthiness, thus brand equity.


- 7 -

2.1.2 Usability

In spite of the increasing importance of mobile marketing and its efforts, a research of the

influence of mobile marketing on brand equity has been lacking. There is yet no research

done about measuring the usability of an adjusted Internet website for mobile Internet users,

although there has already been developed a method for measuring the usability of a normal

Internet website. Therefore we want to measure the usability of a mobile website using the

method for measuring the usability of a normal Internet website.

For measuring the usability of a normal Internet website we measure four different variables:

navigation, response time, credibility and content (Palmer, 2002). These four variables

combined reflect the usability of a website. Brackel (2008) determines, because of the limited

screen size of a cellular phone, mobile Internet websites should not include credibility

content, but instead should focus more on lay-out.

If a mobile Internet website has a better usability, it should increase the brand equity of a

company. Because the mobile Internet site is easy to use, consumers will use these websites

more often. Consequently if the site is visited more often it will improve its brand knowledge,

thus brand equity (Keller, 1993; Palmer, 2002).

2.1.3 Mobile marketing

According to Leppäniemi and Karjaluoto (2007) there are four mobile marketing

communications tools: Advertising, Promotions, Direct Marketing and CRM. Advertising can

be divided into WEB, Broadcast, Narrowcast, Physical browsing and Other. In this paper we

will focus ourselves only on WEB as the mobile marketing communication tool.

Chae and Kim (2003) studied the business implications of the mobile Internet from the user’s

perspective. They describe the characteristics of the mobile Internet can be understood from

three different perspectives: user, environment and system. First, from the user’s perspective,

it is rare to share mobile Internet phones, because they are usually more personal and

individual than stationary Internet devices. Therefore, the mobile device always carries its

user identity. Second, from the environmental perspective, mobile Internet systems are

portable and always available. Stationary Internet systems are the opposite; they are not

usually movable and require long pre-processes, such as booting up etcetera. Third, from the

system’s perspective, mobile Internet systems have a lower level of available resources

compared to those provided by the stationary Internet. While mobile Internet devices are very


- 8 -

portable and handy, they have smaller screens, less convenient input/output facilities, and

lower multimedia processing capabilities than do desktop computers, for example.

Many studies show mobile Internet is always available anywhere at anytime (Lamming,

Eldridge, Flynn, Jones, & Pendlebury, 2000; Jaquith, 2008; Chae & Kim, 2003). There are

however some limitations to mobile Internet (Chae & Kim, 2003; Brackel, 2008). Before we

determine the limitations of mobile Internet websites we first have to study what the

consumer expectations, the technical possibilities and the marketing possibilities are of

normal Internet websites.

Palmer (2002) studied what the consumer expectations are for a normal Internet website. He

concluded that the consumer’s expectations of a website are determined by download delay,

navigation/organization, interactivity, responsiveness and information/content. Consequently

these variables determine the website success. I.e. From a substantive point of view, site

design, usability, and media richness appear to be closely associated with site success.

Schlosser, White, and Lloyd (2006) studied how website visitors could be converted into

buyers. They concluded that whenever consumers believe a website is more trustworthy their

online purchase intention would be more likely. They claim that investments are necessary,

but only when risks are high. Song and Zinkhan (2008) showed that interactivity on a website

is also very important for online purchases. They also find that speed is of a substantial factor

for website visitors. Another study proves the existence and influence of website social ness

perceptions. They showed whenever a website was social interactive the online purchase

intention would increase (Wang, Baker, Wagner, & Wakefield, 2007).

Other studies show the importance of Customer Relationship Management in online

Retailing. There are infinite technological and marketing possibilities online, but there has to

be sought for a good balance between those two. Research shows that moderate online

experience are better able to leverage CRM into superior customer satisfaction outcomes than

firms with either low or high online experience (Srinivasan & Moorman, 2005).

We believe that a mobile Internet website is, although its technical limitations, an addition to

the normal Internet website. In this paper we will test this by various hypotheses.


