1. dale-c's Avatar
    Several times a week I get comments about my phone from people who have never seen a BlackBerry Passport before, and mostly have never even seen one. Most of the comments are positive or at least just curious but rarely negative, and that only due to the width.

    So, as has been said before, if they just advertised the thing, it would sell.

    Posted via CB10
    09-01-15 10:58 AM
  2. pat-wallace's Avatar
    Marketing is lacking, for sure.
    09-01-15 11:17 AM
  3. Upright-Underground's Avatar
    Yup

     Classic
    09-01-15 11:23 AM
  4. Jerry A's Avatar
    How would YOU market this?
    09-01-15 11:28 AM
  5. -Puck-'s Avatar
    Passport was never meant to be a general market device. It was meant for the niche professional who does things like heavy web browsing, spreadsheets, lots of typing, viewing blueprints, etc.

    In its role it sold more then expected, due to a lot of BB power users wanting it just as their every day phone. I agree its an awesome handset, but the target market is just too small to spend a bunch of advertising on it. While everyone who sees mine likes it and can admire it as a powerful tool, they would not actually want to own one for themselves - usually because of its size.
    09-01-15 11:32 AM
  6. AZN's Avatar
    I try to market it as much as I can on all my streams of social media.

    Posted via my Canadian Passport.
    09-01-15 11:34 AM
  7. glwerry's Avatar
    I would agree that it doesn't seem to be very high profile in marketing. I recently got a Classic strictly for the lower price, but the Passport really would be a better platform, I'm sure.

    I have a brother-in-law who works for a major bank - his BB is his entire office. He wore out a Q10 and they replaced it with a Passport - last I heard from him the only issue was the width, other than that he was liking it.
    09-01-15 11:47 AM
  8. Jerry A's Avatar
    These are all good points. But once again, I ask how would you market the Passport? And to whom?

    It's easy enough to bash on the BlackBerry Marketing Dept. But is that accurate? Putting together the greatest marketing campaign of all time isn't going to compel users to give up on apps and features the competitors wants.

    So what are you going to do? Tell the general public "Tools Not Toys" again? Call them stupid and iSheep? Give them half-baked work-arounds?

    Please, anyone, please tell me how you're going to market a device that can't check off all the boxes for today's users? How much money do you spend on an audience that you most likely won't be able to convert?

    I'm pretty sure BlackBerry has done the math and knows the money is better saved and spent elsewhere.
    CatDaddy likes this.
    09-01-15 12:26 PM
  9. leglace1's Avatar
    I think BlackBerry underestimated consumers. Lots of people like a unique device that turns heads and has specs to back it up. The market is overly saturated with IPhones and Galaxy devices. Many consumers just want something different for no other reason than to be different. And besides, these days, most people can use a productivity device that can hammer out messages well.

    Missed opportunity.

    Posted via CB10
    dale-c likes this.
    09-01-15 12:41 PM
  10. dale-c's Avatar
    How would YOU market this?
    I would advertise it. Period. Currently, people don't even know it exists. As for apps, if they advertised the device and built up demand, the apps would come. There used to be a lot fewer apps for Macs but not so anymore.

    The passport is not a niche product any more than the Samsung Note or the iPhone 6+ are niche products.

    Sure, it's not for everyone, but it would be a great phone for millions that have never heard of it.

    And apps? I have a ton of apps. I have exactly one Android app I need that is not fully functional, yet I can fill in that with a browser. Meanwhile, I can do so many things iOS can't and Android doesn't do well.

    Apple struggled for years as a ''niche'' product. Then they started to advertise. Guess what? They are huge now and are the biggest mainstream consumer tech company out there.

    Posted via CB10
    bigjman likes this.
    09-01-15 01:00 PM
  11. Jerry A's Avatar
    I think BlackBerry underestimated consumers. Lots of people like a unique device that turns heads and has specs to back it up. The market is overly saturated with IPhones and Galaxy devices. Many consumers just want something different for no other reason than to be different. And besides, these days, most people can use a productivity device that can hammer out messages well.

    Missed opportunity.

    Posted via CB10
    I agree that consumers want something different. Or at least to be enticed by something different. However, I'm not sure most consumers would be willing to give up their apps and services just for the sake of being different.

