[lorax1284]

Old news. Move on!

[sk8er_tor]

I agree. It's all about the marketing. I also agree that they're trying to get the PlayBook in the hands of the masses because this will help bring developers onboard. And as we've seen time and again on the forums here, when someone sees a friend with a PlayBook, they love it.

They need to fire whoever did their last marketing campaign because it was useless and very amateur.

[123berryaddicted]

Wow. Huge post. Enjoyed the read though.

Lots of creative view points, all of which I agree with.

But.. The sad truth is... RIM will be far from this

Just saying....

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[simsim]

Very interesting and well thought out.

I linked in another post this guy demo-ing Sony's new tablet.

Proves your point is spot on, as PB needs someone doing similar.

[anon(1049620)]

I posted a long comment about this on one of the main Crackberry articles. Good points you've made, we agree on a lot of items. And very insightful regarding the packaging, I hadn't even considered that they can't be selling old Playbooks with the old features on the box if they're relaunching... great insight by RIM as well. Maybe they'll do it right this time around.

One key point I think you hadn't touched on is acknowledgement of guilt. Not to say that RIM is guilty of anything, but they did in fact make statements that turned out to not be true, for whatever reason: "native PIM apps coming this summer" for example. A key pillar of their strategy moving forward will HAVE TO include addressing those mistakes and admitting to users that they've heard what we've been saying this whole time and the new culture at RIM will be to work WITH its loyal user base as opposed to ignoring it like they've always done. I mean, really, the left+right swiping in BBM is STILL backwards over a year after OS6 launched on the Torch. But I, too, digress. Here are some ideas for the relaunch of the PB:

1. RIM will need to begin with a massive media event. Lazaridis and Balsillie on stage. Begin by talking about the successes of the Playbook, what it's accomplished, great apps that have been released, government approval, security, etc.. Then jump into the shortcomings. "We made promises that we were unable to keep, and we're going to make it up to everyone, here's how" (see #2 below for more). Then jump right into the new PB. New features, apps, accessories, abilities. Why it's great. How much. Where can I get it. Why do I want it. End the event saying "the upgrade to 2.0 is available NOW for existing users and the new PB will be on store shelves in 2 weeks."

2. Take care of your most loyal customers. Offer incentives to existing PB owners and early adopters, get free apps or accessories. The gesture is worth SO MUCH from a PR and branding standpoint no matter what the actual dollar cost. If you can afford to sell a PB for $249, you can afford to give $50 in freebies to people who paid $499.

3. In-store strategy (the other KEY pillar of the relaunch). Take note: Apple sells the iPad, but RIM does NOT sell the Playbook. Store employees sell the Playbook. As the OP said, put someone in every Best Buy, Staples, Future Shop, Walmart, etc. to show employees everything about the new device. Let them play with it. Let them see the new features and how it works. Put it in their hands, and they will push it. Offer employee discounts (one per employee) on a new PB 2.0. I have heard SO MANY TIMES from employees of these stores "they Playbook is crap, they're going to cancel it, don't get it." I have walked into stores where the PB on display (complete with its own section and marketing materials around it) is TURNED OFF and does not turn on. It's insane how little these stores actually care to push this device. This needs to be addressed, especially with the holiday shopping season around the corner.

4. Refine the value proposition. Why am I paying for a Playbook? What will it do for me? Why is it better for me than the competition? To me, the key benefits of the Playbook are portability, web browsing, speed, and security. But really, portability is a key point. RIM can win every single customer who finds the iPad too big to lug around or work with. They can create and dominate a segment because they're the only ones with an incredible 7" tablet. Let's hear MORE about this in the relaunch!

5. Apps. This needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, it may be too late. 6 months ago, RIM should have called up all of the biggest app developers, the makers of games, of messaging clients, all the large companies and news outlets and publishers, and said "we're going to give you each a dedicated developer to port your app to the Playbook." Also, they need to release some sales figures. Devs are skeptical, they think nobody owns this device, so why bother developing for it. Oh, and the native SDK is STILL NOT OUT. What is going on RIM??

In conclusion, this is going to be tough for RIM to pull off. Their lack of foresight has left them weak, their brand has taken such a hit, consumers have lost faith in them and their products, and nobody is pushing the Playbook anymore. You've got to get people back on your side before they're going to even consider giving you their hard earned money. And make no mistake, this isn't a competition with Apple. People aren't buying the iPad INSTEAD of the Playbook. They're just NOT buying the Playbook. And that's still a tremendous opportunity to be exploited, but they'd better move fast or someone else will grab those consumers.

