PlusOne – Marketing Musings » Mobile phone companies target tweens as customers for life

The Australia Institute has recently released a report that shows that children in the 6-13 age group are being targeted as the next focus market for mobile phone sales. This new market is being developed as the adult market reaches saturation point with the only turnover on phone handset upgrades.

virgin tween phone The report says the tween age group is being made appealing to the market through the release of phones specifically for children. These include the Tic Talk phone from Telstra and Mattel, Disney and Nickelodeon brand name phones and ringtones.

Parents are also being marketed to through inferences of safety for children owning phones.

It is estimated that 23 percent of Australian children in the 6-13 age group own a phone with the 12-13 age group outstripping other age groups. Girls were the highest phone owners in all age groups

The report indicates that children are easy marketing target using TV advertising as they are heavy consumers of TV time and are very responsive to advertising. This is being coupled with teens increasing concern with maintaining appearance and desire to embrace technology.

The report did not however look at peer pressure which is likely to have a major impact on the desire for a phone.

While the report said financial pressure was being applied to children for phone use and ringtone downloads, it is ultimately the parents who end up paying the bill.

It is this aspect that is most concerning. From my own experience in the mobile entertainment industry, it saddens me to see mobile media companies still using unclear ’subscription’ style sales methods. These are the style where one or two ringtones, games or wallpapers are promoted, but the fact that one additional media item will be sent daily etc is in text either too small to read, with insufficient contrast from the background colour or only on-screen for a very short time while other animation draws the eye away.

These marketing tactics are especially effective on younger viewers who see only what they wish to see and may not be aware of the longer term financial implications of their action.

However on the positive side, a child with a mobile phone does aid in security, plus assists with parental meeting with children who may be involved in a variety of after school activities that can be subject to timetable change due to weather or other factors.

For the record by 14 year old daughter has her own phone on my company phone plan and my 11 year old daughter uses my superseded handset, also on my company phone plan. Both are aware of the A$20 spend limit and the need to pay excess (in the older child’s case, who has part time work) or withdrawal of the phone privilege in the case of the younger child.