- 9 -

2.2 Hypotheses

Palmer (2002) wrote in his study the way to measure the usability of a normal website is by

measuring four variables: Navigation, Response Time, Credibility and Content. If these

variables are perceived good, the usability of the website increases. Brackel (2008) however

determinant it is not possible for mobile Internet websites to focus on Credibility and argues a

larger focus on Lay-out.

The central subject of this paper is a normal Internet website versus an adjusted Internet

website for mobile Internet users. We believe there is a substantial difference between these

two variants in the usability of a website. The independent variable therefore is whether it is a

normal Internet website or an adjusted Internet website.

2.2.1 Navigation

Navigation is the placement of the navigational tools on a website, such as buttons and bars.

The navigation of a website is important for the users of the website. Having a good

navigation allows users to find their information faster and easier (Palmer, 2003; Brackel,

2008). If the navigation of a website is adjusted for mobile Internet users, everything will fit

on the limited screen of the cellular phone (Chae & Kim, 2003). This will increase the

navigation of the website with the advantages mention above, namely it will allow users to

find their information faster and easier. We therefore hypothesize a positive influence of

navigation on usability.

H1: An adjusted Internet website for mobile phone users has a better navigation than

a normal Internet website when it is visited by a cellular phone. Thus, the usability

will increase.

2.2.2 Response Time

When visiting a website you download information and eventually this information will be

displayed on the device’s screen (Gralla, Ishida, Reimer, & Adams, 2006). An adjusted

Internet website for mobile Internet users has a lot of elements that take away most of the

download time. An adjusted Internet website has fewer pictures or other multimedia and the

pictures and other multimedia that the website do have are adjusted for mobile devices. This

means those pictures and other multimedia have an optimised resolution for mobile devices

which takes away a lot of bytes, thus download time (Brackel, 2008). We believe that the


- 10 -

users of mobile Internet will say that the download time of an adjusted Internet website is less

bothersome than the download time of a normal Internet website when it is visited by a

cellular phone. We therefore hypothesize a positive influence of response time on usability.

H2: An adjusted Internet website for mobile phone users requires less download time

than a normal Internet website does when it is visited by a cellular phone. Thus, the

usability will increase.

2.2.3 Content

The Internet is designed to gather information, like news, weather, sports, traffic etcetera

(Brackel, 2008). There are already a lot of websites that provide this information, so these are

value adding. However if a website is full of text, it is difficult for a user to read it on a

limited sized screen, such as you can find on cellular phones. Therefore adjusted Internet

websites for mobile phones are restricted with their content and only provides brief

information that is relevant and up-to-date for its users. We believe that if a website is

adjusted for mobile Internet users only provides the information that the user requires. If this

data is up to date and as brief as possible, the usability will increase. We therefore

hypothesize a positive influence of content on usability.

H3: An adjusted Internet website for mobile phone users has more relevant content for

the user than a normal Internet website does when it is visited by a cellular phone.

Thus, the usability will increase.

2.2.4 Lay-out

The lay-out of a mobile Internet website is different from the lay out of a normal Internet

website. Everything is adjusted to fit on a screen of a cellular phone. Brackel (2008)

determines that an adjusted Internet website has a good lay-out if it is well readable and long

sentences are avoided. We believe that an adjusted Internet website for mobile Internet users

increases the usability. We therefore hypothesize a positive influence of lay-out on usability.

H4: An adjusted Internet website for mobile phone users has a better lay-out for the

user than a normal Internet website does when it is visited by a cellular phone. Thus,

the usability will increase.


- 11 -

2.2.5 Moderators

Brackel (2008) determent the use of mobile Internet has increased because of several reasons.

The most important reason was the rise of more advanced cellular phones, which are capable

of faster loading times and bigger screens. We therefore hypothesize the type of cellular

phone has a moderating effect on a website’s usability.

H5. The type of cellular phone has a moderating effect on a website’s usability.

