If you could design a marketing campaign for BB10...

... what would you like to see?

I'd like to see a semi parody of "Mad Men".

I imagine Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) coming in to see Jon Hamm (Don Draper).

Pete: "Don, great news, I think we're in with a chance at the RIM BlackBerry account for the launch of the new BB10 powered smartphones!"
Don: "BlackBerry? Those things are old, not new Pete".
Peter "No Don, this is BB10, it's new and fast and loaded with features. Look at this..."
Peter demonstrates some of the cool features of BB10 - multitasking / swiping / the camera / in key predictive text"
Don: "Oh, that is pretty new. So... what do they need us for again?"

Or how about a series of clips showing what BB10 can do.

"We think your smart phone should be as smart as you are.
That's why we designed BB10 for people who like to:
e-mail (show executive using e-mail app)
to text (show younger person text app)
to interact (show family using Facebook app)
to create (show parents using Instagram app / camera)
to be in the know (show business suited stockbroker on Wall street using news / stock app)
to be ready for whatever the weather (show cyclist using weather app)
to keep a work / life balance (show person in suit at home using BlackBerry Balance to flick between home and work)

... for people like you.

Tagline: "We are BlackBerry people" (As in, "We are BlackBerry people" and also with a slightly different enunciation "We are BlackBerry - People"
OR
Tagline: "Blackberry, the smarter phone"

Just some thoughts on a Friday night ;-)

Anyone got any more ideas they'd like to see?

Harry

Anything is better then what the Blackberry marketing team has done in the past.... Your hired!

That series of clips part there would come across well as an advertisement, nice.

Personally, I'm really really hoping that they do something classic/awesome/Bold - maybe like:

"People are quick to forget that we invented the smartphone, and lots of other wireless technologies that are taken for granted."

"So just to remind you....We've done it all over again." Introducing BlackBerry 10.

"PS suckitnewyorktimes" cough.

its interesting bc folks really do forget that blackberry invented the smartphone. if anyone should have a get out of jail free card, it should be rimm.

Originally Posted by jenks5150

"People are quick to forget that we invented the smartphone, and lots of other wireless technologies that are taken for granted."

"So just to remind you....We've done it all over again." Introducing BlackBerry 10.

Nice - I like that a lot!

Originally Posted by eyhab27

its interesting bc folks really do forget that blackberry invented the smartphone. if anyone should have a get out of jail free card, it should be rimm.

Um...the first smartphone was the IBM Simon in 1992. The 950 wasn't introduced until 6 years later.

OP I really like your suggestions!

Since we wont be seeing BB10 until the end of January 2013, RIM should be working on changing the brand's perception. Like I've said before, mention the name Blackberry and you get looks of disgust.

If I were on the marketing team I would make a plan to release an unbranded phone concept to the world. They could air a series of commercials showing someone using all the cool new features of an unbranded phone and ending with: Coming January 2013.

They could make it seem as if it's from a new company. This way they can show off the cool new features with no prejudice, and build up anticipation and excitement until the Jan 31st launch.

Originally Posted by pantlesspenguin

Um...the first smartphone was the IBM Simon in 1992. The 950 wasn't introduced until 6 years later.

OP I really like your suggestions!

Nice. I was thinking of the Nokia Communicator.....

Beside being a questionable statement, I think the "in case you didn't remember..." ad would be harmful. If you love BB you might like the ad, but otherwise it comes across as a bit snide, a bit overbearing, and a bit condescending,I think!

