[bigglybobblyboo]

Bear with me here...

Last Monday the boss (not the one at work) dropped her Z10 when getting into her car. It fell out of her pocket. As it transpired it had bounced under the wheels and so when she drove off she ran it over.

Well, the good news is that I can confirm that whilst the screen was more than shattered (I had to hold it very carefully to avoid having it cut my fingers) it switched back on and, with the help of my trusty HDMI cable I CAN CONFIRM that a Z10 can survive being run over by a Honda CRV, bless it. That said, it will switch on, but it won't switch off again, it keeps thinking I'm telling it to reboot (this is important later).

That's ok, you're welcome. We run these tests so you don't have to. Seriously - don't try this at home.

So, after the initial inevitable domestic discussion has passed it's off into town to get a new screen. Take it to the carrier shop? No chance. Even if they were good value (which they're not) it takes forever to get it back so it's down to the independent man on his little stall in the shopping centre (or mall, depending on where you are from). Tried 2, first was �150, second was �130 (iphones are �40 by the way, I suppose that's the price of being 'special'!) - they said 4 days and were true to their word. Got a call Friday, the phone is ready.

So I go to pick it up. Other than the stone chip marks in the top and bottom bezels it's looking good and must have been face down as the back and the case had no marks on them. Trouble is, the battery is dead so we both stand around as he charges it up to test it. Firstly attempting via his PC (that was taking ages) and then via a charger he takes from his stand.

So, and here's the point of the post (sorry it took so long!), we end up chatting. He asks if I like the new BB, I say yes. He says:

'I like Android. BlackBerry is very good for calls and texts but I prefer Android'

'Ok', says I, not wanting to get into it really, 'you're a phone guy. I'm sure you love customising this and downloading that' He smiles and we carry on waiting for the Z10 to get enough juice.

And then a phone rings in his pocket. He looks at me a bit sheepishly and pulls out his BOLD 9900! I'm a bit stunned! He has a chat, finishes, whatever. But now I've got the bit between my teeth as 5 minutes later the Z10 splutters into life and, to be fair to him, he insists on testing the thing fully before taking any money.

This is good. He gets the full on treatment. This is the Hub. He likes it. This is the keyboard. He REALLY likes it. This is timeshift (with a picture of him, obviously) he is absolutely amazed. 'THAT'S what the new BlackBerry can do? THAT is cool...'

So I leave with the boss's phone repaired and 5 minutes later I start to get a bit angry.

Many people, including myself, have posted on here about squashing anti-BB myths with on street and in bar demonstrations of BB10 to others. In reply it has often been posted, 'Yeah, but would they buy one?'

The answer is NO.

Not because of the phone or the OS. But because by the time those on contract (which is the vast majority here in the UK) are ready to look at a new one there will be nothing, nil, naff all, from BlackBerry constantly nagging them and making them aware that the phone exists or of the advantages that using a BlackBerry 10 device has over others in the market OR how the BlackBerry platform has changed from it's previous incarnation meaning that yes, BlackBerry is still the king of calls and messaging but look at it now...

And the saddest thing of all is that the majority of these people who will never be told about BB10 are ex - BlackBerry users! People who will actually listen because they have a connect with the brand already - good or bad. And the 'OMG - is that the new BlackBerry? Wow! That's cool!' is all I ever get from people I show it to.

So, Frank B******n, CMO. I understand you're hanging around for your life-changing pay off. And, as a marketing man myself, I understand you have to work within the constraints of the financial situation. But you failed, my friend. You failed big time.

No strategy other than blowing millions on a SuperBowl vanity project
No return on investment.
No alternative cheaper strategy when cash became tight
Nothing.

Be a man.

Resign.

No wonder Thorsten asked us to 'sell like hell'. By that time there was already nothing left in the ideas department.

Pathetic.

[pkcable]

Heins needs to go too!

[bigglybobblyboo]

Heins needs to go too!

Agreed! But where is he...?

[kevinnugent]

Boulben needs to take Tear and Heins with him. But they are waiting for the golden parachute. Wouldn't you?

[tmanthib]

BlackBerry, kinda like the Terminator, you can't kill it. It just keeps coming back.

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[canuckvoip]

Yup... I had high hopes he'd pull a rabbit out of his hat. Nope.

[bigglybobblyboo]

Boulben needs to take Tear and Heins with him. But they are waiting for the golden parachute. Wouldn't you?

Yep, with this amount of money hanging around anyone would, no matter what they say. Great negotiations - fail and become a multi-millionaire!

But I just wanted to get it off my chest in one almighty splurge as it really hit home this week just how good the product is and how badly it has been managed...

No wonder there are those, such as Mike and Jim who think it's worth saving, it is, I could produce a better marketing campaign on my daughters Fisher Price keyboard (oh, ahem not THAT, she's only 5!)

[xBURK]

Great thread OP. Enjoyed reading all of it. I couldn't agree more. When you think of the millions wasted??? It really makes you wonder if Frank and Heins didn't care at all. I realize that's probably not true, but it sure looks that way. Somewhere in those eight months, they must have known something was not right and could have changed their plan of action in the marking dept.

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[zten]

You all supported them last December and praised them. I'm sure I could dig up posts.