2.2.6 Theoretical model

3. Research Design

3.1 Methodology

To determine if the use of mobile Internet marketing has an influence on the brand equity of

an organisation we made five hypotheses. To test these hypotheses we do field research. We

have chosen to do a field experiment with the various options there are to visit an Internet

website through a cellular phone. Thus, we will test both the normal Internet websites

(unadjusted) and the adjusted Internet websites for mobile phones through two kinds of

devices. The difference between these two devices is that one is running Internet Explorer

(one of the latest technology devices) and the other is running WAP browser. We will use the

HTC Touch PRO as the modern cellular phone and the Nokia 6020 as the classic cellular

phone (Brackel, 2008).

Type of website

Usability

Brand Equity

Type of

cellular phone (H5)

Navigation (H1)

Response Time (H2)

Content (H3)

Lay-out (H4)

The grey area (influence of

Usability on Brand Equity)

has already been proven by

Keller (1993), Lassar et al

(1995) and Resnick (2001).


- 12 -

We have chosen to take a stratified random sample of the Dutch population. We have chosen

to experiment with students, because of vary of reasons. First, this group is more aware of the

latest technology and therefore more interesting. Secondly, among this group almost

everybody already uses a cellular phone, because it is practically indispensable in the current

society. Third, we want to test a model with this research and doing a survey under youngsters

is sufficient to determine whether this model is valid or not. By doing an experiment we do

not want to conclude anything about the total population. Last, this target group is more

interesting from business perspective, because mobile marketing is specifically targeted at this

group. (Brackel, 2008).

The experiment will be to determine the usability of mobile Internet websites. We did not

have the time to make a 0-measurement. The research had to be done within five months and

we think this time is too short to have a difference in results.

The respondent will be asked to do an assignment on the website and will thereby have to fill

in some questions. The following experiments will be tested:

The respondent will get a classic cellular phone and has to do an assignment on a normal

Internet website.

The respondent will get a classic cellular phone and has to do an assignment on an

adjusted Internet website for mobile Internet users.

The respondent will get a modern cellular phone and has to do an assignment on a normal

Internet website.

The respondent will get a modern cellular phone and has to do an assignment on an

adjusted Internet website for mobile Internet users.

Every respondent will only get one cellular phone and therefore will only do one experiment.

This is, so we eliminate the influence of technology on our data and so we can measure the

moderating influence of technology on the usability of a website. During the experiment we

will ask the respondents several questions about the navigation, response time, content and

lay-out of the website he is currently viewing (see appendix A). The respondent has to rate

these questions on a 5-point likert scale, whereby only the first and the last-point have a value.

This is done so we can calculate averages with the results.

We will test our hypotheses with one website (NS.nl), which has both a normal website and

an adjusted website for mobile Internet users. Both of these variants are available to display

on a cellular phone. On this website we can ask the respondent to search for a specific detail,

so we can measure the usability. Also the speed of the perceived information retrieval will be

measured.


- 13 -

3.2 Reliability and validity

In total we will experiment with approximately 100 respondents. According to MacCallum,

Widaman, Zhang, and Hong (1999) 100 respondents will give data which is valid to do

statistics calculation with. Normally this is to make conclusions about the whole population

when having a sample. In this case we will do an experiment, so we do not conclude anything

about the total population, but we are testing a model. However, we have chosen to have 100

respondents, to get a closer insight and to have a valid experiment.

The target group of respondents will be students in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and districts. We

believe the trend towards mobile Internet usage is specifically interesting under youngsters.

Therefore we aim to get respondents out of this target group. Consequently tests will be taken

in schools, associations and at home with friends.

3.3 Operationalization

Construct Measures Method Sources

Hypothesis 1:

Navigation

Arrangement

Structure

Links

5-point likert scale

Independent Sample

T-test

Actual time

Brackel, 2008

Palmer, 2002

Hypothesis 2:

Response Time

Speed 5-point likert scale

Independent Sample

T-test

Actual time

Brackel, 2008

Palmer, 2002

Hypothesis 3:

Content

Amount of Information

Variety of Information

Word count

Content quality

Relevance

Actual


Independent Sample

T-test

Brackel, 2008

Palmer, 2002

Hypothesis 4:

Lay-out

Readability

Suitable

Length of sentences

Proper


Independent Sample

T-test

Brackel, 2008

Palmer, 2002

Hypothesis 5:

Type of cellular phone

Wap version

IE version

Instrument Brackel, 2008


- 14 -

4. Results During our research we have received much assistance from our fellow students and our

friends. Therefore our non response was very low and our research went well. We have done

our experiments on all weekdays between 13.00 and 15.00. In total we have received 100

respondents and approximately 4 non-responses. The respondents are between the age of 17

and 26. 54% of our respondents are male. 79% of our respondents are already familiar with

mobile Internet. The NS website is quite popular, because already 92.2% of our respondents

are already familiar with this website. However, this does not conclude they are already aware

of the two formats, but only NS.nl in general. On a scale from 1 to 5 whether the respondents

thought mobile Internet had a future the average score was 3.98.

Each respondent received either the classic cellular phone or the modern cellular phone with

either the normal Internet website or the adjusted Internet website for mobile usage. The

respondent had to search for the departure times of the train from Den Bosch to Eindhoven.

The time this experiment took was measured by a stopwatch. Next the respondent was

questioned about the five hypothesis and the answers were filled in by the interviewer.

When using this method the control of preventing direct influences is very high. This is,

because each respondent only gets one case and is thereby not influenced by the other cases.

We can control this, because there are several groups, independent from each other.

With our collected data we have done Independent Sample T-tests. With these tests we can

indicate the differences in averages between the sample categories. To see whether a relation

is significant we first have to determine if the variances are assumed equal or unequal. We

therefore use the Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances. If this test is significant it means

the variances are assumed unequal, else they are equal. We look at the significance (2-tailed)

to determine whether the relationship is significant.

We test our hypotheses with a reliability of 95%. This means α = 0.05, so we reject H0 if the

significance level is < 0.05 and consequently there is a relationship.

The moderating impact is measured for every component of usability separately. We have

measured this by doing the Independent Sample T-test as well for each type of Internet

website.


- 15 -

4.1 Navigation

H1: An adjusted Internet website for mobile phone users has a better navigation than a

normal Internet website when it is visited by a cellular phone. Thus, the usability will

increase.

The results of the navigation are illustrated in Appendix B. We have made Independent

Sample T-tests in SPSS. We found that the adjusted website is significantly better in

arrangement, structure and information than a normal website when showed on a cellular

phone.

When we look at the difference in navigation between the two types of cellular phones, we

see that there is a significantly difference between a modern phone and classic phone on

finding the way back on an adjusted mobile Internet website. The respondents that viewed the

normal website founded that the website had a better structure on a modern phone than on a

classic phone.

4.2 Response time

H2: An adjusted Internet website for mobile phone users requires less download time than a

normal Internet website does when it is visited by a cellular phone. Thus, the usability will

increase.

In Appendix C you can see the results of the Independent Sample T-tests in SPSS. We have

tested the actual response time, the perceived response time and the expected response time.

We have tested these variables with what kind of cellular phone and which kind of website.

The differences between the two variants of websites on the response time, perceived

response time and expected response time are all significant. The normal website takes

33.35% longer to load than the adjusted website. The respondents rated the perceived

response time of the adjusted website better than the perceived response time of the normal

website. Also the respondents found the adjusted website faster than expected.

The differences between the two types of cellular phones on the actual response time,

perceived response time and expected response time are also all significant. The respondents

found the modern phone faster than the classic phone.


- 16 -

4.3 Content

H3: An adjusted Internet website for mobile phone users has more relevant content for the

user than a normal Internet website does when it is visited by a cellular phone. Thus, the

usability will increase.

In order to determine the differences between the types of websites and the types of cellular

phones on content we used an Independent Sample T-test. The results of these tests are in

Appendix D.

The adjusted website is significantly better than an adjusted website in delivering content.

However, this does not mean the website is more actual. The type of phone does not

significantly influence the content.

4.4 Lay-out

H4: An adjusted Internet website for mobile phone users has a better lay-out for the user than

a normal Internet website does when it is visited by a cellular phone. Thus, the usability will

increase.

In appendix E you can find the results of the Independent Sample T-tests in determining the

differences in lay-out between the type of websites and the type of cellular phones.