    Look at how much work and effort goes on in this community to devise work-arounds.
    southlander likes this.
    09-01-15 01:03 PM
  12. southlander's Avatar
    I agree that consumers want something different. Or at least to be enticed by something different. However, I'm not sure most consumers would be willing to give up their apps and services just for the sake of being different.
    Right. If being different also means being excluded then forget it. Now if BB could offer something different, better, and that does everything the competition does and even better, that's a winner (basically almost impossible to do). Otherwise there is just niche appeal.
    Jerry A likes this.
    09-01-15 01:09 PM
  13. Jerry A's Avatar
    I would advertise it. Period. Currently, people don't even know it exists. As for apps, if they advertised the device and built up demand, the apps would come. There used to be a lot fewer apps for Macs but not so anymore.

    The passport is not a niche product any more than the Samsung Note or the iPhone 6+ are niche products.

    Sure, it's not for everyone, but it would be a great phone for millions that have never heard of it.

    And apps? I have a ton of apps. I have exactly one Android app I need that is not fully functional, yet I can fill in that with a browser. Meanwhile, I can do so many things iOS can't and Android doesn't do well.

    Apple struggled for years as a ''niche'' product. Then they started to advertise. Guess what? They are huge now and are the biggest mainstream consumer tech company out there.

    Posted via CB10
    I think you undervalue what most rational consumers are looking for in the smartphone market. Without the apps the design is a non-starter for many.

    Apple is still a niche player in the desktop/laptop market (something like 10-15%). They didn't take off until they capitalized in new markets - portable music and revolutionized an existing market - phones.

    Advertising definitely got folks interested. But the lack of meaningful competition, their first-mover advantage, quality products and superior support is what put them on the top of the tech heap.
    09-01-15 01:44 PM
  14. scada's Avatar
    I was at a Best Buy last month and BB is nonexistence there. Lots of people buying phones there. In the recent interview with John Chen he admitted the issue is app availability and they are working on it. The Passport is an awesome phone, it would be a lot better if things worked consistently on it such as being able to access the Facebook comments. When they fix these things the phone will be a hit.

    Losing the Signal is a great book. Interesting to read how RiM missed the signs of the world changing around them.
    09-01-15 02:14 PM
  15. dale-c's Avatar
    Apple is certainly not a niche player in the desktop market anymore. In fact, I am pretty sure they are now the US market leader for laptop sales. Dell and HP continue to be ahead, but not by that much, due to large volume corporate sales. OS X is still a minority, yes, but a very significant minority.

    Now, it is true that the iPod really did as much for Apple as anything since it got people to use Apple products without having to make a Mac vs PC decision.

    Fast forward to 2006 and you had two things that took Mac OS X from niche to main stream: first, the switch to Intel made it feasible for many to switch that otherwise couldn't. Second, the ''I'm a Mac'' ad campaign.
    Now, there was also a thing called Windows Vista that coincided with that that BlackBerry simply doesn't Have.

    Posted via CB10
    09-01-15 02:14 PM
  16. hasa77's Avatar
    I am both for and against blackberry advertising. Blackberrys still haven't fully resolved the app issue so users from android and ios will struggle. I remember being told how Macdonalds broke into the UK market. They opened up their first branch and it wasn't succeeding at all, making a loss, they decided to invest I believe it was millions (millions into those days so we're talking like billions) about the branding and potentially regarding the opening of their second branch. Their second branch was full of customers when it was opened and their first branch was impacted positively, this allowed them to expand in the UK market simply because of marketing

    Posted via CB10
    09-01-15 03:00 PM
  17. dale-c's Avatar
    What people miss is that with marketing comes apps. Remember, app developers see the ads too.
    Once Apple started to heavily advertise the Mac platform, the developers came too.
    At first, people ran Parallels but over time, there was no need since virtually all major apps came to the platform.

    At first, perhaps only people willing to mess with loading the play store would buy them but over time, the OS will gain critical mass as its own platform.

    Posted via CB10
    09-01-15 03:04 PM
  18. Jerry A's Avatar
    Apple is certainly not a niche player in the desktop market anymore. In fact, I am pretty sure they are now the US market leader for laptop sales. Dell and HP continue to be ahead, but not by that much, due to large volume corporate sales. OS X is still a minority, yes, but a very significant minority.
    Posted via CB10
    Sorry, I guess we're defining niche differently. Until last Fall, Apple has maintained roughly 8% of the PC market. That number has been pretty much consistent for the past decade. This includes the launch of the iPod, iPhone and iPhone. It also includes the transition to Intel.

    Last Fall, they did jump to 13% of the market. Not sure if that was a fluke or not. I'll have to find more recent stats when available.

    But even at 13%, they didn't cracks the Top 5 PC makers.

