[outoftheice]

I know there has been a lot of talk on the forums about the marketing (or lack there of) efforts of Blackberry since the launch of their new phones. I thought I would add my own story into the mix... Recently I had two friends that were both looking for new phones. Both had been Blackberry power users back in the day but both got fed up and switched to iphones (both decided on the iphone 4). With their contracts now up, they were open to looking at any new phone as neither one of them had developed any sort of devout following to their iphones. I've had a z10 since day 1 and although I have had a mixed experience with it, I still have no trouble recommending it to others. I essentially had the same conversation with both friends...

Me: "Have you thought about the z10? I really like mine"
Friend: "What makes it different compared to the new iphone or an android?"
Me: "Well the keyboard is amazing... it's almost creepy how the predictive text works sometimes"
Friend: "Ya, well that's cool but I've gotten use to the keyboard on the iphone"
Me: "The gestures are great! Here <hands friend phone> check it out!"
Friend: "Ya, that is kind of cool. I'm sure it's a bit of a learning curve but it looks like it would be great once you get used to it"
Me: "The operating system is also pretty cool. It's the newest, most advanced OS you can get on a phone right now. Compared to your old Blackberry's it's very stable too. So I guess it's the stability and Blackberry security that helps it stand out. Here watch this video..."

It's then that I showed both friends the following video. Now I know there have been threads about this video before as I discovered it here on the crackberry forums. However what I can now testify to is that after watching this video, both friends were sold on getting the z10. If this video could be editied down to run in the appropriate time for a tv ad, I think it really could make a difference. All that's missing is the q10 and q5 peeking out from behind the z10 at the end. Marketing does matter and so far the cool, gimmicky features that are shown in Blackberry 10 ads don't really do anything to differentiate Blackberry from the others. However saying that what's powering your phone is also powering satellites, cars and power plants DOES. For that haven't seen it... here's the video...

QNX: Space Grade Technology in the Palm of Your Hands


On a related note... I was watching an episode of the Simpsons the other day and it gave me an idea for a new Blackberry ad which I also think would be much better than the current ads that they are showing... Here is the clip that inspired me...



Now I am in no way in marketing or advertising but here's my ad pitch to the crackberry nation:

Outoftheice's Blackberry Ad Pitch

<Ad opens with Cheesy mundane music play and a drinking bird sitting on a desk>

The drinking bird has the Apple symbol on the base and it sits on the desk pushing the home button on a generic looking version of the iPhone every time it bends down to drink.

<Camera pans out to show more of the desk>

A second drinking bird is sitting next to the first one. This one has the Android symbol on it and it sits on the desk pushing the home button on a generic looking version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 every time it bends down to drink.

<Music changes to a fun, high energy song>

Both drinking birds pause and look at each other with a curious look.

<Camera pans out again to show even more of the desk>

We see that across from the 'Apple' and 'Android' drinking birds there is a drinking bird with the Blackberry symbol on it. Instead of bopping it's head up and down pushing a home key as we have just seen the 'Apple' and 'Android' drinking birds doing, the Blackberry bird with a very flexible neck is moving it's beak around the screen of the z10 showing the various gestures to expose the HUB (peak and flow style). The Blackberry bird notices it's being watched and looks up at the other two birds and does the ole double eyebrow raise move with a big smile on its face.

<Screen goes to black>

Blackberry logo is shown on the screen and a deep voice over says "The new Blackberry 10... dare to be different"

So what are your thoughts?? I think either the QNX video I've linked to or my idea that was inspired by the Simpsons would be a vast improvement over the current ads that Blackberry is running. Does anyone else have their own idea for a new Blackberry ad that would be leaps and bounds better than what's out there right now?? Maybe if we pool our ideas together Crackberry nation can give Blackberry the gift of a successful ad campaign!!

[Carl Estes]

Simple. To the point. Effective.

Had it visualized in my head as I read it.

Like it!

C

[Balti43]

Can i say "brilliant"?.. oh why ask for permission... that was brilliant. I'd love to see that on a TV during a commercial break

[BBVegasGirl80]

This Armchair CEO says, "You're hired!" :-)

Sent from my sexy white hot Z10 in Sin City ;-)

[BerryGuy4040]

I haven't seen the BlackBerry ad before and it's brilliant....very well done. And I love your drinking bird idea. The android and apple birds doing the same repetitive tapping of the home button has the makings of an hilarious ad.