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[alan510]

Entertaining post, as per usual OP. You would have to be King Canute to think you could not stem the tide of dissatisfaction around BlackBerry's marketing efforts for the BlackBerry 10 platform.

Having been in an executive suite during a sale process, and knowing how changes of control agreements work, I don't think you can expect anyone to resign. These agreements are reached, usually, as a part of the engagement process. In the case of the executives, all that happened before the launch of the Z10. I do not believe for a few second that any of them deliberately failed so that their change of control clauses would kick in. I'm sure they tried their best. They have failed and may not be around for much longer. And I'm with you that they are accountable and should be held to that standard. But I for one, don't impune their integrity. It's tough to see they failed and I'm certain they are not happy about it.

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[bradu1]

One thing they should be doing.... something that wouldn't be taking any bite out of their cash reserves, is hammering us BlackBerry users with ads. They have our pins, they have our emails, hit those legacy users with how good BB10 is, send demos of the Z10, Q10 and Q5. Us BB10 users, should know everything there is to know about the Z30 now. We all shouldve got links to the buy direct from BlackBerry page.

I mean, I don't have anything android anymore, and could care less about it, but I'm still getting weekly emails from the Google Play Store. I care about BlackBerry, but they never write anymore.

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[BGRS]

Don't wait Monday... resign now.

[xBURK]

You all supported them last December and praised. I'm sure I could dig up posts.

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Ah, of course many did. The launch was two months away at that point. Everything was rainbows and butterfly's then. I don't have the time or will to list all the bad decisions that followed.

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[xtremeled]

You all supported them last December and praised. I'm sure I could dig up posts.

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Thank You. simple fact is, almost everyone is now disgusted with BB.

[bennelong]

BlackBerry, kinda like the Terminator, you can't kill it. It just keeps coming back.

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No!!!
Melt de QNX!! Do it!!
(Then it's really hasta la vista for it).

Z10 via CB10

[jafrul]

You all supported them last December and praised them. I'm sure I could dig up posts.

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Lol.. U don't have to dig.
We all does. It was everything we hope for to revive BlackBerry and be back on the spotlight with the top players. We all saw and knows that BB10 have the potential but one thing what we all didn't know is how crappy the marketing department is.
Especially with crappy ads in all direction (esp the NFL thing). We did criticized. And we did show how a good ads should be (remember qnx?).
And this is one part BlackBerry failed to listen. The crappy commercials and marketing.
The only person ready to be on stage is Vivek. And where is he? The rests are just fillers (including u, Heins).
An therefore, i agree, Frank B should go as soon as possible. On weekend if necessary.

[Lemster81]

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[bradu1]

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I wish I could get my point across with so few words. You have skills Lemster!

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[WArcher]

Well written post - Thanks bigglybobblyboo (I keep thinking your name should be Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo and any time now you're about to turn a pumpkin into something useful).

There is nobody that I've shown a Z10 to - on any platform - that fails to be impressed. Contracts are the killer for the most part - the desire is tempered by the 2+ year hand cuffs. The only other thing that gets in the way of the conversion is a reliance on a couple of iPhone only applications - I've yet to find an Android .APK that doesn't port nicely for those using That as their excuse.

People putting down BlackBerry today are those that don't realise how different it is now, than even 9+ months ago, before BlackBerry 10 was even released to the public.

[davidmcromano]

Good post. All so very true. The super bowl commercial was the biggest waist of money. The message was so distorted and didn't really show off either the Z10 or Q10. Frank has done a poor job and I'm not sure why he is still employed.

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[gfondeur]

Good post. All so very true. The super bowl commercial was the biggest waist of money. The message was so distorted and didn't really show off either the Z10 or Q10. Frank has done a poor job and I'm not sure why he is still employed. Posted via CB10

because TH don't have the ball's to fired him,
(besides TH need to go too, that recall on the board ball's)

[kevinnugent]

because TH don't have the ball's to fired him,
(besides TH need to go too, that recall on the board ball's)

To fire him now would be a PR nightmare. Better to just wait until the parachutes are handed out. Won't be long now.

[bigglybobblyboo]

One thing they should be doing.... something that wouldn't be taking any bite out of their cash reserves, is hammering us BlackBerry users with ads. They have our pins, they have our emails, hit those legacy users with how good BB10 is, send demos of the Z10, Q10 and Q5. Us BB10 users, should know everything there is to know about the Z30 now. We all shouldve got links to the buy direct from BlackBerry page.

I mean, I don't have anything android anymore, and could care less about it, but I'm still getting weekly emails from the Google Play Store. I care about BlackBerry, but they never write anymore.

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THIS.

They've probably got somewhere approaching billions of email addresses from BlackBerry ID's over the years. Other than creating the email and handling the reply there's no cost so why not batter the database?

Surely every sale is precious?

Feel it, Swipe it, Love it. BlackBerry Z10...

[imz]

Interesting.

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[lnichols]

Thank You! Yes Frank and Thorsten both should resign prior to being bought so that they don't get a dime of the golden parachute that Prem setup for them. They have done NOTHING, not a single positive thing for BB10! It is the best OS that no one knows exists.

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