Our respondents have a significantly distinct preference for an adjusted website, because it

fits better on the screen, the page is clearer and the lay-out is more pleasant to view.

Furthermore, the lay-out of a normal website is significantly reviewed better on a modern

phone than on a classic phone by our respondents. Also the lay-out of an adjusted website is

significantly reviewed better on a modern phone than on a classic phone by our respondents,

except for the item ‘fit in screen’.


- 17 -

5. Conclusion

The adjusted website is significantly better on all four criteria we used to determine the

usability of a website. Thus, the Navigation, Response Time, Content and Lay-out are better

on an adjusted website for mobile Internet users than on a normal website for mobile Internet

users. Also the type of cellular phone moderates the Navigation, Response Time and Lay-out

of an Internet website for mobile users. The content is not moderated, which sounds logic,

because the content can not be changed by a cellular phone. However, the rest can be and are,

so we therefore can conclude that the type of cellular phone is a moderator for Navigation,

Response Time and Lay-out.

Consequently we can conclude the use of mobile Internet marketing has a positive influence

on the Brand Equity of an organisation. We can conclude this, because Keller (1993), Lassar

et al (1995) and Resnick (2001) already determined that the brand equity of an organisation is

influenced by usability. Palmer (2002) and Brackel (2008) determined the usability of a

website can be measured by Navigation, Response Time, Content and Lay-out. In our

researched we limited mobile Internet marketing to the component ‘WEB’.

All four criteria’s have been proven positively influenced by an adjusted website for mobile

Internet users. Thus, all our hypotheses are accepted and therefore we can conclude the use of

mobile Internet marketing positively influences the brand equity of an organisation.

6. Discussion

We have researched the influence of WEB as part of mobile Internet marketing on usability as

part of Brand Equity. Mobile Internet marketing, however, can be divided into advertising,

promotions, direct marketing and CRM. Brand equity can be divided into brand knowledge,

brand awareness and brand image. We have done our research among youngsters between the

age of 17 and 26.

We have chosen to only research WEB (part of advertising; tool of mobile Internet

marketing), because time and technology was of the essence. We did not have the time to

research all components and we did not have the technology available to test the other

components. Furthermore, brand equity could best be measured for this research by usability,

but there are also other ways to measure this. Our target group were youngsters for this

research, because we only wanted to test our model. Also, this target group is most interesting

for this research, because of several aspects. First, this target group is more familiar with the


- 18 -

latest technology. Second, this target group often use a cellular phone. Third, we only wanted

to test our model and did not want to conclude anything about the total population. Last, this

group is often used for mobile Internet marketing campaigns.

This research proves our model valid. Thus, the usability is influenced by web and therefore

we can conclude the use of mobile Internet marketing influences the brand equity. However,

there is a possibility that other components of mobile Internet marketing do not influence the

brand equity of an organisation. Further research for this is needed.

Further research has to be done for the other components of mobile Internet marketing and

also for the other measurement methods for brand equity. Further research is needed among

other target groups as well, to test if this model is valid for the whole population.

7. Recommendations

This research shows that the brand equity of a company is influenced by the use of mobile

Internet marketing, specifically ‘adjusted websites for mobile Internet users’. We concluded

the usability of an adjusted website is significantly better than a normal website and therefore

has a positive influence on the brand equity. Song and Zinkhan (2008) already proved speed

is of a substantial factor for website visitors and according to our research adjusted websites

for mobile Internet users are faster and therefore better for visitors. Consequently we

recommend companies to adjust their websites for mobile Internet users. This will enhance

the usability and thereby enhance their brand equity. Also according to our respondents

mobile Internet marketing has a good future and therefore the investments that need to be

made are worth it. We also expect the demand for adjusted websites will grow in the future

and Brackel (2008) supports this.


- 19 -

Literature

Brackel, P. (2008). Mobiel Internet in Nederland 2008: Gebruik van Mobiele Sites: Het Web

Achterna? OMI, 2008

Chae, M., & Kim, J. (2003). What’s So Different About the Mobile Internet?

