This just in from The Department of Blatantly Obvious: teen usage of smartphones is increasing. Yes, I know, you had to sit down after learning this, but it's true, at least according to Ad Weak anyway. It cites a Pew Centre study called Teens and Technology 2013, that "found that while cellphone ownership has held steady, 37 percent of kids 12-17 owned a smartphone in 2012, up from 23 percent the year before. Moreover, one fourth of teens use the cell as their primary way of accessing the Internet, and among smartphone owners, that figure rises to 50 percent. (Only 15 percent of adults can say the same.) No wonder that, with smartphones allowing Internet access along with talking and texting, kids more than ever always seem to be on the phone."
Now I can see all the CMOs calling their AORs and demanding they hone in on this emerging mobile market. Too bad that this particular demographic is poor. No, beyond poor: they are poh. They have no real discretionary funds other than what their parents give them. I know because I've had three of them. What's more, anything targeted at them is viewed, screened analyzed and ultimately judged by their financiers. Such as the achingly hip Rogers ad a few years back that was touting text plans to teens. Rogers' mistake was it targeted it AT teens, not parents. The head was a text message that basically said, "Hey guys, parents are out of town for the weekend so there's a party at my house." Needless to say, I never got my kids a text plan until they turned 18 and I treated them like my AMEX card—I never left town without them.
If CMO's were smart (just a supposition) and wanted to tap into an underutilized market with the most disposable income of any group, they should look at parents with kids in their mid-'20s—early '30s. Adults over 50 control 75%+ of financial assets, dominate 94% of CPG categories and purchase 40% of CPGs and yet under 5% of ad spend is direct to them. But again, it's just a supposition...
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