[Superfly_FR]

In November 2013, I wrote a semi-contoversial post here : http://forums.crackberry.com/news-ru...months-878365/

Long story short, here's a quote from John Chen at Passport Launch (00:11:58), yesterday:

"I just fell in love with the phone when I came in, I did not create the phone nor did create the concept, this was done before my time. You know, if there is a credit I can claim it's I didn't kill it".

We all know how easy it's to "throw the baby with the bucket bathtub water" but in these happy days, I remain grateful for many aspects of the job done by Thorsten Heins and his team when BlackBerry was called dead. It's not only a "look in the mirror" point; it denotes that BlackBerry vision was, is and will be a strenght in the forthcoming years.

OF COURSE, I acknowledge and salute the amazing work the new team has done and that it's probably a major key in current achievements, I like you too, M. Chen & team !

Yet, I guess it's time to acknowledge it and return credits to the due persons too. Especially when they've been burned to H&ll. That passport (probably blend, too) has forever a T.H stamp on it.

[Jose Casiano]

Yeah good point.

Posted via CB10

[jaydee5799]

Great point Antoine! I understand exactly what you are saying!

[Superfly_FR]

JayDee, you're a very comprehensive reader/teacher

[notfanboy]

So if the Passport flops, can we establish now which one, Heins or Chen, should take the blame?

[UnlimitedEra]

I agree. Without TH, there would be no BlackBerry 10.

~Omar Via CB10 on Z10STL100-2/10.3.0.1154

[mjdimer]

Totally, and blend must be the 'mobile computing' that he was always talking about

Posted via CB10

[Superfly_FR]

So if the Passport flops, can we establish now which one, Heins or Chen, should take the blame?

You should take some credit for that, don't worry. You've worked hard in that direction

[World War Z30]

We all have to agree that Heins helped bring in the BB10 era but he also came on board half way through the process.

The failure to market these phones has just been BlackBerry's downfall all these years. Hopefully Chen can get some of those promotional Passport videos onto TV. Maybe have some of those cheesy iPhone type commercials where they actually show off the features of the phone.

People need to be aware how the phone works, unlike the BB10 commercials where they showed nothing. Also show that the shape of the phone is not an issue as well. The Note and 6+ sell, show that the Passport can too.

One last thing, even though BlackBerry is an enterprise device, they need to show that it can still appease the consumer side as well. Show that CEOs can play games and use other apps with this phone.

Posted via CB Z30

[BanffMoose]

Superfly_FR, have you ever ask BlackBerry why they don't market the USP about their virtual keyboard and it's ability to word predict in three languages at once? Thorsten Heins once said some really big percentage of their users were multilingual, but I have never really seen BlackBerry mention that or market that fact. In Europe that should have been a very a big selling point.

Btw, do the PKB devices do the same?

[Superfly_FR]

Well, as a foreigner, I use multi-language a lot and it saves me a lot of proof reading. I agree this should be more advertized, why it isn't is unknown to me ... Thor did spoke about iot a lot at launch, then it has been more or less "forgotten"; I'll mention that at the very next oppotunity. Thanks for the reminder

[Superfly_FR]

We all have to agree that Heins helped bring in the BB10 era but he also came on board half way through the process.

The failure to market these phones has just been BlackBerry's downfall all these years. Hopefully Chen can get some of those promotional Passport videos onto TV. Maybe have some of those cheesy iPhone type commercials where they actually show off the features of the phone.

People need to be aware how the phone works, unlike the BB10 commercials where they showed nothing. Also show that the shape of the phone is not an issue as well. The Note and 6+ sell, show that the Passport can too.

One last thing, even though BlackBerry is an enterprise device, they need to show that it can still appease the consumer side as well. Show that CEOs can play games and use other apps with this phone.

Posted via CB Z30

Time to market and enterprise factual situation were also huge factors. I won't pretend T.H did ALL well, but if we go on the "marketing" side, for instance, you can notice how the "social strategy" is now paying back (here's for you, Frank !). In short, I believe all the "most dirty work" has been done by T.H (CORE and head cuts) while still navigating into the new range of services and devices and then Chen brilliantly finished it and moved forward. [I remember a CB Podcast ... ]

[Superfly_FR]

Totally, and blend must be the 'mobile computing' that he was always talking about

Posted via CB10

My words, 100%

[BanffMoose]

Well, as a foreigner, I use multi-language a lot and it saves me a lot of proof reading. I agree this should be more advertized, why it isn't is unknown to me ... Thor did spoke about iot a lot at launch, then it has been more or less "forgotten"; I'll mention that at the very next oppotunity. Thanks for the reminder

Thanks. And offer them a suggestion that if they're limited on advertising dollars target the ethnic communities, especially in the US. I mean Spanish speaking Americans should be an easy sell with the multilingual keyboard!

[shiftymagoo]

As long as we're talking about advertising why not have TV commercials like this:

it could be as simple as a 30 clip where you see a stereotypical Wallstreet type working away hard on his Passport or other bb10 device from a front angle and then the camera pans around to see him playing the latest game or app or watching a movie. Shows the business pedigree along with the entertainment capabilities. Then actually show anything that bb10 can do.

One thing I always find curious is, since when are enterprise users not also consumers? This is one of the flawed beliefs that I don't agree with when you only go after enterprise business.

Business people go home at the end of the day and have families and enjoy down time too.

When you are in sales there is one constant....that is that you are selling to human beings!

