Verizon Wireless aims to be cool with youth

Last week, Verizon Wireless (www.verizonwireless.com) launched [FREEUP], a service package targeted at 16 to 24 year olds, a market which spent more than $150 billion last year, according to Teenage Research Unlimited (www.teenageresearch.com), and an increasingly sought-after segment for wireless carriers.

[FREEUP] (the brackets are meant as a hip form of text, similar in form to 2-way text messaging, according to a Verizon Wireless spokesperson) is a tweak of the carrier’s prepaid offering and also was influenced by the conclusions of youth-focused studies conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited and other groups. For $124.99, the Freeup package includes a Nokia (www.nokia.com) 5185i phone, service activation, a $50 prepaid card, text messaging, long distance and a timer that notifies users when their minutes are low. The product does not require a contract or credit check.

“For this market, having the predictability of price and not having the contract or the credit review is something they are looking for, as well as the flexibility to replenish minutes in many locations,” the spokesperson said.

Minutes replenishment cards, dubbed [REUP], will be available at Verizon Wireless retail stores, RadioShack (www.radioshack.com), 7-Eleven (www.711.com) and select Barnes & Noble (www.bn.com) campus bookstores. National advertising for the product also began last week.

Verizon is hoping to capture college students, who could use the free long distance to communicate with home as an alternative to a landline phone. A spokesperson said the carrier is looking at strategies to migrate younger users to postpaid plans as they get older.

Verizon is the first of the national carriers to launch a product completely focused on the youth market, but others likely won’t be far behind. The much rumored Sprint PCS (www.sprintpcs.com) partnership with Virgin Mobile (www.virginmobile.com) may result in a youth-specific MVNO. Regional carriers, such as Cincinnati Bell Wireless’ (www.cbwireless.com) i-wireless (www.i-ontheweb.com), Leap Wireless’ (www.leapwireless.com) Cricket (www.cricketcommunications.com) service and the former Powertel (now a part of VoiceStream) have seen strong results from youth-focused initiatives.

Cell phones are wildly popular among young people for the cool factor and their need for social communication. With the market’s significant buying power, carriers and young people could have a dreamy relationship.

“We know this age group represents $150 billion worth of buying power,” the Verizon spokesperson said. “They grow up with technology and it’s convenient and affordable and it fits their lifestyle.”