[lorax1284]

One key point I think you hadn't touched on is acknowledgement of guilt. Not to say that RIM is guilty of anything, but they did in fact make statements that turned out to not be true, for whatever reason: "native PIM apps coming this summer" for example.

I absolutely agree: marketers wouldn't make the mistake of overpromising and underdelivering: SALESPEOPLE do that :-) but yes, Balsillie has to stop dismissing delays, because pissing off investors is a great way to **** off the business community (their major customer base) at large.

1. RIM will need to begin with a massive media event. Lazaridis and Balsillie on stage. Begin by talking about the successes of the Playbook, what it's accomplished, great apps that have been released, government approval, security, etc.. Then jump into the shortcomings. "We made promises that we were unable to keep, and we're going to make it up to everyone, here's how" (see #2 below for more). Then jump right into the new PB. New features, apps, accessories, abilities. Why it's great. How much. Where can I get it. Why do I want it. End the event saying "the upgrade to 2.0 is available NOW for existing users and the new PB will be on store shelves in 2 weeks."

...and they shouldn't be afraid to do the "and one more thing" and announce a couple of surprises like Skype integration with BBM friends list... if they also announce Skype availability on OS7 it would not be a bad thing (fat chance on OS7 getting Skype. That would be the best kept secret in tech if it happens)

2. Take care of your most loyal customers. Offer incentives to existing PB owners and early adopters, get free apps or accessories. The gesture is worth SO MUCH from a PR and branding standpoint no matter what the actual dollar cost. If you can afford to sell a PB for $249, you can afford to give $50 in freebies to people who paid $499.

I'd settle for a rapid charge dock. Just a gesture, but I agree with you.

3. In-store strategy (the other KEY pillar of the relaunch). Take note: Apple sells the iPad, but RIM does NOT sell the Playbook. Store employees sell the Playbook. As the OP said, put someone in every Best Buy, Staples, Future Shop, Walmart, etc. to show employees everything about the new device. Let them play with it. Let them see the new features and how it works. Put it in their hands, and they will push it. Offer employee discounts (one per employee) on a new PB 2.0. I have heard SO MANY TIMES from employees of these stores "they Playbook is crap, they're going to cancel it, don't get it." I have walked into stores where the PB on display (complete with its own section and marketing materials around it) is TURNED OFF and does not turn on. It's insane how little these stores actually care to push this device. This needs to be addressed, especially with the holiday shopping season around the corner.

...or simply pull the devices out of such stores. Announce in big huge press release that RIM is pulling out of Best Buy stores because the staff are incompetent and don't know how to sell tech, and partner with Wal-Mart or Target and how committed the new partner is to understanding the merits of RIM devices and actually knowing how they work. Challenge the press to visit a Best Buy store and ask about the PlayBook and see how un- or mis-informed the staff are, and they'll immediately see why RIM needed to find another retail partner. Best Buy doesn't have any competition: their sales team has gotten really lazy.

4. Refine the value proposition. Why am I paying for a Playbook? What will it do for me? Why is it better for me than the competition? To me, the key benefits of the Playbook are portability, web browsing, speed, and security. But really, portability is a key point. RIM can win every single customer who finds the iPad too big to lug around or work with. They can create and dominate a segment because they're the only ones with an incredible 7" tablet. Let's hear MORE about this in the relaunch!

Portability is a feature that is undermarketed: if you've ever spent any time greater than 10 minutes with a 10" android or iOS tablet, you know it's fatiguing. My 7" android and PlayBook tablets are infinitely more comfortable for extended use. One of those "Oh-wa No-wa! Wrists getting cramped and achy from holding that 10" monster tablet for too long? Get the PlayBook! Use it for hours without painful wrist disorder."

5. Apps. This needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, it may be too late. 6 months ago, RIM should have called up all of the biggest app developers, the makers of games, of messaging clients, all the large companies and news outlets and publishers, and said "we're going to give you each a dedicated developer to port your app to the Playbook." Also, they need to release some sales figures. Devs are skeptical, they think nobody owns this device, so why bother developing for it. Oh, and the native SDK is STILL NOT OUT. What is going on RIM??

Well, if my other hopes and dreams are realized, Skype and Rovio have had the NDK for some time now and have used it to develop their respective apps, and RIM will have been working with other developers in advance of the NDK's public launch, but yes, it has to come soon... with a new director of Developer Relations, I hope this will indeed throttle up the native app development.