    Advertising definitely helps. But it's not the silver bullet that turned Apple around.
    Last edited by Jerry A; 09-01-15 at 03:58 PM.
    09-01-15 03:48 PM
  19. Jerry A's Avatar
    What people miss is that with marketing comes apps. Remember, app developers see the ads too.
    Once Apple started to heavily advertise the Mac platform, the developers came too.
    At first, people ran Parallels but over time, there was no need since virtually all major apps came to the platform.

    At first, perhaps only people willing to mess with loading the play store would buy them but over time, the OS will gain critical mass as its own platform.

    Posted via CB10
    If only this were true. It's been 2.5 years and the apps haven't shown up. If apps didn't show up after the Z10 launch - BlackBerry's most successful single handset in sales - when the product line had momentum, they're not going to show up now.

    Heck, the major players aren't even showing up for Amazon's App Store. And that store was established early in the apps race and provides an alternative to Google's oversight.
    09-01-15 03:53 PM
  20. Cynycl's Avatar
    What people miss is that with marketing comes apps. Remember, app developers see the ads too.
    Once Apple started to heavily advertise the Mac platform, the developers came too.
    At first, people ran Parallels but over time, there was no need since virtually all major apps came to the platform.

    At first, perhaps only people willing to mess with loading the play store would buy them but over time, the OS will gain critical mass as its own platform.

    Posted via CB10
    Marketing doesn't bring apps. Millions and millions of device sales bring apps. Wasting money on devices people aren't going to buy is stupid and why BBRY stopped wasting money on it.



    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
    09-01-15 04:45 PM
  21. WRubin23's Avatar
    I'm a guy and I love the Passport! But it's too wide and heavy for female hands. Ads would have to appeal to men!

    Posted via CB10
    09-04-15 11:02 AM
  22. dale-c's Avatar
    I'm a guy and I love the Passport! But it's too wide and heavy for female hands. Ads would have to appeal to men!

    Posted via CB10
    There are exceptions, some women do like it but I have noticed that I get more positive responses from men and more complaints that it's too wide from women.

    Posted via CB10
    09-04-15 01:37 PM
  23. dale-c's Avatar
    Sorry, I guess we're defining niche differently. Until last Fall, Apple has maintained roughly 8% of the PC market. That number has been pretty much consistent for the past decade. This includes the launch of the iPod, iPhone and iPhone. It also includes the transition to Intel.

    Last Fall, they did jump to 13% of the market. Not sure if that was a fluke or not. I'll have to find more recent stats when available.

    But even at 13%, they didn't cracks the Top 5 PC makers.

    Advertising definitely helps. But it's not the silver bullet that turned Apple around.
    Mac OS X is very much a mainstream, consumer platform. Walk into any starbucks and if it's busy, you will likely see not just one but multiple Mac laptops.
    Remember, when you see marketshare numbers, that is total device sales of that OS. So for windows, every cash register in the super market checkout line , every PC in every office cubicle etc gets counted for Windows. Those are all really ''niche'' markets. Windows actually fills a lot more ''niche'' markets that OS X does.
    However, the marketshare among the computers people buy themselves, truly ''personal computers'', Apple does very well and certainly can't be called a niche at all anymore.
    One more thing is that a study was done a few years ago showing that everytime someone bought a Mac that was a former windows user, MS lost not one but two Windows sales. Due to the high cost and relatively high quality, Mac resale value is high and they gets used for a long time and remember, ''marketshare'' refers to sales, which is different than installed base. Also, that 13% was only for sales that one quarter.
    When I first got a Mac, I knew no one else with one. Now probably a quarter of the people I know own one. That's a huge increase.


    Posted via CB10
    09-04-15 02:25 PM
  24. dale-c's Avatar
    If only this were true. It's been 2.5 years and the apps haven't shown up. If apps didn't show up after the Z10 launch - BlackBerry's most successful single handset in sales - when the product line had momentum, they're not going to show up now.

    Heck, the major players aren't even showing up for Amazon's App Store. And that store was established early in the apps race and provides an alternative to Google's oversight.
    They never advertized the z10! That's the point. They made a super bowl add that never even showed the product, and I never saw it again after that.

    Posted via CB10
    09-04-15 02:32 PM
  25. Jerry A's Avatar
    They never advertized the z10! That's the point. They made a super bowl add that never even showed the product, and I never saw it again after that.

    Posted via CB10
    I remember seeing quite a few television commercials after the launch of the Z10.
    09-04-15 02:37 PM
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