This is not a marketing campaign this is a creative part of the advertising campaign, which is a part of marketing campaign. But here are my thoughts on what they should do in terms of marketing.
I've been reading these forums a lot lately and there some very good ideas being passed around here which in my mind RIM should consider.
The simple way is to burn loads of cash on TV,Outdoor and Print, and then direct whatever is left to Online and SMM. Out of these I personally think that Outdoor will be the most efficient and matches more the aspirational criteria of BlackBerry Thor mentions so often.
And until a certain point I thought that either way RIM will have to come through these channels in order to spread the word. However i came across a couple of ideas on these forums, that got me thinking. (I'm really sorry I can't remember the usernames at the moment, when I'll have some more time I'll dig up and add.)
Idea 1:
"Give a 15% discount to existing customers." It might sound lame, until you expand on this, there are several things going for this strategy.
1) Just think about it, there are 80 million active BB OS users in the world, is there a way RIM can reach those? Well ye, I'm pretty sure they have all the pins of their devices. So how about talking direct to your customer base through one of your strongest selling points -BBM? There are several ways to go about this, but we can mock up as follows:
I) User receives an BBM invite from RIM.
II) User receives the first message, with links to videos and pretty landing pages talking about how BB10 is awesome and how it will change his/her life forever.
III) User receives the third message with an offer (of let's say a discount ((percentage depending on what the margins can afford)) on the device purchase or a �50 credit in the app store) to sign up for pre order no financial obligation until official announcement day.
Here we can implement Idea 2:
"E-Commerce it, don't make customers go to the shops" I think this is a very good idea, as it sets BlackBerry apart from the competition (Apple in particular), and puts it where it belongs - with the pioneers of the digital age.
You can even try and make a small projection out of this. We do know that there are 80 million subscription to services, what we don't know is how many of those are collateral. For instance I have 2 blackberry's with services active on both. But one is my back up phone which is turned on once a year, just to check whether it is alive.
Lets be brutal to RIM, and say 10 out of 80 mill are actually dead, not used subs. So we are left with 70 mil. From here we can use the regular direct mail projection of 2% average pick up (I personally think this percentage will be higher, as rim will be addressing existing customers, but let's stay brutal). So in the end we get 2% of 70 = 1.4 mil. This is the campaign target sales number, which can be achieved at a fraction of the cost of media and SMM advertising and marketing.

Idea 3:
There was a big and very insightful post on grassroots marketing, in the universities. It was basically a story of how one BB faithful got into an argument with 10 or so iOS/Android users and got them interested in the dark side. What it showed explicitly is how unaware general audience is of BB 10. But this got me thinking about Apple. You know how they run their university and school deals, and get their products in the classrooms, labs and dorms...In return they get a very loyal ambassadorial crowd, that will go around through their lives spreading the word of Apples awesomeness. And what might be even more important, they get loads of free content (iTunes U). I very much doubt that they patented this marketing strategy, so there is absolutely no reason why RIM shouldn't explore this path.
It won't cost a lot either:
redirect or hire marketing people in the regions of big international student clusters (a good start will be US and UK). and just send them on the crusade. Arm them with freebies to keep the audience attendance numbers high, and then just let the quality of the OS and Hardware speak for itself. Make deals for content with Universities, upload it to app world, use all incentives possible to make that crowd talk and argue with others about the device, but also make them want to use the device.

This is more of a long term strategy, rather than immediate returns one. But in my mind it can be very rewarding.

And then ye, buy a lot of media space.

Mine would be oriented around bbm video.

Girl of the mans dream lives too far away from the man. Hooks up bbm video and proposes on it. I believe that would touch the extreme hearts of many.

That's my 2 cents.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9860 on 7.1.0.714 with Tapatalk and my fingers

They should send in the Blackberry Boys.

Vodafone BlackBerry Boys - Extended Music Video (Exclusive cut) - YouTube

"Black is back."

Starts with side profile of phone that rotates around to the front.

Screen flashes on and rapidly displays recognizable application screens, increasing in speed until the screen flashes bright white.

Screen goes black. Sound crescendos.

"Blackberry 10. Available now."

-----

- Makes announcement that Blackberry is back with easy to remember catch phrase, "Black is back"
- Shows that there are many applications, as the increase in speed of displaying more apps and more apps doesn't finish in the allotted time of the commercial
- Finishes with immediate availability, addressing the criticism that RIM announces too early and delivers too late

Originally Posted by sydsam

This is not a marketing campaign this is a creative part of the advertising campaign, which is a part of marketing campaign.

You're right - good point!

I love your ideas - especially the discount to existing customers.

What about PlayBook customers getting a discount too?

"Would your PlayBook like someone new to play with? Introducing BB10 with BlackBerry bridge"

Show the two linked together - with an offer of a discount code with proof of purchase of a PlayBook.

I also think that would go some way towards resolving the semi sour taste left in some user's mouths when they paid full retail for the PB a year ago. Allow those loyal users to recoup some of their "losses". I would think that anyone who bought a PB in the early days at full retail could be considered a loyal user?

Harry

Whatever they do, they need to show the device actually being used, with shots of the screen in action.

I think one of the biggest blunders that the previous advertising did was just showing people talking about BBM, and never showing how these people actually use the device.

Originally Posted by Xopher

Whatever they do, they need to show the device actually being used, with shots of the screen in action.