In conclusion, this is going to be tough for RIM to pull off. Their lack of foresight has left them weak, their brand has taken such a hit, consumers have lost faith in them and their products, and nobody is pushing the Playbook anymore. You've got to get people back on your side before they're going to even consider giving you their hard earned money. And make no mistake, this isn't a competition with Apple. People aren't buying the iPad INSTEAD of the Playbook. They're just NOT buying the Playbook. And that's still a tremendous opportunity to be exploited, but they'd better move fast or someone else will grab those consumers.

It's a challenge for any marketing team, and with the recent departure of their old marketing VP, I hope the new blood will have some b*lls and stand up to the job... challenge the assumptions about iPad being "better", when really, it's just "different" and both the iPad and PlayBook have best use-cases that have to be publicized.

One last little question:

Do you think the design of the Power Button has had any impact on acceptance at the store level? If the device is idle for a time, you have to press the power button to get it to come back on... and pressing that power button takes a bit of dedication by the user, AND it can be frustrating, which leaves a bad first impression... do you think a hardware redesign making the power button a toggle switch a-la the iPad's rotation lock switch is in order? Something a lot easier to do? Of course, you can still power the device OFF by touching the battery and powering off... and in an "off" state, flipping the toggle switch should turn the device on, and flipping it off should just go into standby... but I think approachability of the device in stores is hampered by the power button. That's not a marketing issue really, but perhaps a UI redesign where the device, by default NEVER EVER EVER GOES BLANK if the power adaptor is plugged in... the user has to touch the battery icon and choose "standby"... and then a swipe-in from the bottom bezel all the way to the top bezel would reactivate it? Something to make it easier to come out of standby.

[flapadlr]

I think one of the reasons why RIM is offering the reduced pricing on the PlayBooks is not only to get devices out of the channel and into the hands of users, but to CLEAR old product from the channel because they are going to "rebrand", including new packaging to feature the Tablet OS 2.0 features that couldn't be touted on the PlayBook package. It would be difficult to have both the PlayBook with OLD packaging shipping with Tablet OS 1.x and NEW packaging shipping with Tablet OS 2.0 in stores at the same time, so bite the bullet and clear the channel... but I digress again...

I agree with this and created a post last night to discuss it.

[biggulpseh]

What you guys are all forgetting is that QNX will be the software of the future for Blackberry phones... The 2.0 Tablet OS is simply the 1.0 Smartphone OS. So yeah, they may put a lot of resources into advertising the Playbook after the upgrade, but I think it's more so to show off the next generation of the software for their phones. I honestly believe the software is probably already ready to roll, but if they released it to Playbook owners before DevCon, then they couldn't show us anything cool at the show regarding their next generation of phones. Everyone is freaking out about the rumors of a more iphone-esque home screen, but think about it for a second. Yes the tabs make sense for a tablet, but does it really make sense for a small portrait screen on a phone? No. Only a few tabs would be able to be viewed at once. We have to think in terms of streamlining the OS for both phone and tablet instead of splitting the two.

[beware96]

Do you think the design of the Power Button has had any impact on acceptance at the store level? If the device is idle for a time, you have to press the power button to get it to come back on... and pressing that power button takes a bit of dedication by the user, AND it can be frustrating, which leaves a bad first impression... do you think a hardware redesign making the power button a toggle switch a-la the iPad's rotation lock switch is in order? Something a lot easier to do? Of course, you can still power the device OFF by touching the battery and powering off... and in an "off" state, flipping the toggle switch should turn the device on, and flipping it off should just go into standby... but I think approachability of the device in stores is hampered by the power button. That's not a marketing issue really, but perhaps a UI redesign where the device, by default NEVER EVER EVER GOES BLANK if the power adaptor is plugged in... the user has to touch the battery icon and choose "standby"... and then a swipe-in from the bottom bezel all the way to the top bezel would reactivate it? Something to make it easier to come out of standby.

I don't get the big deal about the power button, you can awake the PB by a swipe from bezel to opposite bezel now? Why does this bother so many people, I really don't get it.

[FF22]

I don't get the big deal about the power button, you can awake the PB by a swipe from bezel to opposite bezel now? Why does this bother so many people, I really don't get it.

I think too many people either skipped/rushed through the mandatory opening tutorial when initializing or have never read the manual.

[rleo25]

Power button issue is a wrong intended creation of market rivals... It is needed only a light touch on it and machine will go on...

[jvictor77]

Very interesting and well thought out.

I linked in another post this guy demo-ing Sony's new tablet.

Proves your point is spot on, as PB needs someone doing similar.

Wow - that's some cool features by Sony!