Communications of the ACM, 46(December 2003), 240-247

Farber, A. (2008). MySpace Plans Global Mobile Site Overhaul to Align with Online Offer.

NMA 17.07.08, 4

Geyskens, I., Gielens, K., & Dekimpe, M.G. (2002). The Market Valuation of Internet

Channel Additions. Journal of Marketing, 66(April 2002), 102-119

Goldie, L. 2006. Universities Try Out Mobile for Reaching Prospective Students. NMA

30.11.06, 6

Gralla, P., Ishida, S., Reimer, M., & Adams, S. (2006). How the Internet Works (8th

ed.).

United States of America: Pearson Education United States

Jaquith, A. (2008). As the Mobile Internet Arrives, Identity Becomes Paramount. RCR

wireless News, 27 Issue 25(8/18/2008), 6-6

Keller, K.L. (1993). Conceptuualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand

Equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(Jaunary 1993), 1-22

Krishnan, B.C., & Hartline, M.D. (2001). Brand Equity: Is it More Important in Services?

Journal of services marketing, 15(5) 328-342

Lamming, M., Eldridge, M., Flynn, M., Jones, C., & Pendlebury, D.S. (2000). Providing

Access to Any Document, Any Time, Anywhere. ACM Transactions on Computer-

Human Interaction 7, 3 (2000), 322–352

Lassar, W., Mittal, B., & Sharma, A. (1995). Measuring Customer-Based Brand Equity.

Journal of consumer marketing, 12(4) 11-19.

Leppäniemi, M., & Karjaluoto, H. (2007). Mobile Marketing: From Marketing Strategy to

Mobile Marketing Campaign Implementation. Proceedings of the 6th Annual Global

Mobility Roundtable Conference, Los Angeles, (June 2008) 1-2.

MacCallum, R.C., Widaman, K.F., Zhang, S., & Hong, S. (1999). Sample Size in Factor

Analysis. Psychological methods, 4(1), 84-99

Palmer, J.W. (2002). Website Usability, Design, and Performance Metrics Information

Systems Research, 13,2(June 2002), 151-169


- 20 -

Prins, R. (2008). Modeling Consumer Adoption and Usage of Value-Added mobile Services.

Erasmus Research Institute of Management, Erasmsus University Rotterdam

Resnick, M. (2001). Increasing Brand Equity With Interactive On-line Communities. Journal

of E-business, 2 (Vol 1, December 2001), 1-6

Schlosser, A.E., White, T.B., & Lloyd, S.M. (2006). Converting Website Visitors into Buyers:

How website Investment Increases Consumer Trusting Beliefs. Journal of Marketing,

70(April 2006), 133-148

Song, J.H., & Zinkhan, G.M. (2008). Determinants of Perceived Website Interactivity.

Journal of Marketing, 72(March 2008), 99-113

Srinivasan, R., & Moorman, C. (2005). Strategic Firm Commitments and Rewards for

Customer Relationship Management in Online Retailing. Journal of Marketing,

69(October 2005), 193-200

Srivastava, L., Goodrick, J., Kelly, T., Reynolds, T., & Takada, Y. (2002). ITU Internet

Reports: Internet for a Mobile Generation. ISBN: 92-61-09851-7, International

Telecommunication Union, Geneva

Wang, L.C., Baker, J., Wagner, J.A., & Wakefield, K. (2007). Can a Retail Website Be

Social? Journal of Marketing, 71(July 2007), 143-158


- 21 -

Appendixes

Appendix A Survey

Enquete “The Influence of Mobile Marketing on Brand Equity”

Goedemorgen/middag/avond, meneer/mevrouw. Zou ik enkele minuten van uw tijd mogen

om u wat vragen te stellen?

Ik ben ….,. Op het moment ben ik bezig met een onderzoek met betrekking tot de

gebruiksvriendelijkheid van mobiel Internet gebruik. Deze enquête kost slechts 5 minuten van

uw tijd.

Bij voorbaat dank.

De vragen dienen volledig ingevuld te worden door de enquêteer.

Markeer slechts één antwoord bij elke vraag, tenzij anders vermeld.

