• by Ross Fadner , August 16, 2004

Mobile marketing services provider Enpocket--which just last week announced a partnership with digital youth research firm NextStep, a division of North Castle Partners--on Monday revealed what will be the pair's first joint effort, a newsletter containing panel research about teenagers and the mobile phone market.

Called Mobile Youth IQ, the newsletter/report, which will be published six times per year, aims to identify what mobile youths want from marketers. The panel consists of a cross-section of youth ages 12-22 who offer their opinions on text messaging, mobile marketing initiatives, and how pop culture trends relate to texting and the mobile market.

For example, in issue 1/volume 1 of Mobile Youth IQ, the panelists, who are widely quoted throughout the reports, identified the mobile phone as a necessity on par with one's keys or wallet. "I don't feel like I can function without my phone because I have so many things on it," an MYIQ member said. "I use the calendar, the digital time, and the walkie-talkie feature."

The report also points out that teens can now accomplish key tasks on their phones that could only previously be accomplished with a PC or other device, such as taking and storing digital photos, updating the address book/calendar, playing games, instant messaging, and playing music.

"The future for mobile youth marketing is enormous," Joanne McKinney, Partner at North Castle NextStep said, noting: "The phone is the most important and personal device a teen carries. The fact that they are open to brands sharing that space with them is exciting."

Enpocket Director, Business Development Alice Kim said the company's vision for the panel and the newsletter is to provide "a window into the mind of youth" and how they relate to marketers' attempts to reach them. "A lot of times," she said, "especially, with larger CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands, they're disconnected from their audience." Kim noted that Mobile Youth IQ would try to bring these larger marketers closer to their consumer base.

Mobile marketing is a rapidly expanding space in the interactive marketing universe. Whereas four years ago, only 5 percent of teens owned a mobile phone, in 2003 that number was close to a third--and it will rise to 50 percent by the end of the year, according to digital communications research firm Cahners In-Stat.

Furthermore, recent Yankee Group figures state that 50 percent of teenagers and young adults send text messages regularly. Other data shows that the United States sent 2.6 billion text messages in the first quarter of this year, according to the Yankee Group--compared with 1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2003.

NextStep will be responsible for recruiting and managing the panel, as well as developing the newsletter's specific thematic content. Among the 10-15 weekly questions, panelists will be asked to review campaigns in the mobile marketplace.

Mobile Youth IQ will be published six times per year and offered on a subscription basis. Enpocket representatives said the publication targets brands, cellular carriers, media owners, and, potentially, competing agencies' technology firms. Kim confirmed that panelists would be compensated "nominally."

Enpocket's client list includes Levi's, Nike, McDonald's, HSBC, Vodafone, Fox, Honda, Sony, Universal Pictures, Expedia, Warner Brothers, T-Mobile, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Hewlett-Packard, Fidelity, General Motors Corp., CompUSA, and MasterCard.