Tuesday Buzz: Apple Turns (RED) for the Holidays

The international organization (RED)  (opens in a new tab), playing a key role in the fight against AIDS, has taken its cause-marketing efforts with Apple into a bold new place: the App Store.

Ahead of two important days on the retail calendar, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, 25 iOS developers teamed up  (opens in a new tab) with Apple and (RED) in the “Apps for RED” campaign, which will run until December 7. All proceeds from sales  (opens in a new tab) of participating apps—including Angry Birds, The Sims, FarmVille 2, GarageBand, and Paper—during the two-week period will go to (RED). Apple will also donate a portion of its sales revenue on Black Friday and Cyber Monday—the latter of which, by the way, also happens to be World AIDS Day.

Cause marketing is a challenge to do correctly, but this is an instructive example of one organization doing it right  (opens in a new tab).

Infographic of the Day

It’s turkey time. The all-American holiday Thanksgiving is just about here, and the sheer scale is impressive: Bloomberg notes that 46 million turkeys  (opens in a new tab) will be eaten on Thursday. But not all turkeys are the same; most are low-cost, factory-farm-bred, and largely white meat. If you can afford it, you can opt for the heritage turkey, which can hit the wallet hard at $100 to $200. Bloomberg helpfully highlights the differences.

Other Good Reads

“Many people think about search as a silver bullet,” except it isn’t. At CMS Wire, Search Explained CEO and Managing Consultant Agnes Molnar writes  (opens in a new tab) about several internet-search misconceptions. It is definitely possible to use enterprise search in organized and effective ways, she says.

Is cash on the way out? An extensive Bloomberg Businessweek
feature says we’re in the era of electronic services, app-based money transfers, and ATMs—and that “cash is for losers  (opens in a new tab).” What’s in your wallet?

“Clash of Clans” is among the games to get the (Product)RED treatment. (iTunes store)