BillMyParents Inc., which operates a parent-controlled teen prepaid card, is working with MasterCard Worldwide on a new educational campaign that touts the benefits of SpendSmart, MasterCard’s program that enables parents to control and monitor their teens’ spending.
The digital-only campaign, initially launched in August, will run through October. Its goal is to connect with parents online who are making decisions related to family, spending and finance, Evan Jones, BillMyParents vice president of marketing, tells PaymentsSource.
The campaign plays into MasterCard’s “Priceless” campaign by noting things teens spend their money on and the ability to monitor teen spending as main draws for the prepaid card.
The customizable SpendSmart program enables parents to reload funds into their teen’s prepaid card account for use when paying in stores or online. Parents receive text messages so they can monitor how and where teens are using the card. Parents also can lock the card via text message by logging in to the BillMyParents website or by using the free BillMyParents iPhone app.
Letting parents know where and how their teens’ are spending creates an opportunity for dialog to teach them about managing finances, Jones says.
Where the payments companies focus their marketing effort online is what will make consumers respond best to the educational message, one analyst says.
“It’s all about putting it in the right context,” says Ben Jackson, senior analyst at Mercator Advisory Group. “If the marketing message is paired with someone checking a financial website and they see an ad message saying ‘you can teach your kids about prepaid cards’ at the same time, then that’s more effective educational marketing than if they just saw a random ad on a bus.”
MasterCard was unable to comment by press time. However, the company held a prepaid card conference this week in Phoenix during which MasterCard noted that 81% of teen spending is in cash, according to Jones.
BillMyParents and MasterCard also are collaborating in MasterCard’s Get Loot prepaid card incentive program, which MasterCard launched in August. During the campaign, MasterCard is giving parents who sign up for SpendSmart free movie tickets and a chance to enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to a major movie premiere, says Jones (
BillMyParents also recently launched an online marketing effort to target moms who use blogs and other online sites to make family decisions, such as Proctor & Gamble Co.’s Vocalpoint.com website (
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