Trade Publication Article

Um, hello? Licensed cell phones for tweens...That's hot

Castleman, Lana

2005

Overview

In the opening scenes of In Good Company, released in late 2004, we see a young wireless marketing exec played by Topher Grace pitching his board of directors on the next evolution in mobile technology - a dinosaur-shaped phone for kids. The bit is designed to comically send up the notion that there would even be a market for such a device. But for those in the kids entertainment business, especially in North America, it's no joke. As handset and network capabilities continue to improve and proliferate, it seems like licensors with kid-friendly properties are inking new wireless application deals every week. The category is so hot right now that it was really just a matter of time before someone started looking at the phones themselves. Enter Mattel's My Scene phone and the Firefly from Chicago, Illinois-based Firefly Mobile, both of which are launching in the U.S. this summer. The Firefly phone line doesn't currently offer any licensed models, but licensors with tween properties should still take a look because it approaches the market in a unique and compelling way. Fred Bullock, the company's chief marketing officer, thinks the phone has struck a perfect balance between kids' needs and parental desires. Polling 1,000 parents in 2004, Firefly learned that parents' top two concerns about buying phones for their kids are that they won't be able to control usage spending, and that the excessive functionality of adult phones gives kids too much freedom at too young an age. One of the few phones on the market for four- to eight-year-olds - the MyMo, manufactured by Chemnitz, Germany's IT Plus Plus - had to contend with a strong consumer backlash in the U.K. market earlier this year. After a study released by the country's National Radiological Protection Board recommended that phones not be given to children under eight because of fears about the possible effects of prolonged cell phone use on children's health, distributor Commun8 pulled the phones from shelves to avoid further controversy. But the MyMo is still available in other parts of Europe, and to date, no study has presented any conclusive evidence that cell phones are unsafe.

• Publisher: Postmedia Network Inc
• Subject: Branding / Cell phone users / Cellular telephones / Children & youth / Childrens market / Electronics industry / Licensed product merchandising / Licenses / Licensing / Marketing / Parents & parenting / Prepaid services