Posted via CB10

[Aatir Barlas]

Bang on my man. Dare to be different!!!
I have seen total BS commercials for BB10, that leaves you scratching your head...like what are they trying to tell you...Why cant BB putout to the point short sweet commercial...Like Microsoft's new Surface commercial VS iPad.

[outoftheice]

Thanks for the feedback!! If I had any talent what so-ever I would do up a quick video and put it up on youtube to try and showcase my idea. I like the tag line "Dare to be different" over "Keep Moving". Blackberry needs to embrace the fact that it's now the underdog... much the same way Apple did in the PC market. (Those "I'm a Mac" commercials really helped their image). Unfortunately it's looking like Blackberry will continue to stick to it's current marketing plan and that's been nothing but a failure!

I'm still curious if anyone else has any ideas for a Blackberry TV commercial of their own??

[canuckvoip]

Love it!
:>)
"Give the competition the bird!"

[Duffman19]

That commercial would be so perfect that blackberry won't do it.

They need more rock music and magic carpets apparently

Posted via CB10

[bigglybobblyboo]

My own personal one a while back was 'you CAN with a BlackBerry ' but, do you know what?

This is better...

Someone just do it and stick it on You Tube for pitys sake. BlackBerry Marketing (or at least the agency fleecing them for their crap) damn well won't!

Posted from the 'we'll keep you alive despite you being utterly useless at selling yourself' department.

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

[Kris Erickson]

This is my ad idea and if I had any skill at video editing I would find all these ppl listed below and dub my catch phrase over them.

Here it goes:

Ad turns on, on the screen BB logo with the catch phrase

"Do you Berry?"
next clips of all these actors

Morgan Freeman " I Berry"
Tim Allen "I Berry"
Bradley Copper "I Berry"
Louis DeCaprino, "I Berry"
Kristin Davis "I Berry"

fad to black . Catch phrase comes on again "Do you Berry", smaller "Keep moving " underneath.

That's it. Won't cost much as that is 5 sec / actor to say those lines. Not like that 1 Billion advertising HTC is doing with Robert Downey Junior

[potatoguy]

if BlackBerry had a display with that on a TV screen playing beside them, I wonder would sales be as poor as they are, personally I think not.

It says a lot in a short time.

[bbryaddict_85]

That commercial DEFINITELY needs to be on TV in the US!

Great post.

Posted via CB10

[outoftheice]

I like the "Do you Berry?" idea as well!! It would be a campaign that could easily be rolled out in print advertising. I could see bill boards and magazine ads with a random celebrity holding a BB 10 phone and the caption "Do YOU Berry?" as the banner of the ad. I would think that paying a handful of celebrities for a single line endorsement in an ad campaign like that would have been much more effective than whatever it was Blackberry thought they accomplished through their deal with Alicia Keys...

[bbryaddict_85]

I like the "Do you Berry?" idea as well!! It would be a campaign that could easily be rolled out in print advertising. I could see bill boards and magazine ads with a random celebrity holding a BB 10 phone and the caption "Do YOU Berry?" as the banner of the ad. I would think that paying a handful of celebrities for a single line endorsement in an ad campaign like that would have been much more effective than whatever it was Blackberry thought they accomplished through their deal with Alicia Keys...

Agreed, great idea! And don't forget the world's fastest man Usain Bolt!

Posted via CB10

[BB30000]

Great thread here, I would like, for once, BlackBerry to take these marketing suggestions to heart!! Why is it that these awesome ideas are out there, yet all BlackBerry continues to do is show poor commercials, with little to no excitement!?? C'Mon BlackBerry...give it a shot! What do you have to lose?

Posted via BlackBerry Z10

[punbb]

Excellent. I think also we should post the video to our facebooks!

Posted via CB10

[Huey Newton]

We need to put our money together and buy the company

Posted via CB10

[conkybubs]

Someone forward that idea to Frank, it's so good that even the BlackBerry marketing dept have to like it. That would be an epic ad if done right!

Posted via CB10 on Z10

[CrackedBarry]

That's nice and all, but I'd be careful with evangelizing BBRY to friends and family.

There is a good reason why sales people in phone stores try to steer people clear of BBRY right now.
Their future is far from secure, and if/when BBRY announces that they've been bought by Huawei, and is getting rid of the current phones and BB10, who'll get the blame? You...

And who will they blame when they realize that their favorite apps and games aren't available for the phone they've just signed a two year contract on? You...

