Mobile Advertising: An Empirical Study of Temporal and Spatial Differences in Search Behavior and Advertising Response

•Informative and persuasive content exhibits different non-linear effects on the depth and breadth of information search.•Informative and persuasive content has a similar U-shaped influence on advertising response.•Increased depth and breadth of search are associated with higher propensities to respond to mobile advertisements.•Spatial and temporal proximity of mobile ad campaigns may not lead to increased relevance of mobile campaigns.•The relevance of mobile campaigns depends on the type of ad content and the type of measure used to assess it.

Using clickstream panel data from an automobile ad campaign conducted on a mobile platform, we investigate the relevance of mobile advertising, the interrelationships between ad content, information search behavior, and advertising response. Temporally, we compare mobile users' search behavior and advertising response before and during a focal campaign event of an automobile show. Spatially, we examine their search behavior and advertising response in relation to their proximity to the show's location. Estimation results from individual-user random effects binary Logit and Poisson count models show that users' responses to mobile advertising are related to the depth and breadth of search and the ad content. While informative and persuasive ad content exhibits differential non-linear effects on the depth and breadth of search, they have similar effects on advertising response. Interestingly, spatial and temporal proximity of mobile ad campaigns may not lead to increased relevance of mobile campaigns; it depends on the type of ad content and the type of measure used to assess relevance.