Advertising on Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Web: Which is Better for Ad Recognition and Willingness to Buy New Products?

Abstract

Do consumers process mobile advertising on mobile websites and branded apps in the same way? To answer this question, this article examines both the antecedents and consequences of mobile websites and branded apps. The authors administered a survey to 573 participants in South Korea and examined consumers’ advertising recognition and willingness to buy new products. They used real brands and controlled the brand effect in their structural equation model. Branded apps led to higher advertisement recognition and a greater willingness to buy new products than did mobile websites. As antecedents, cognitive innovativeness affected consumers’ usage of branded apps, whereas sensory innovativeness influenced the usage of both mobile apps and websites. The authors believe this is the first empirical article on consumers’ advertising recognition between mobile websites and branded apps, providing both theoretical and practical implications to managers in the field of mobile marketing.