Purpose The study aims to identify and explore the antecedents to short message service (SMS) advertising acceptance as an effect to the entire process of communicating the SMS ad. Design/methodology/approach The study follows a sequential mixed-methods approach, starting with qualitative interviews, to build the research model following the grounded theory approach and then a quantitative survey study to apply the model to two types of ads (discount and notification ads). Findings Perceived value, ad trust and channel acceptance are crucial to the attitude towards SMS ads. Relevance, content, brand equity and perceived usefulness are significant triggers to perceived value and trust, with an emphasis on importance of brand equity in trusting discount ads. Practical/implications Accurate targeting and personalisation are crucial to ensure that SMS ads are useful and relevant to recipients. SMS advertising is more effective when the recipients are already connected with the brand. Including the brand name as the sender increases both value and trust. Transparency and adequate information are important for gaining trust especially for discount ads. Originality/value The study proposes an integrative model for SMS advertising acceptance after a rigorous consideration of all elements in the process of communicating the SMS ad following the GTA. The study also highlights the differences between the acceptance models for discount and notification ads.

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