Patriot Mobile is hoping to use the holiday shopping rush to gain some traction in the market. The Sprint MVNO sets itself apart from the rest of the nation’s mobile players by focusing exclusively on political conservatives.
“Patriotic employees proudly serve Conservative Americans from their Texas location,” the company said in a statement. “Patriot Mobile contributes a portion of profits to Conservative organizations that support the Constitution, religious freedom, Second Amendment rights, and the sanctity of marriage and life.”
The provider, which runs the tagline “let freedom ring,” launched a Black Friday promotion that encouraged shoppers to “turn this Black Friday Red” with the offer of a Motorola E4 for less than $1 (Patriot Mobile’s corporate branding is red, which is also the color for conservatives in general). “Patriot Mobile sends a portion of your monthly bill to causes like The Heritage Foundation, the NRA, PragerU, and the Susan B. Anthony List. Take advantage of this limited time offer starting on Black Friday running through Cyber Monday!” the company touted in its latest ad.
Founded in 2012, the MVNO is based in Texas and currently counts around 30 full-time employees. The company didn’t disclose details of its marketing strategy, although a representative said that Patriot Mobile looks to “partner with like-minded efforts and cross-promote with conservative brands to provided Patriotic consumers with conservative retail choices” in order to raise its profile.
Patriot Mobile isn’t the only MVNO looking to cash in on the current political situation. Credo Mobile donates a portion of its proceeds to “progressive” causes like Planned Parenthood, Rainforest Action Network, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the ACLU.
Indeed, MVNOs—companies that provide mobile service by piggybacking on wireless networks operated by the likes of Sprint and T-Mobile—have long sought to build businesses by targeting specific demographics and customer niches. For example, in the early days of MVNOs companies like Disney and ESPN sought to parlay their brands into the mobile business, with mixed results.
More recently companies like Google, Comcast and others are attempting a similar strategy.
Meanwhile, mobile providers like Consumer Cellular (targeting seniors) and Telcel America (targeting customers looking for international calling options) continue to work to stake out sectors generally untouched by the nation’s bigger wireless brands.