I think one of the biggest blunders that the previous advertising did was just showing people talking about BBM, and never showing how these people actually use the device.

Absolutely. I remember when they FINALLY aired commercials for the Bold 9900 around New Years Eve last year and people saying "Wow, Blackberry's have touch screens now! That's cool".

BUT, they didn't show the hugely improved web browser, the thin size, its own apps (BB Travel, BB Protect, BBM Music)

Also, RIM aired these commercials 4 months after the release of the 9900.......

Hopefully they won't make this mistake again.

Blackberry 10......it's a 10 out 10.

Just had lunch with a couple of friends who are iPhone users - an interesting comment came up:

"There is no way I would ever buy a BlackBerry now because I have too much invested in apps for the iPhone"

So - how about an "app amnesty" for BB10?

RIM would take less profits from the sale of new apps for an initial period, allowing users of other devices to buy a BB10 device and not have to pay again for the apps on the new platform. Either get the same app on BB10 - or search and get an app that does fundamentally the same thing.

RIM could have an easy app search on the app world and let users type in the name of the iPhone or Android app they are currently using to see the BB10 version, or a close approximation of it.

I just don't know how the "proof of purchase" thing would work to prove they already had the app, or one similar to it...

I agree. Apple did it to perfection with their devices. Each one showed an aspect of what the device can do, and people ate it up.

Originally Posted by Harry_III_UK

Just had lunch with a couple of friends who are iPhone users - an interesting comment came up:

"There is no way I would ever buy a BlackBerry now because I have too much invested in apps for the iPhone"

So - how about an "app amnesty" for BB10?

RIM would take less profits from the sale of new apps for an initial period, allowing users of other devices to buy a BB10 device and not have to pay again for the apps on the new platform. Either get the same app on BB10 - or search and get an app that does fundamentally the same thing.

RIM could have an easy app search on the app world and let users type in the name of the iPhone or Android app they are currently using to see the BB10 version, or a close approximation of it.

I just don't know how the "proof of purchase" thing would work to prove they already had the app, or one similar to it...

This my friend, would have to be done on the dev side cause I don't think apple will be so keen on supporting bb with that.


Sent from my Nintendo NES

Anything is better than those 15 second "Be Bold" commercials that aired in the USA. All we saw was a flash of the Bold 99xx phone and "Be Bold" flashing across the screen.

Show us what it can do. Show us how the new OS is different from the old BB OS versions. Show us the apps.

Show it off!

Originally Posted by ichat

Mine would be oriented around bbm video.

Girl of the mans dream lives too far away from the man. Hooks up bbm video and proposes on it. I believe that would touch the extreme hearts of many.

Or show BBM Video and segue to an image of Anthony Weiner, with voice-over: "For people who do..."

Originally Posted by ubizmo

Or show BBM Video and segue to an image of Anthony Weiner, with voice-over: "For people who do..."

That would be totally epic as well! Awesome suggestion.

Sent from my Nintendo NES

I would hire bieber and call it a day.

BB10 doesn't just represent a product launch, or even a platform launch. In terms of public perception, it requires a reboot of the whole company.

There is a story here that goes beyond specs and features. RIM can't just present an attractive product, they have to tell a convincing story that they've learned from the past and they're back to ask for our business again.

The hard part of that is finding a way to acknowledge past issues appropriately without portraying themselves as complete idiots. The easy part is the comeback story, which will actually be very attractive to many potential customers.

RIM is already very much engaged with its marketing effort on BB10, even if a lot of it isn't visible yet. We're seeing senior execs traveling, though, and performing demos for everyone who will give them airtime. Behind the scenes, they'll already be very much engaged in producing advertising (bear in mind that ads for print magazines for Feb will already have been placed by now). I understand that employees at the carriers are already receiving training on the phones, or at least their managers are.

BlackBerry should have a NFC easter egg hunt. In major cities there could be NFC tags placed throughout malls or coffee shops. When you tap them you are entered into a prize to win a BB10. Of course the Splat would be on the NFC sticker or poster.

Posters should include an alternative method of entering if you don't have a NFC phone.

There should be a 3D 6' display model of the phones in malls that are really touchscreen LCD TVs connected to the L series with HDMI so that people can interact with it and enter the contest. Ok 6' is BIG so maybe smaller haha but maybe a super big one in NYC but it couldn't be touch screen but having a big display connected via HDMI with people using it would get peoples attention. Give out prizes and enter the NFC Splat contest.