1. Joy1980's Avatar
    Hi,

    What I learnt in my Marketing elective was that to be successful selling a product, you must target the right market. For the consumer market, I think that RIM is targeting the wrong segment of the market. In the best case scenario, RIM would create a product tailored to a specifc target market; which is probably what they did when they went after the enterprise market. However, they have an existing product and I believe that they should determine the best market for their existing product in the consumer space.

    I would target the parents of tweens and teenagers. There are several reason why a BlackBerry would make a great phone for a teenager: bbm, data compression, the social apps and security. The only thing I believe RIM should do is offer a service for parents to manage their kids' usage of the phone, with the ability to blacklist/whitelist apps. Think Family Safety for BlackBerry.

    What do you think the right target segement for BlackBerry is?
    07-08-11 09:34 PM
  2. T�nis's Avatar
    Business/enterprise and the intelligent consumer.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    RoseBud68 and SCrid2000 like this.
    07-08-11 09:38 PM
  3. jthep's Avatar
    I dunno, I would sort of be embarrassed to carry around an iPhone as a 33 year old man. It has the look and feel of a toy and plays games that are nowhere near as good as the Game Boy I had when I was 12. ****, even iPods have become color coordinated collectables for kids.

    Perhaps BB's should be marketed more like that, the smartphone for adults! lol But who do you take that approach without insulting users of other platforms? I dunno, tough line to tread.

    I just don't see the the same completely useless farting apps, Arnold Schwarzenegger movie quote apps, and when I make calls, I rarely ever get dropped calls and I generally get good reception, and I am on ATT!!! On top of that, I really prefer typing on a QWERTY keyboard.

    Although there currently are 50 million users of Blackberry phones, you would think they are doing something right there, but losing market share to Apple and Google, they do need to market their phones better than they have lately. Too many people I know view it just as a "business phone"?

    I dunno, all the important apps like Youtube, Facebook, Weather, GPS, Maps, etc. are all there. Also a few that I personally like such as BB Bridge for my Playbook, BBM for free messaging with my fellow BB users, BeBuzz for a really nice color light based notification system, and Tether for free data sharing with my laptop are just awesome. Although Tether is also an Android app, its really useful regardless, sticking it to the greedy carriers.

    The only game on the other platforms I like that is not on BB is Angry Birds, thats about it! As for video apps, Netflix, you can keep, no way I will ever bother watching 2 hour movies on phone screens.

    So I dunno, Blackberries are for grown ups? Blackberry the phone for the logical, the practical, and the intelligent? Blackberry, the phone you can actually type on real keys? I dunno, its almost impossible to market BB's as having any edge without insulting the illogical immature impractical smartphone users that think Netflix on a 3 inch screen is a godsend...
    07-08-11 10:46 PM
  4. Joy1980's Avatar
    A BlackBerry is a practical phone, there is no way around it; it is what it is. I guess the right target market segment would be the practical people. The problem is who to market to them without insulting them.
    07-10-11 05:51 AM
  5. araLe-tot's Avatar
    I would target the parents of tweens and teenagers. There are several reason why a BlackBerry would make a great phone for a teenager: bbm, data compression, the social apps and security. The only thing I believe RIM should do is offer a service for parents to manage their kids' usage of the phone, with the ability to blacklist/whitelist apps. Think Family Safety for BlackBerry.

    What do you think the right target segement for BlackBerry is?
    I think they are headed in the right direction. BlackBerry is #1 here and my FaceBook and many others are littered with 'Sent from BlackBerry'. I have had the life experience to see a BlackBerry used on a massive social scale as a communications tool - we're on the same page here I think they need to showcase that ability much more because we know that the BB is for:

    Blackberry the phone for the logical, the practical, and the intelligent?.
    and!

    A BlackBerry is a practical phone, there is no way around it; it is what it is..
    These products are already and have been starting to bleed over into the types of things you are talking about. They are wildly popular through out the Caribbean for your reasons mentioned above

    EDIT: For ALL demographics. Power business user to the stoner guy to tweeny boppers so on and so forth LoL
    07-10-11 07:51 AM
  6. jthep's Avatar
    I do know some teens that luv texting on real physical keyboards, perhaps RIM should be marketing their phones that way. Unlimited BBM with a QWERTY keyboard and perhaps show someone with a touch screen only phone struggling with their phone holding it with one hand while looking like they are doing surgery with the other- just to text!
    07-10-11 08:35 AM
  7. CGI's Avatar
    I have 2 teenagers that want BlackBerrys. They both have IPod Touch's so I find it interesting they'd want BlackBerry's over Iphones.

