It is true. Youtube, facebook, twitter, myspace and dozens of social media sites have changed how kids perceive cell phones. Parents used to give cellphones to kids in case of an emergency or as a device to help them keep more connected and in touch with them. While those are two main reasons still considered when getting a cell phone for kids, children today use them to text message, take photos, play games, watch videos, play music, etc.
As per The Nielsen Company, the average teen between the ages 13-17, sends more than 2,000 text messages per month. As noted in the study, in comparison to the mobile internet population, teens are considerably much larger consumers of social media, music, games, videos, movies and technology.
Cell phone ownership by age has also changed. In the 2nd quarter of 2008, the average age when kids started using a borrowed mobile phone was 8.6 years. In the 1st quarter of 2009 (less than a year later!) it decreased to 8.0 years. Further, the average age kids got their own mobile phone in the 2nd quarter of 2008 was 10.1 years old. In the 1st quarter of 2009 (again, less than a year later!) it decreased to 9.7 years old. By age 10, about 50% of all children owned a mobile phone. By age 11, that increases to 60% and by age 12, it climbs up to a whooping 75%. I am sure we have all asked ourselves: does everyone have a cell phone? Well, just about.
So how does all this affect kids meal programs and promotions? Simple. If your kids’ meal audience is skewed towards an older kids’ audience (8, 9, 10, 11 or even 12 years of age), then you might consider implementing elements that compliment these findings. Anticipating these sort of needs in the market, early 2009 we launched our “phone strings” which were items with customers’ characters that kids/teens could hook to their cellphones. They received great responses and worked great in foreign markets. We are currently developing items to address these new technological needs and we hope to introduce them early in 2010. Times continue to change. We must change as well and adapt.
Fonotirillas by C3i
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