Two-Thirds of Teens & Tweens now Mobile

Over the last five years, as cell phone plans have become more family-friendly, teens, tweens and children 8-10 years old have been going mobile. Today, there is a mobile youth population developing who love to text and talk, well, not so much. It’s creating a huge opportunity for brands run youth marketing programs geared toward this important segment.

To date, many brand marketers have dabbled in mobile marketing. The main reason is the lack of commitment to this medium for their audience. However, the segment is so ripe that it’s now time for them to take notice and put forward an engaging offering to keep them connected. Why? Because now that mobile phones are nearly ubiquitous among teens and becoming ever more popular among younger kids, the opportunities are increasing.

“Tweens are the growth engine,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report “Kids and Teens: Mobile Everywhere.” “Recent surveys from Pew, Kaiser Family Foundation and others indicate that in some age groups—particularly the tween–young teen bracket—ownership has nearly doubled since 2005.”

66% of US children and teens ages 8 to 18 had a mobile phone as of 2009, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation,

Turning wide ownership into wide marketing opportunities may be difficult, however. Companies must take into account extra privacy and safety considerations when it comes to minors, and young people who view their mobile phones as devices for personal communications may not welcome marketing messages.

In addition, most children and teens are still using feature phones, so relatively few can be reached through more sophisticated mobile advertising such as via the mobile internet or smartphone apps. Just 14% of moms surveyed by Q Interactive in January 2010 said their kids had a smartphone.

14% of moms surveyed said their kids had a smartphone, according to a survey by Q Interactive (Jan 2010)

The future lies in smartphones, but for now mobile marketing efforts directed toward kids and teens will have to focus on feature phones. Texting is best for driving immediate actions, but also has its drawbacks.

“Although text messaging is hugely popular with teens, they are like adults in that they do not necessarily want companies to contact them via text messaging,” said Ms. Williamson. “The mobile phone is perceived as a very personal device, and intrusive marketing is not well received.”

Read more – get the full report here: Kids and Teens: Mobile Everywhere

BOTTOM LINE: Our work with teens and tweens also reveals their desire to connect via mobile channels SMS, Mobile Web and Apps. However, the level of adoption for Mobile Web and then Apps quickly trail off since most kids, teens and tweens do not have a smartphone. So the clear choice is mobile marketing via SMS.

July 2, 2010 in Blog   |   No Comments