Controleer de antwoorden die je invult bij de respondent.


- 22 -

Invullen door de enquêteer: Website variant: o NS.nl (mobiel) o NS.nl (normaal)

Type telefoon o Modern o Klassiek

Geef de mobiele telefoon aan de respondent en vraag hem een reis te plannen van Den Bosch

naar Eindhoven. Start de stopwatch zodra de respondent begonnen is.

Tijd: ….. seconden

Vragen

Leeftijd: ….. jaar

Geslacht: M / V

Reeds bekend met mobiel Internet: JA / NEE

Reeds bekend met deze website: JA / NEE

Gebruikerstype: NOOIT / 1 x per maand / 1 x per week / dagelijks

1 = zeer oneens 5 = zeer eens

Laadtijd

De laadtijd was snel. 1 2 3 4 5

De laadtijd was de laadtijd die ik wil. 1 2 3 4 5

Navigatie

De website is logisch opgebouwd 1 2 3 4 5

Ik kan gemakkelijk de weg terug

vinden, zodra ik fout zit

1 2 3 4 5

De informatie die ik nodig heb is

moeilijk te vinden

1 2 3 4 5

Ik ervaar de navigatie zeer prettig 1 2 3 4 5

De navigatie is voor mij van belang

als ik surf

1 2 3 4 5

Content

De site geeft de informatie die ik

nodig heb

1 2 3 4 5

De informatie op de website is

actueel

1 2 3 4 5

Ik acht de content zeer belangrijk

wanneer ik surf

1 2 3 4 5

Lay-out

De pagina past goed in het scherm 1 2 3 4 5

De pagina is niet duidelijk 1 2 3 4 5

De lay-out maakt de website

aangenaam om hem te bezoeken

1 2 3 4 5

De plaatjes pasten goed naast de

tekst

1 2 3 4 5

De website is goed leesbaar 1 2 3 4 5

Gebruiksvriendelijkheid

Ik ga vaker mobiel surfen komende

maand

1 2 3 4 5

Ik ga vaker mobiele websites

bezoeken komend jaar

1 2 3 4 5

Ik zie er geen toekomst in 1 2 3 4 5

Bedankt voor uw medewerking


- 23 -

Appendix B Navigation

Type of website Group Statistics

Website N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error

Mean

mobiel 50 4,56 ,501 ,071 Website logisch opgebouwd normaal 50 3,02 1,020 ,144

mobiel 50 4,10 ,789 ,112 Gemakkelijk weg terug te vinden normaal

50 2,66 1,022 ,145

mobiel 50 4,50 ,505 ,071 Informatie gemakkelijk te vinden normaal 50 2,40 1,069 ,151

mobiel 50 4,58 ,499 ,071 Ervaring navigatie prettig

normaal 50 2,44 ,972 ,137

mobiel 50 3,94 ,818 ,116 Navigatie is belangrijk

normaal 50 4,00 ,782 ,111


- 24 -

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for

Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean

Difference Std. Error Difference

95% Confidence Interval of the Difference

Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower

Website logisch opgebouwd

Equal variances assumed 10,436 ,002 9,581 98 ,000 1,540 ,161 1,221 1,859

Equal variances not assumed 9,581 71,376 ,000 1,540 ,161 1,220 1,860

Gemakkelijk weg terug te vinden



Informatie gemakkelijk te vinden



Ervaring navigatie prettig Equal variances assumed 25,243 ,000 13,849 98 ,000 2,140 ,155 1,833 2,447


Navigatie is belangrijk Equal variances assumed ,659 ,419 -,375 98 ,709 -,060 ,160 -,378 ,258

