Africa

Product (RED): Smart Social Marketing or Meaningless Celebrity?

Authored by Rohit Bhargava on March 2, 2007 - 2:54pm.

In a great post over at PSFK - Piers publishes the content of a conversation he had with Julie Cordua, the VP of Marketing for the often talked about Product (RED) social marketing campaign. In case you're among the few people that hasn't seen the campaign, it created waves last year by introducing a for-profit model where companies could sign on to create products that they would sell for profit that became part of a line of items furthering the Red brand and donate a portion of profits to The Global Fund.

Apple Introduces 8GB Special Edition RED iPod nano

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2006 - 1:12pm.

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple on Friday introduced an 8GB model of its iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition. Apple will donate $10 from the sale of both the 8GB and 4GB models -- which feature a red aluminum enclosure -- to the Global Fund to help fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Weekend Read: Bono’s (RED) Shopping Campaign Makes Money Instead of Taking Money

Authored by Jay Baage on October 20, 2006 - 11:34am.

Bono’s (RED) campaign is simply genius. It is really not about charity or corporate social responsibility, as much as it is about the joy of shopping and increased profits. And that is a good thing. The (RED) campaign manages a way to incorporate charity in everyday life that it as simple as it is effective. The campaign is marketing 2.0.

MTN Taps Gemalto for Security on First African Mobile TV Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2006 - 1:51pm.

Cape Town, South Africa - Gemalto, a developer of digital security technologies, said on Thursday that MTN Group will use its technology in the first commercial deployment of mobile TV service on the African continent. MTN South Africa's service, based on the DVB-H mobile TV standard, will be available to all of its more than five million subscribers in South Africa.

MySpace Organizes Rock for Darfur Campaign, Benefit Concerts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 10, 2006 - 4:49pm.

Los Angeles - News Corporation's MySpace online social network announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with international relief organization Oxfam on "Rock for Darfur," its largest philanthropic program to date that will raise awareness and funds for the humanitarian crisis in the Sudan. The online campaign includes a public service announcement featuring actor Samuel L. Jackson, video from actor George Clooney's recent trip to Darfur, and opportunities to buy campaign t-shirts and contribute to Oxfam. MySpace is also organizing more than 20 individual Rock for Darfur benefit concerts, enabling bands to contribute proceeds from already-scheduled shows to the campaign. Artists participating in the Oct. 21 concerts across North America include Alice in Chains, Ziggy Marley, TV on the Radio, Secret Machines, Insane Clown Posse, Gov't Mule and Bob Weir & Ratdog.