When interactive text- or multimedia-based (SMS/MMS) dialogue messages first appeared on the scene, much of the hype surrounded the appeal to the younger generation.

While this appeal still remains - and a number of young people are likely to experience carpal tunnel in their thumbs one day - these individuals are consumers and may have now entered the workforce, giving them more disposable income.

What does this mean for the companies who are targeting this market? A whole new platform for personalized advertising can be leveraged to promote products and services in a more intimate approach.

To gauge just how receptive this audience would be, Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert) Market Advantage conducted end-user research. The company wanted to measure the level of receptiveness to such a service. Alcatel-Lucent discovered that as long as privacy was protected, this platform offered significant promise. 

One interesting finding from this research was that as long as privacy was a priority and the mobile advertising SMS/MMS dialogue required permission, advertisements could be very successful as they could be highly targeted to march user interests. This was a significant area of interest for advertisers as 90 percent of global youth included in the study already subscribe to an SMS service and 74 percent use MMS.

In conducting this study, Alcatel-Lucent determined that 54 percent of global youth would sign up for the SMS/MMS dialogue-based media service. Much enthusiasm was displayed in Latin America where two-thirds of respondents would subscribe. In addition, young adults expressed a greater interest than teens and 61 percent of young adults indicated they would probably sign up for mobile advertising.

One very important truth is the necessity in gaining permission before sending ad-supported messages. A full 81 percent of young consumers found it extremely or very important to ask for their permission before sending and 76 percent find it important for the ads to be based on their interest and preferences.  

So why are young people so willing to participate in ads this way? For one thing, we as consumers are very self-centered. We want content that is personalized to our likes, needs and wants. And, we want this information to arrive in the most convenient way. Since we won't go out and look for it, advertisers can leverage this simple portal to appeal to the consumer as an individual.

A finding from the ALU study that supports advertisers' efforts in this space is the fact that when ads from their favorite brands are delivered through mobile advertising SMS/MMS dialogue service, most consumers are more likely to make purchases from that brand. The only question that remains: Why wouldn't the advertiser use this method?