Motorola Books Beckham for High End Marketing
The mobile phone market is suffering somewhat from the current worldwide recession, as are most consumer areas across the world; many manufacturers of handsets are being forced to revise their marketing strategies and also to amend their key products in light of what is and what is not selling.
This is true of Motorola, who appear to have resigned themselves to the fact that money may be to be made in the high-end market rather than in budget or mid-range phones; other manufacturers have also looked to this method in the light of falling sales in the general consumer market, but Motorola appear to have gone one step further and have booked an international superstar to market their new ?1000 plus handset.
Naturally, the market for such a pricey phone is very limited, but profit margins would clearly be extremely high; the use of David Beckham, international worldwide footballing superstar, is a clear indication that the company has high hopes and a defined market - perhaps involving those who work in Beckham's profession and their wives - for the new handset, the Aura.
The phone itself offers nothing special; in stainless steel and with a circular screen of sapphire crystal, the gimmicks include a 180° swivel but not much more. Indeed, a two megapixel camera and 2G capabilities seem to place this phone as a fashion accessory rather than a functional item.
Promotional photographs of Beckham pictured as a half man half machine super being undoubtedly will appeal to who want something different.
However, spending ?1000 on a handset whose capabilities are clearly questionable is something only the very rich, or a cynic might say a very foolish, would surely be willing to do.
Expensive advertising shoots involving international megastars that take place in Milan may seem to be one-way to shoulder the current recession, but the Aura is clearly a short-term solution with very limited scope.
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