Equal variances not assumed -,375 97,803 ,709 -,060 ,160 -,378 ,258


- 25 -

Type of cellular phone – Mobile website Group Statistics

Telefoon N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error

Mean

modern 25 4,64 ,490 ,098 Website logisch opgebouwd klassiek 25 4,48 ,510 ,102

modern 25 4,36 ,700 ,140 Gemakkelijk weg terug te vinden klassiek

25 3,84 ,800 ,160

modern 25 4,52 ,510 ,102 Informatie gemakkelijk te vinden klassiek 25 4,48 ,510 ,102

modern 25 4,48 ,510 ,102 Ervaring navigatie prettig

klassiek 25 4,68 ,476 ,095

modern 25 4,20 ,816 ,163 Navigatie is belangrijk

klassiek 25 3,68 ,748 ,150


- 26 -


- 27 -

Type of cellular phone – Normal website


- 28 -


- 29 -

Appendix C Response time



Mean

mobiel 50 79,10 31,457 4,449 Laadtijd in seconden

normaal 50 105,48 28,284 4,000

mobiel 50 4,00 ,728 ,103 Laadtijd snel

normaal 50 3,22 1,329 ,188

mobiel 50 4,14 ,700 ,099 Laadtijd was zoals verwacht normaal 50 2,82 1,304 ,184


- 30 -


Levene's Test for






Laadtijd in seconden Equal variances assumed 4,727 ,032 -4,409 98 ,000 -26,380 5,983 -38,252 -14,508

Equal variances not assumed -4,409 96,913 ,000 -26,380 5,983 -38,254 -14,506

Laadtijd snel Equal variances assumed 22,597 ,000 3,639 98 ,000 ,780 ,214 ,355 1,205

Equal variances not assumed 3,639 75,995 ,000 ,780 ,214 ,353 1,207

Laadtijd was zoals verwacht

Equal variances assumed 20,478 ,000 6,305 98 ,000 1,320 ,209 ,905 1,735

Equal variances not assumed 6,305 75,068 ,000 1,320 ,209 ,903 1,737


- 31 -

Type of Cellular phone – Mobile website


- 32 -

Type of Cellular phone – Normal website


- 33 -

Appendix D Content



Mean

mobiel 50 4,54 ,503 ,071 Site geeft goede informatie normaal 50 2,60 1,400 ,198

mobiel 50 4,52 ,505 ,071 De informatie is actueel

normaal 50 4,40 ,495 ,070

mobiel 50 4,56 ,501 ,071 Content is belangrijk

normaal 50 4,42 ,499 ,071


Levene's Test for






Site geeft goede informatie



De informatie is actueel Equal variances assumed 1,806 ,182 1,200 98 ,233 ,120 ,100 -,078 ,318

Equal variances not assumed 1,200 97,962 ,233 ,120 ,100 -,078 ,318

Content is belangrijk Equal variances assumed ,157 ,693 1,400 98 ,165 ,140 ,100 -,058 ,338

Equal variances not assumed 1,400 97,997 ,165 ,140 ,100 -,058 ,338


- 34 -

Type of cellular phone – Mobile website


- 35 -



- 36 -

Appendix E Lay-out



Mean

mobiel 50 4,36 ,631 ,089 Pagina past goed in scherm normaal 50 2,66 1,206 ,170

mobiel 50 4,26 ,694 ,098 Pagina is duidelijk

normaal 50 2,82 1,044 ,148

mobiel 50 4,24 ,716 ,101 Lay-out is aangenaam

normaal 50 2,82 1,289 ,182

mobiel 50 3,98 1,020 ,144 Plaatjes passen goed naast tekst normaal 50 2,48 1,249 ,177

mobiel 50 4,22 ,790 ,112 Website is goed leesbaar

normaal 50 2,84 1,076 ,152


- 37 -


Levene's Test for






Pagina past goed in scherm



Pagina is duidelijk Equal variances assumed 10,803 ,001 8,123 98 ,000 1,440 ,177 1,088 1,792


Lay-out is aangenaam Equal variances assumed 17,589 ,000 6,811 98 ,000 1,420 ,208 1,006 1,834


Plaatjes passen goed naast tekst



Website is goed leesbaar Equal variances assumed 2,191 ,142 7,311 98 ,000 1,380 ,189 1,005 1,755



- 38 -

Type of cellular phone – Mobile website


- 39 -


- 40 -



- 41 -

the influence of mobile marketing on brand equity

Documents

influence of mobile

brand equity

type of website

mobile internet users

adjusted website

normal website

modern phone

response time