Trend: Conscious Consumption: (Product)RED vs. Moto

Motorola has joined U2 singer Bono's (Product)RED project and will start selling a red version of its Slvr mobile phone in the near future. A portion of revenue from sales of the red Slvr will go toward efforts to fight AIDS in developing countries.

The red Slvr won't likely provide a boost in sales for Motorola. "This will be a blip on the radar," said Ed Snyder, a stock analyst at Charter Equity Research. But the association with (Product)RED is certainly a positive development from a public-relations viewpoint. And a link with Bono can only help boost Motorola's quest to further position its brand as hip.

While Project Red has a philanthropic aim, Bono said in a recent interview with the BBC that the project is a commercial venture.

"Philanthropy is like hippy music, holding hands," he told the BBC. "This is more like punk rock, hip-hop, this should feel like hard commerce."


via Chicago Tribune