Posted via CB10

[AnimalPak200]

As long as we're talking about advertising why not have TV commercials like this:

it could be as simple as a 30 clip where you see a stereotypical Wallstreet type working away hard on his Passport or other bb10 device from a front angle and then the camera pans around to see him playing the latest game or app or watching a movie. Shows the business pedigree along with the entertainment capabilities. Then actually show anything that bb10 can do.

One thing I always find curious is, since when are enterprise users not also consumers? This is one of the flawed beliefs that I don't agree with when you only go after enterprise business.

Business people go home at the end of the day and have families and enjoy down time too.

When you are in sales there is one constant....that is that you are selling to human beings!

Posted via CB10

They're not doing this because they want to,.. they're doing it because it's the only thing they can afford to do given their resources and strengths (and most importantly, weaknesses). They are just trying to "frame" your perception of what certain type of person should need, in hopes of aligning it with what they can provide.

Trust me, if all of a sudden Google said,.. "OK, you can have all of Google Play". BlackBerry would definitely tone down the "all about productivity" spiel.

Posted via CB10

[Superfly_FR]

AP, with all due respect, no.
Embrasing Google anything won't help, unless BlackBerry get simply bought, and that's not an option they would agree with IMHO.
Being the - late in the party - nth player isn't either (and never was) an option.

The path has been set and - by surprise for most - is still here, despite the bumpy road. That's what I'm talking about in OP.


Posted via CB10

[ssbtech]

Makes me hopeful for whatever else they might have in the works.

How about a couple of all-touch devices, 4.5" and 5+" with other hardware specs found on the Passport?

[shiftymagoo]

They're not doing this because they want to,.. they're doing it because it's the only thing they can afford to do given their resources and strengths (and most importantly, weaknesses). They are just trying to "frame" your perception of what certain type of person should need, in hopes of aligning it with what they can provide.

Trust me, if all of a sudden Google said,.. "OK, you can have all of Google Play". BlackBerry would definitely tone down the "all about productivity" spiel.

Posted via CB10

I don't think you get what I'm saying. If you're going after enterprise business users you have to understand those people are still consumers! So marketing business devices without showing off the consumer creature comforts along with it is a mistake!

As a businessman myself I know that the psychology of any sale is counter to what many think. Decisions to purchase anything are made emotionally not rationally. Decisions are justified with logic and reason but the purchase decision is still made with some emotional reasoning.

So in essence a corporate user still wants to watch a video and be entertained but not at the expense of productivity and security. BlackBerry isn't marketing their MDM products that way.

Posted via CB10

[theRock1975]

The path has been set and - by surprise for most - is still here, despite the bumpy road. That's what I'm talking about in OP.

Bravo Superfly. Thanks for never giving up.

The best is yet to come from Blackberry. The synergies with QnX, the NOC, Certicom, Paratek will be amazing.




Posted via CB10

[AnimalPak200]

I don't think you get what I'm saying. If you're going after enterprise business users you have to understand those people are still consumers! So marketing business devices without showing off the consumer creature comforts along with it is a mistake!

As a businessman myself I know that the psychology of any sale is counter to what many think. Decisions to purchase anything are made emotionally not rationally. Decisions are justified with logic and reason but the purchase decision is still made with some emotional reasoning.

So in essence a corporate user still wants to watch a video and be entertained but not at the expense of productivity and security. BlackBerry isn't marketing their MDM products that way.

Posted via CB10

I understand exactly what you're saying. And what I'm saying is that the reason they are doing that is because "consumer creature comforts" is their weakness, while "work and productivity" is their strength (according to them). So they are working hard to re-frame what people that use a device for work should believe they really need (i.e. NOT the creature comforts or instagram).

Like I said, this path was only decided after they realized they were getting nowhere trying to appeal to the broad consumer (i.e. It wasn't plan A).

I agree with you that nowadays, even the staunchest professional sometimes needs their device to be able to do what their teenage kid's device can do.

Frankly I don't think BlackBerry can sustain the "work only" offering for very long... most people are brashly superficial and won't even take a deep enough look into the productivity merits of BlackBerry once they hear (incorrectly or not) that it can't easily get all the consumer apps and gizmos (which they may barely use anyway).

Posted via CB10

[Superfly_FR]

"Work only" includes back end software, with CALs from all device vendors at the end of the year (BES12).
On the hardware front, small suffices (10mi) for now...

Posted via CB10

[shiftymagoo]

I agree with what you're saying but I don't think nowadays you can market the business professional without reminding them that they AREN'T giving up entertainment when there's time for it.

I'm amazed at how many businesses professionals use iphones nowadays and Blackberry's seems to keep getting caught on the wrong end of the trend when in the past they attempted to market bb10 to the masses with its full capabilities and now going hard after the other end of the spectrum but maybe not being responsive enough to how the enterprise user has changed.

I think they SHOULD be going after the MDM enterprise market but nowadays that means it must have creature comforts (which they have) but aren't marketing!

Posted via CB10

[eldricho]

Totally, and blend must be the 'mobile computing' that he was always talking about

Posted via CB10

Exactly
And this made me think..

Was Blend what Thor wanted to change the tablet market with? Make Blend available and then sell dumb tablets, popularize it, make it a new trend and make all other companies follow that strategy, thus changing the entire tablet market

Maybe it was this vision he had. Maybe he even was contemplating on releasing a 'dumb' tablet along with Blend

Posted via CB10

[the_game969]

I always thought that Mr.Heins was bashed a little bit unfairly. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a fan of some of his moves but he was way better than the previous administration.

Good for him to be getting a bit of recognition.

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