[Syrous44]

The issue is, what do you say?

"Here's our failed tablet which finally has mobile compatibility and a slightly faster processor, but still lacking all the things which made the initial launch a failure"

And that's coming from a guy who loves his playbook. I just dont see any amount of marketing making a difference at this point. It just serves as a reminder of their prior shortcomings, and they need to stay away from that. At this stage in the game, only BB10 should be marketed.

That's how i see it anyway, but what do i know

You pretty much nailed it on the head. Look we released a tabled a year and a half ago but still lacking the full functionality tablets from android have for 200 dollars. They should just skip going public on the tablet debacle, focus on BB10. Once that is selling well relaunch the tablet marketing and upgraded product.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[kfh227]

It makes no sense to advertise blackberry alot in the states until BB10 comes out.

[ajst222]

BB10 devices are still not even out yet. They still need to build a marketing stategy around it and still need to brainstorm before implimenting. Marketing doesn't happen over night. Commercials have to be written and acted out before being put out there

Exactly he just got here a few weeks ago. I think the necessary changes have been made at RIM and they will all work out well.

[Moonbase0ne]

I Just wonder if they will advertise the Playbook 4g. If not, why even bother to release something you don't plan to market.

[tmelon]

I Just wonder if they will advertise the Playbook 4g. If not, why even bother to release something you don't plan to market.

I doubt it. I don't even know why they're bothering to release it. There's not much of a market for it now.

They really should just axe the PlayBook 4G and start work on a BB10 PlayBook with updated hardware to release alongside the first BB10 devices.

[Bla1ze]

I doubt it. I don't even know why they're bothering to release it. There's not much of a market for it now.

They really should just axe the PlayBook 4G and start work on a BB10 PlayBook with updated hardware to release alongside the first BB10 devices.

The "work" for the 4G PB has been done for months any how, there was no real time wasted on it when it comes to the BB10 schedule as it is now. Yes, they wasted time on it initially but that time is over, all hands are on BB 10 ATM.

And although the comment was disliked, there was a bit of truth to what sevoman said.. when BB 10 was first being put together, it was a toss everything but the kitchen sink in there formula and see what sticks.. not the case any more.. but alas, there was a time when it was 100% true.

[texazzpete]

While the OS7 devices are dying sales-wise, it would be crazy for RIM to wait until january before drumming up the BB10 hype.

People here on Crackberry may love to profess their love for RIM and vow to stick to BB forever, but there are hundreds of thousands of BB users who probably have sprung for ANdroid this year alone, and you can expect another large outflux when the next iPhone launches.

WP8 will also do its fair share of mopping up of some customers.

RIM needs to start drumming up hype for BB10 from latest September/October so existing customers will be motivated to at least wait for the release to give BB10 a chance.

[TheScionicMan]

Why do people act like the smart phone wars are coming to the finish line and all will be decided in the next 3 months? Nobody will ever switch brands again nor will something new rise up to gain attention. The people that already have a smartphone love it endlessly and will always stick with that brand.

There's still time and room for a lot of moving and changing. I remember when people laughed at those upstarts Toyota and Honda. Later, it was Kia and Hyundai. Why bother? Too little, too late...

[gregorylkelly]

From a marketing standpoint, any BlackBerry marketing beyond what they are doing currently would be a waste of money. They could spend $2 billion on a complex and genious marketing campaign right now, but they wouldn't improve their current sales much and they would be out $2 billion. They need to wait until they will be able to monetize their marketing efforts. This is the lull before the storm and it's probably going to become even quieter as we move into fall. RIM is in cost saving mode right now so they have enough in the bank to make it a year into BB10 to really start profitting again. They are going to encounter a lot of costs in the buildup to BB10's release, from inventory buildup and overtime in crunch time for the programmers to the marketing blitz you are going to see.

Sure, they currently have $2 billion or so in cash, but they need that money to make it through the initial release of BB10. If they waste their money now trying to sell through BB7 inventory, they may put themselves in a tough spot for the release of BB10.

Put it this way...If they spend $100 million more on BB7 marketing and in turn increase sales by $10 million, then that would equate to a $90 million mistake. They have people crunching these numbers and they also know that they have almost reached their ceiling of BB7 sales. It just isn't worth it to market their current inventory, and it is WAY to soon to market their future devices.

