The CIRCUIT: Wireless Firms Step Up Calls to Teen Market

As growth in the general market slows, wireless firms are shifting their sights to an audience that's projected to double by 2005: Teens. To achieve that end, they're serving up pay-as-you-go plans, edgy advertising and music tie-ins.

Most are already on board: This summer, Sprint PCS partnered with Virgin Mobile to launch a Virgin-branded service aimed at teens. Placement for the David Lynch-esque ads, via Leagas Delaney, San Francisco, included heavy MTV rotation. Meanwhile, Nextel, which is known for a business-to-business focus, bought a 66% stake in Boost Mobile, an Australian firm that bowed teen-focused U.S. service in August.Earlier this month, Boost Mobile broke ads showing old folks talking in teen lingo, explaining, "Designed for young people, but it's just more fun showing old people." Team One, Los Angeles, handles.

Those efforts follow Cingular's linking with the band Sugar Ray and Verizon Wireless' pairing with singer Tweet. So far there are a few holdouts. AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile (formerly VoiceStream) have yet to launch teen programs, but the former is planning to approach teen marketing "with more vigor and force" next year, a rep said. T-Mobile reps could not be reached.

Telecoms stepped up the outreach as even younger teens went wireless. "It used to be the age of entry was when you reached driver's age, now it's when you hit high school," said Michael Wood, vp for Teenage Research Unlimited, Chicago. Moreover, parents, worried about losing touch with their kids during the day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a rash of school shootings, are pushing high schools to allow the phones on campus. Facing pressure from parents, California Gov. Gray Davis, for instance, signed legislation last month reversing a 1988 ban on cell phones on school grounds.

According to TRU, 38% of 12-19 year-olds own a phone and 20% plan to buy one. While the general market is expected to grow from 49.6% to 68.2% by 2005, per The Yankee Group, Boston, teen penetration is expect to jump to 75%. "Young people are generally innovators, more up for a new thing," said Roger Entner, a Yankee Group analyst.

To target the market, Cingular tapped Sugar Ray for a promotion last December centered around the band's song Answer the Phone. In August, Cingular signed the band Default for another tour. Greg Roberts, director of marketing and national promotions for Cingular, said when the company launched in late 2000, teens were one of its three target segments including African Americans and Hispanics. "The way that we look at it, the teen audience in our eyes generally needs different communication in tone and manner from what we usually promote," he said.

E-mail: twasserman@brandweek.com