[DuexNoir]

I've been jumping around various tech sites, and looked at people's comments there. I believe the hardest battle RIM will face is not with the software development or keeping the deadline, but after BB10 debuts. It is so obvious by the majority of these comments people post that a good deal out there are misinformed. Actually, many are still screaming that BB dropped their QWERTY keyboard. smh

Reading about the various experiences and peaks of BB10 in action, I do hope that RIM will put a lot...and I mean A LOT...of effort to show off ALL the capabilities BB10 has to offer. There are so many awesome features (big and small) there that they need to inform people about. They need to basically educate people that this is a brand new OS with new capabilities and new possibilities for the user to experience.

What also bothers me is that the misinformed think that what BB10 offers is a copy off of Android and iOS, where, from what I can see, is a completely incorrect assumption.

[Bla1ze]

I agree with you, 110%.

[Masahiro]

I agree, but only up to 90%.

[hootyhoo]

I agree that they have a battle ahead of them, but to win it they do need to copy Apple and Google. I mean, why not? Their model works. That is not to say they shouldn't be different too, but most people are not power users. They want their local bank app available. They want an app for their grocery store or Walmart or....etc...

They can show off their new powerful os but it will be for nothing if they don't offer at least the same things that Apple and Android do.

[southlander]

Carriers carriers carriers. This is where the battle is won or lost.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9850 using Tapatalk

[anjali_jain]

RIM should add some more features if it wants to be ranked number 1 again in India like BB maps....Here many users still prefer BB phones rather than iPhones.

[aha]

They are laser focused right now to get the phone right. I am sure the time will come when they will be laser focused to push the phone to the market.

[shemaree09]

That's just half of it. RIM needs to change people's minds on the brand overall.

Just mention the name Blackberry and you get disgust....no matter what phone you have. If that BB10 Dev device had an Apple/Samsung/HTC/Motorola logo on it, people would be amazed and couldn't wait to get their hands on one.

I've mentioned my Bold 9930 to people, and as soon as I said "Blackberry" I got "Blackberrys suck, they can only do email, they are only for work, they cant get internet, blah blah blah" when that isnt the case for their newer phones.

There are sooooo many people who don't even know Blackberry OS 7 phones exist, let alone BB10. Many people in the US ditched their Blackberry's around OS 4/5 and think that Blackberry's today are still like that.

RIM needs a complete image makeover to win back users. BB10 alone won't do that.

[pantlesspenguin]

Just mention the name Blackberry and you get disgust....no matter what phone you have.

This is true, unfortunately. I was talking to my boss who is wanting a new phone soon. We were talking about stuff that's coming out soon, and as soon as I said "And BlackBerry is coming out with a whole new OS soon..." she wrinkled her nose and said "Yeah I don't like BlackBerry at all." She raised her eyebrow though when I said this will be like no other BB she's ever seen. I also brought up BB10 to a group of friends, and one guy who's a huge phone/OS hopper said "Ann, just drop BlackBerry already." Again, I told him the same thing I told my boss, but he just rolled his eyes.

[shemaree09]

"Ann, just drop BlackBerry already." Again, I told him the same thing I told my boss, but he just rolled his eyes.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard this. Even when I explain why I like my phone, and that it CAN do the things they think it cant, I still get the eye roll JUST because its a Blackberry.

I could say I had a Palm Pre and no one would blink an eye. But if you just mumble the world Blackberry, people look at you like you're clueless.

[LuvULongTime]

Agree with the OP. The battle of public perception will really make or break RIM.

But really, this has been their weakness for a long time. Marketing is something they have never been good at. They really need to step it up. The ad campaign for BB10 will be huge.

[bitek]

.... and we the crackberry community are the apostles spreading the word of RIM .....

[bluetroll]

I think you will see how good Frank Boulben and his team are in the next few months. The marketing team will need to step up.

Their main role is to communicate with the consumers about the product. There's many ways they can do this.

We will see if they can manage to change the public perception of the NEW BB

[kill_9]

I think you will see how good Frank Boulben and his team are in the next few months. The marketing team will need to step up.