[gregorylkelly]

I Just wonder if they will advertise the Playbook 4g. If not, why even bother to release something you don't plan to market.

They may be releasing it for their business customers who have been asking for it. If that is the case and they didn't make a ton of them, it might make sense to not overly market it.

I'm not claiming this is the case, but you need to look at some of these things with an open mind. As Blaze mentioned, much of the research that went into this tablet was completely months ago. Also, once they put the R&D into the tablet, it has to be worth it to release it, even in small quantities to try and recover some of the costs involved in the R&D and to try and keep some positive mindshare amongst some of your loyal corporate customers that were probably asking and waiting for this device. At this point the last thing they can afford is to promise a device to their loyal customers and end up not releasing it. Those customers will in turn start to doubt that BB10 will ever release.

[xandermac]

I'd start running "trailers" about 1 month prior to release.

[Cesare21]

I think RIM has a great chance in BB Jams, advertise the brand (not the devices) in and around the Jam event nation. The whole notion of 'RIM in a death spiral' should be countered with some ads to refresh the memory. These ads could then form a base to expand those ads so there is a touch of familiarity too.

Such memory refresh ads may help push their current inventory with the minimum effect to let people know the brand is still there.

Just my 2 cents.

[Blackberry_boffin]

I know you are worried about brand awareness but BB10 is about six months away. SIX.
RIM has said amongst its plethora of priorities, cost-cutting also ranks quite high.
There is nothing to market right now, really but a lot of behind the scenes work to get right. There is no amount of renewed marketing onslaught that can reboot sales of tech which is a year old.

[pcguy514]

Isn't the 4G Playbook supposed to be coming out soon? If it is, that is something they might want to advertise to let people know it actually exists. Unless they really expect to only sale it to the business market, which, do they sell think it would be a success in that arena alone?

bbwc2012 thats exactly what was said in the q n a
why would it not be since its the most secure mobile computing platform? They have enterprise customers asking alot demanding, a built in data solution. why not give it to them especially if they already have the hardware in stock.

DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR THEM TO DUMP THE STOCK OR WAIT FOR IT TO BE ANY MORE OUTDATED?

[_BB10_]

The 4G PB is really a tool meant for Mobile Fusion users. And I am very anxious to see what Mobile Fusion does to the bottom line at September's earnings report. This is a brand new revenue stream to RIM and we just haven't seen what I might do to net income.

In terms of marketing, RIM needs to stay out of the spot light for the time being. They need to go away for a few months and let Apple's latest commercials take all the negative media for a while.

Also, QNX is currently monopolizing the automotive infotainment system space which itself is growing very quickly. Its not a huge addition to RIM's revenue, but certainly helps in revenue-challenged times like these.

[kill_9]

At USD99.00 per year per user the revenue stream from Mobile Fusion stands to significantly boost the earnings of the company. However, will the 4GB BlackBerry PlayBook be a supplement to a BlackBerry smartphone for these users or a replacement device. There is the possibility of a revenue neutral balance sheet for subscriber fees. As a bonus for the revenue stream is the built-in support for Apple iPhones and Android-based smartphones with the potential to support tablets as well.

[Rimfun]

Why do people act like the smart phone wars are coming to the finish line and all will be decided in the next 3 months? Nobody will ever switch brands again nor will something new rise up to gain attention. The people that already have a smartphone love it endlessly and will always stick with that brand.

There's still time and room for a lot of moving and changing. I remember when people laughed at those upstarts Toyota and Honda. Later, it was Kia and Hyundai. Why bother? Too little, too late...

The auto manufacturure comparison doesn't work here, when you buy a new car you are not invested in an ecosystem. I can buy an Hyundai, drive it for 2 years and if I don't like it i can sell it and buy something else. If I buy an iPhone, for example, and in the my 2 years of ownership spend a couple a hundred bucks on apps and have everything setup to work with my other apple devices, guess what, when time comes to renew my contract, it going to take a lot to make me switch. I am not saying I would never be willing to switch but you understand the smartphone market has changed significantly so RIM is not only competing against other smartphones with BB10 but also ecosystems.

[Roo Zilla]

There's quite a bit of marketing going on, it's just not centered around BB10 or the US. In emerging markets, they make quite a few "interesting" ads.







The gotta say, the "Blackberry Boys" thing, cracks me up.