Friends are more important than phones, or the survival prospects of a company who only think of you as a customer they'll profit from.

IMHO anyways.

[outoftheice]

That's nice and all, but I'd be careful with evangelizing BBRY to friends and family.

There is a good reason why sales people in phone stores try to steer people clear of BBRY right now.
Their future is far from secure, and if/when BBRY announces that they've been bought by Huawei, and is getting rid of the current phones and BB10, who'll get the blame? You...

And who will they blame when they realize that their favorite apps and games aren't available for the phone they've just signed a two year contract on? You...

Friends are more important than phones, or the survival prospects of a company who only think of you as a customer they'll profit from.

IMHO anyways.

You raise an interesting point, but the fact of the matter is that GOOD sales people should take the time to get to know their customers and then steer people towards the phone that best meet their needs. Unfortunately, I've found that MOST (not all) sales people only take the time to steer customers towards phones that best meet the sales person's needs. Fortunately for me, over the years I've gotten to know my friends rather well and have a bit of an inclination as to what it is they're looking for.

So if BB does get sold and the phones are no longer supported who will my friends blame? Nobody. Because both my friends are on 3 year contracts and if BB is sold tomorrow the decision not to support the phones will not be instantaneous and if 10.2 is the end for this generation of BB phones, my friends will still be quite satisfied with their phones for the remainder of their contract. How do I know? Because although both of them were happy with their iphone 4s (that's 4 plural... not 4S), they both complained that the latest iOS updates from apple did nothing but slow their phones down without really adding anything of value to their experience. So will they be able to live with the OS software that was developed around their z10s specs and not the "next gen" z10s specs? Absolutely.

As for who they'll blame when they realize that their favourite apps and games aren't available on the phone? Again, nobody. Because unlike MOST (again, not all) sales people... I don't automatically assume that everyone requires the trendiest apps and games available to them on the phone. Neither one of my friends have ever Instagramed, they don't candy crush and neither have Netflix accounts. They used their iphones to search the web, access email and download the occasional song, movie or game for the times when they're bored. So the fact that their new z10s will allow them to do the exact same thing but with a better over all user experience means that they are very happy with their phones and aren't suffering from app with-drawls.

You are definitely correct that friends are more important than phones. That is why when one of my friends who is a heavy Netflix user asked me about the z10 I told him to keep looking because there is not, and most likely never will be, a Netflix app. The key to recommending phones is to know your customer... sadly most sales people I've talked to are hardcore Apple or Android power users and can't fathom a world where you don't get to the next level on candy crush and then snap chat your friend to brag before curling up and watching the latest release on Netflix...

I am a very boring smartphone user. As are the majority of my friends. The thing is, I know for a fact that as a young professional, there are many other people like me out there in the world. The biggest draw back of BB10 phones right now is the lack of apps.... that's about it. The user experience with the new OS is the best I've seen (and yes, of course I'm a bit biased). The thing is, none of the current Blackberry marketing conveys that in any meaningful way. Most people assume that every OS... apple, android, windows phones and BB10 is pretty much identical and therefore the only thing that differentiates a phone is specs and apps. Of course, they're not and the number of people that pick up my z10 and try to figure out where the "home" button is located before I demonstrate that it is all swipe gestures shows that Blackberry's marketing is falling flat in informing people of that fact.

It's why I think a different approach to marketing is needed. I like the ideas mentioned in this thread as well as the QNX marketing video that's included in the OP as they all break with the traditional marketing approach that Blackberry has taken. What all the ideas in this thread do share though is that 'broad strokes' style of marketing that apple has done so well. A perfect example is the latest apple marketing campaign that I've seen.... "Every day more people take pictures on their iphones than any other camera in the world". It doesn't say a single thing about the latest iphone... it doesn't mention gimmicky features... it doesn't mention specs... it doesn't mention apps. It says 'this is who we are... this what getting an iphone is all about'. And you know what? People will go out and buy and iphone because of it.

With a different approach, Blackberry can do the same. I'm sure there's probably a few more crackberry members out there who have good ideas as to what an alternative Blackberry marketing campaign can be. In the meantime, I'll stick to my Blackberry drinking bird idea and the tagline I think would work well....

"The New Blackberry 10. Dare to be Different!"

[kbz1960]

I think more along the line of the new VZW DROID commercial. But at the end, your daddy never had it so good. BlackBerry reborn.