Media Coverage 2003

Strategy Magazine - May 19, 2003
Youth reign in SMS world

by Samson Okalow

Yep, youth are into text messaging in a big way. There's less surprise in that observation than in the fact some of us will not yet have figured out how to get our VCRs (oh wait, DVD players - see what we mean?) beyond flashing "12:12" by the time tweens and teens have graduated to the next big thing. The numbers for those demos are impressive and carriers and clients alike have run most of their promos with youth in mind.

"In the Name of Cool," a study by Toronto-based Solutions Research Group Consultants, finds that tweens and teens are by far in the lead when it comes to instant messaging and texting. Of the population aged 12+, tweens and teens index at 179 and 161, respectively, when it comes to interest in the texting feature (100 is the norm for all Canadians 12+). That compares to 125 for ages 20 to 29 and 94 for ages 30 to 49.

The only thing keeping the numbers for the youth demos from shooting further into the stratosphere is cost, says Michele Erskine, VP at Solutions Research Group. "If the marketing can give them a way of accessing mobile messaging without the worry of racking up large wireless bills, then it's going to assist [text messaging's growth]," she says.

And youth - even careless, wayward youth - eventually turn into grown adults with more disposable income. Given that they'll already be predisposed to, and comfortable with, cell phone technology, carriers like Rogers AT&T and Bell could be sitting on a goldmine.

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