Their main role is to communicate with the consumers about the product. There's many ways they can do this.

We will see if they can manage to change the public perception of the NEW BB

To date Frank and his marketing team have remained asleep at the wheel or more likely asleep in the flop house filled will interns. The marketing has to begin now and slowly intensify the anticipated release of BlackBerry 10. Waiting until 2013 will be too little too late. Build a storyline for the arrival of BlackBerry 10. Produce 30-second vignettes like the prequel series before the Simpsons was a television programme. Show them before movies in the theatres and play them on television during prime-time news broadcasts. Give them an edgy look and feel...a conspiracy theory..."The Truth is Out There."

[jthep]

I think for RIM to regain its place as a major and more profitable player once again it has to market the new BB10 well and also show off multimedia features that it can do. I think it is a common misconception that BB's cannot do multimedia, which is not true, but in a new marketing campaign show these features off.

Also I think for the American market it is crucial to get a good movie streaming app like Netflix, Hulu+, Amazon Prime, etc. At least ONE of those!!! For me personally, I have little to no interest in watching full length movies or shows on a little smartphone screen, but if it is not available at all as an option, it will turn people off to the BB10 for lack of multimedia capabilities.

RIM has had plenty of time to cut a deal with a streaming services company like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc. They need to get on it!!! Or even have someone port an Android app for Netflix!!! It really shouldn't be this hard, but as we have seen with the debacle of the Playbook launch, RIM still hasn't really addressed this?!?!?!?!?!?!

[yorkshireman2]

To date Frank and his marketing team have remained asleep at the wheel or more likely asleep in the flop house filled will interns. The marketing has to begin now and slowly intensify the anticipated release of BlackBerry 10. Waiting until 2013 will be too little too late. Build a storyline for the arrival of BlackBerry 10. Produce 30-second vignettes like the prequel series before the Simpsons was a television programme. Show them before movies in the theatres and play them on television during prime-time news broadcasts. Give them an edgy look and feel...a conspiracy theory..."The Truth is Out There."

Agree 100%

That IS what RIM should be doing right now. Not in three months or six months time.

They need to make this the biggest launch of ANY phone ever, including any iPhone or Android phone.

They need to create awareness (there is none at all at the moment)

They need to build anticipation and desire (there is zero desire apart from us here at CB)

It is like they're scared of playing it large, just in case they mess up again like they did with the Playbook (yes, I love my Playbook, but the rest of the world didn't even give it a chance).

From what I've seen BB10 is going to be awesome so start letting the world know about it NOW!

And one more thing ...

They need a specific launch date not just some vague promise of Q1 2013.

And come that date they need people queuing round the block just like when a new iPhone is released.

Come on RIM. Step up to the plate.

[DuexNoir]

The problem with trying to market BB10 now is the question of what will they market? Most of the features (and probably unique ones) in BB10 are being held underwraps. These won't be revealed until the launch. So marketing with only the limited features now known may actually make more of a negative impact than a positive one (i.e. critics will scream "half-baked" again). Consumers will not buy into any marketing campaign now when they don't physically see the phone right before them.

I have been wondering where Boulben and the marketing team are...they have kept a rather low profile for a while now. I am hoping this means that they are working their behinds off putting together an awesome marketing campaign. From what Boulben and Heins said before with the 3 waves and simultaneous global launching, I am taking it meaning they will go all out on day 1 (or hopefully so).

I actually think launching first in countries where BB stands the strongest may be better than launching in countries where most consumers scorn at the mention of BB. In this way, RIM can avoid a flood of negative media at launch and hopefully have more positive reviews that may sway the lesser BB countries later on.

[BBPandy]

That's just half of it. RIM needs to change people's minds on the brand overall.

Just mention the name Blackberry and you get disgust....no matter what phone you have. If that BB10 Dev device had an Apple/Samsung/HTC/Motorola logo on it, people would be amazed and couldn't wait to get their hands on one.

I've mentioned my Bold 9930 to people, and as soon as I said "Blackberry" I got "Blackberrys suck, they can only do email, they are only for work, they cant get internet, blah blah blah" when that isnt the case for their newer phones.

