Etisalat yesterday launched a defence of its new Spacetoon mobile phone service for young children by saying it is catering to a market need even as criticism has been raised over targeting such a young demographic with a service that could potentially be costly for parents.
Etisalat's Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Khalfan Al Qamzi said the service is geared towards six- to 14year-olds who have mobile phones and watch Spacetoons on television.
"This is just a choice. A child can have a lot on a mobile phone, and this will only increase in the future. This is also a choice for parents," Al Qamzi told Emirates Today.
However, many parents say it is a step too far in the way the mobile phone operator tries to attract customers.
The parents of seven-year old Nabh Mohan said they were not in favour of Etisalat's new service.
Nabh's father, Vishwa Mohan, said: "As it is he spends most of his time watching cartoons, playing video games and the PlayStation. I would prefer my son to spend more time with nature rather than staying indoors. Now, the new service is only going to keep him indoors more.
"If they had some sort of puzzles or word games where he can learn something new and also think more, it would be more appreciated. There are times when we are forced to sit and watch cartoons with him, I do not think downloading animation characters is going to help." Nabh's mother Payal feels that in any case a six-year-old is too young to be given a mobile phone.
"I would never buy a mobile phone for such a young child. I do not think making it educational either would help, because it is very hard to hold a child's attention. It would have to be a very catchy idea to hold children's concentration. Either way I would not buy the phone or avail of the service for my child." Melanie Kavanagh, who has a seven-year-old son and a 14year-old daughter, said: "There is no need for young children of six or seven to have a mobile phone.
"It is just about making money." Etisalat's chief marketing officer Essa Al Haddad said that the reality is that there are many children having phones, but the demographic group has not yet been sufficiently targeted.
"If parents are buying mobile phones for their children as a means of communication, we are simply extending the reach of the Spacetoon characters. This is a choice for customers," Al Haddad said.
One telecom executive said telecom companies around the world generally do not target such young children due to the sensitivities involved. The executive asserted that Etisalat which is preparing for competition by launching a slew of new mobile packages - may be going too far by targeting such a young demographic group.
Karen Rodriguez, a marketing coordinator with Worldwide Marketing Consultants, said that in some European countries there are regulations in place on how children can be used in marketing campaigns by advertisers.
As du, the country's second telecom operator, gets set to launch mobile services in Q4, its chief executive said that targeting young people with tailored services will be a priority.
But Osman Sultan said that when it comes to "youngsters", a category he broadly defines as encompassing children aged 10 and older, telecom firms have to take care when tailoring packages.
"The teenagers... have a lot of appetite for these types of services. These people use mobile phones [and] have needs for a lot of services. The way we look at it, segmenting the market and ensuring that we offer the most appropriate product and the most valuable and accurate price is critical," Sultan said.
Du has promised to offer a variety of prepaid and post-paid mobile phone packages. For youngsters, Sultan said packages must include appropriate and enriching educational content, while also being priced in such a way that it does not pose a financial burden to parents.
By Daliah Merzaban and Shabina Khan
© Emirates Today 2006