    I can only surmise they want that keyboard for messaging.
    07-10-11 10:03 AM
  8. Dapper37's Avatar
    I heard another CBer say this before and i agree. focus the message, social messaging, push email, elegant, enjoyable! wrap it up with three or four adds, each add in the end hitting hard on its how to get things done!! blanket the same message around the world. Make people understand the product and how it can help them.
    07-10-11 10:28 AM
  9. K Bear's Avatar
    I heard another CBer say this before and i agree. focus the message, social messaging, push email, elegant, enjoyable! wrap it up with three or four adds, each add in the end hitting hard on its how to get things done!! blanket the same message around the world. Make people understand the product and how it can help them.
    This wad tried last year with the marketing for the Torch & OS 6.
    07-10-11 10:32 AM
  10. Dapper37's Avatar
    Yep, your picking up what I'm putting down. Consistency, hammer home the message. It works. The Torch is not a bad product, two people in my family have them. Torch 2 I'm thinking of picking one up. Its a toss up T2 or Bold 9900. Looking forward to having a choice and making it!

    Edit: people want to know, understand what they are getting into. Feeling a part of something drives sales. If the message is not consistent, it becomes confusing. spruce up last years campaign but hit hard on the key points.
    Last edited by Dapper37; 07-10-11 at 11:44 AM.
    07-10-11 11:40 AM
  11. lnichols's Avatar
    This wad tried last year with the marketing for the Torch & OS 6.
    Which was only available on one carrier in the US, the same carrier who happened to have just launched the iP4 just before and offering people early upgrades. I would own a Torch now if available on my carrier.
    07-10-11 12:19 PM
  12. jthep's Avatar
    The new Torch is going to be more like a Storm model though right? No slider QWERTY keyboard? WTF? Why tamper with such a great design?
    07-10-11 04:41 PM
  13. Joy1980's Avatar
    The new Torch is going to be more like a Storm model though right? No slider QWERTY keyboard? WTF? Why tamper with such a great design?
    Probably because they need a proper full touchscreen phone and the torch has a better rep than the storm series.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-10-11 06:43 PM
  14. Joy1980's Avatar
    I believe that RIM needs to take the emphasis off of the phones themselves & shift it towards the services. Honestly, the services are makes a BlackBerry a BlackBerry. To me, RIM needs to be two separate divisions where the services are concerned. One for enterprise and one for customers. The handsets are the common thread, with the consumer division they can adopt a faster development cycle and seeing it is services, it should be easier & faster.

    Let the consumer services push the hardware development , which would benefit the enterprise division. The biggest problem with RIM is that they move at enterprise speed. If they didn't link the device releases with the services updates, I think things would move faster. Wouldn't you want them to update BIS more often, add more apps like BlackBerry Protect?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    gunderscorewil likes this.
    07-10-11 06:56 PM
  15. kassdog's Avatar
    They should be targeting consumers who like to message. I've tried every phone as I'm a phone addict and keep going back to blackberry because its hands down the messaging device(text, email, bbm). If they keep hitting hard with this they will succeed. I love seeing all the youtube videos they make because they show how great blackberries can be used in the real world.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-10-11 08:21 PM
  16. Dapper37's Avatar
    The new Torch is going to be more like a Storm model though right? No slider QWERTY keyboard? WTF? Why tamper with such a great design?
    They are coming out with both. Full QWERTY slide out with full touch and full touch strickly no QWERTY
    07-10-11 09:19 PM
  17. BBThemes's Avatar

    What do you think the right target segement for BlackBerry is?
    i think people generalise things too much, a target market will change from country to country, and so will the way/means to advertise the product.
    07-10-11 09:22 PM
  18. Joy1980's Avatar
    i think people generalise things too much, a target market will change from country to country, and so will the way/means to advertise the product.
    Actually if you are going after a particular demographic but that is only one way of dividing market segments. With demographics, you will target an age group or a economic group. however, you can target a group of people with a personality trait. I believe that instead of trying to get people to switch from android or iOS, they should be targeting those who are new the smartphone market. People who were fine with a feature phone but want some added functionality. People who choose their plans based on the SMS package.

    BlackBerry is a pure, practical communication device and I believe that it should be marketed as such. As popular as the smartphone market is, the feature phone market is larger.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-11-11 04:48 AM
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