There are sooooo many people who don't even know Blackberry OS 7 phones exist, let alone BB10. Many people in the US ditched their Blackberry's around OS 4/5 and think that Blackberry's today are still like that.

RIM needs a complete image makeover to win back users. BB10 alone won't do that.

Yea I always get upset when someone tells me that they traded in their BlackBerry 8300 (released in 2007) for an iPhone 4S (released in 2011) They say BB sucks because their iPhone is WAY FASTER ect. OFCOURSE IT IS!!! it's 4 years NEWER! Grr

It also doesn't help that some companies still issue their employees old BB's. Last year the employees of a company we did business with were all issued BlackBerrys. The workers complained to me constantly about how slow their phones were & how after having used these phones they would never buy a BlackBerry for them selves. One day after hearing them complain, I asked to see their phone. They had been issued BlackBerry 8350i's (released 2008). I don't know where their employer had even found those phones, in the corner of a dusty old wearhouse I'm sure...or maybe a museum.

[anon(3896606)]

This is where GOOD marketing comes in.
People still believe how BlackBerry has the worst browser, has no app's and has bad software.
RIM has to somehow demo all of this and more, in one advirtisement.
Hopefully Frank Boulben does a good job!

[yasmar]

.... and we the crackberry community are the apostles spreading the word of RIM .....

I've been busy doing that since I jumped over to BlackBerry from Android last February. I had the majority of my family converted to Android and now I'm trying to switch them over to BlackBerry. I have even seen my dad retweet RIM in the past few weeks even though he has never owned a BlackBerry...but he's Canadian

[bluetroll]

To date Frank and his marketing team have remained asleep at the wheel or more likely asleep in the flop house filled will interns. The marketing has to begin now and slowly intensify the anticipated release of BlackBerry 10. Waiting until 2013 will be too little too late. Build a storyline for the arrival of BlackBerry 10. Produce 30-second vignettes like the prequel series before the Simpsons was a television programme. Show them before movies in the theatres and play them on television during prime-time news broadcasts. Give them an edgy look and feel...a conspiracy theory..."The Truth is Out There."

I agree with your techniques to promote or communicate the product with consumers.

However,

You don't know the amount of work required to properly 'market' a product, it's not simply making 30 second ads to show on tv or web banners...

and they have already started the 'marketing,' what do you think them showing off bb10 to the public was? that's 100% marketing. judging by the positive feedback, they are doing quite well.

if anyone knows marketing, they will need to hit the bullseye Product, Price, Promotion and Place. There's lots research and planning going on behind the scenes, it's not always what you see.

[hurds]

I agree that they have a battle ahead of them, but to win it they do need to copy Apple and Google. I mean, why not? Their model works. That is not to say they shouldn't be different too, but most people are not power users. They want their local bank app available. They want an app for their grocery store or Walmart or....etc...

They can show off their new powerful os but it will be for nothing if they don't offer at least the same things that Apple and Android do.

Ya, but then people will come here saying they copied apple and google, no?

[hurds]

Its not hard and it doesn't take long to change peoples opinions. Right now to the average person theres really only 3 or less options they even know of. They likely know what a blackberry is, if carriers push it in the US it will sell. Elsewhere this isn't as big a deal.

[baolam86]

To date Frank and his marketing team have remained asleep at the wheel or more likely asleep in the flop house filled will interns. The marketing has to begin now and slowly intensify the anticipated release of BlackBerry 10. Waiting until 2013 will be too little too late. Build a storyline for the arrival of BlackBerry 10. Produce 30-second vignettes like the prequel series before the Simpsons was a television programme. Show them before movies in the theatres and play them on television during prime-time news broadcasts. Give them an edgy look and feel...a conspiracy theory..."The Truth is Out There."

I see a lot of samsung products and windows phone advertised in between of movie trailers in the theaters when i go to see a movie. RIM should choose some upcoming hit movies around that time and advertise it there

The amount of people going to see hit movies is a tremendous opportunity so show them what BB10 is about

[cgk]

Ya, but then people will come here saying they copied apple and google, no?

If it results in profits - who cares?