If marketers can't get you by phone, check your e-mail

July 29, 2003 - Staples Business Depot is looking to tap the purchasing power of teenagers by sending text-message coupons for school supplies directly to their wireless phones.

Canada's largest retailer of office suppliers said the wireless marketing program, launched yesterday, is one of the first of its size and kind in North America and will be targeted directly at 13- to 18-year-old students heading back to school in September.

"It's a contest-driven promotion," said Karen Leyland, database-marketing manager for the company, citing studies that suggest 45 per cent of youths have a cellphone with text messaging capabilities. "It gives us the opportunity to show we're a leader in this technology."

N5R Inc., a Toronto-based marketing firm, designed the campaign, which will be promoted through a combination of print, broadcast, transit and movie theatre advertising.

Some youths will also be contacted directly through e-mail, but Leyland did not disclose how the company obtained its initial e-mail contact list.

Teenagers can enter the contest by typing the text-message short code "Back2Cool" on their mobile phones or by going to a dedicated Web site where they can fill out a contest entry form.

Those who enter by mobile phone will receive a text-message coupon for discounts on merchandise and will be entered into a contest, where they can win movie passes and mobile phones. To redeem their wireless coupon, they need only bring the phone and show the coupon to a cashier.

Staples said in a press release that it "expects the technique will help it expand its youth database during the 2003 back-to-school season."

Peter Hope-Tindall, a privacy consultant in Toronto, said Staples should be cautious about how it collects and uses the personal information it gathers from teenagers, who typically aren't aware of how such campaigns can affect their privacy.

Will the personal information be used beyond a specific back-to-school promotion? Will the company share the information with other partners and third parties?

"It's hard enough for adults to understand this stuff, and here we have a teen, who cares only about winning a free calculator, being asked to understand the privacy policy of Staples," said Hope-Tindall.

"We need to be careful we're not opening up another channel for spam here, and we need to make sure our kids aren't going to be hounded on their cellphones all the time."

Leyland said teenagers are giving their implied consent to hand over their personal information simply by entering the contest.

But organizations such as the Public Interest Advocacy Group have warned that implied consent is meaningless unless consumers are made aware of what they are consenting to.

It's unclear whether typing "Back2Cool" in the text-message feature of a cellphone after seeing an advertisement in a movie theatre constitutes meaningful implied consent.