[eddy_berry]

The world can be an interesting and strange place sometimes. Most of the time. And in this funny world of 7 billlion people it is said that only 6 degrees of separation exist between you and the people you see in magazines. I never knew how true that was until earlier this year. You see, my girlfriend's mom has a boyfriend of sorts. It's kind of cute actually. Her boyfriend and I hit it off quite well. We share a similar heritage and he reminds me so much of my own father it's kind of eerie. He told me recently about his own son who had sold his condo in downtown Toronto and moved back in with his old man temporarily. I met his son yesterday. He is a Toronto DJ and is well known enough to have been nominated for a Juno award. That's the Canadian Grammy equivalent I guess. So here I am sitting across the room from him and of course the first thing that is obvious to me is that he has a Note 3 and a Galaxy Gear watch. Very interesting.

Now here is where it gets interesting. Of course we got into a lengthy discussion about phones. Of course. It starts with talk of the Note 3 and Galaxy gear. He likes it a lot. My eyebrow shot up as soon as he said it had everything including BBM. BBM? He uses BBM? Cool. I asked him if Samsung is sponsoring his shows. He replies with a "kind of, not really" So how come they gave him this phone and watch? This was his story. The guy switched from a BlackBerry a long time ago as many people did. He went to an iPhone and stayed there. Enjoying Instagram and many other social apps to promote his DJ spots. He travels all over the world sometimes for work but sometimes he likes to take a break, as many of us do, and he recently went off to Cuba to relax on a beach somewhere. Someone in Cuba decided they would like his new shiny iPhone and took it. Stolen from beneath his nose. Back to his old phone and back home he wasn't too happy and decided to complain about it on Twitter. Now he has quite a few followers on Twitter. A couple thousand is nothing to laugh at. But guess who caught on to his complaints about his long lost iPhone? BlackBerry. No seriously. They offered him any BB10 phone he wanted and without hesitation he said Q10. So they sent him one and he was ecstatic. He told me he enjoyed it very much and thought it was the perfect phone except for one thing. No Instagram. He had trouble sideloading it and gave in. It didn't bother him though. He went back to Twitter and was tweeting his support to BlackBerry. That would have been a great happy ending but it didn't end there. In comes Samsung Canada with their deep pockets. They sent him the Note 3 and Galaxy Gear watch. Who in their right mind would turn that down? They also have giveaways and have sponsored some of his shows. BlackBerry lost out again. They tried though, but in the end were snuffed out by the deeper pockets of Samsung marketing. It wasn't about using a celebrity to show off a phone. Samsung overtook his shows and spent the extra $ to make sure his fans knew at every venue what he was rocking in his pocket and on his wrist.

BlackBerry's marketing dollars just can't go far enough to compete with the big players. So that's my story I wanted to share with you guys. I feel that BlackBerry tries, but either can not or will not try harder than the competition. It is a tough road ahead for BlackBerry.

[potatoguy]

Too bad, they tried though. Kudoo's for that.

[lnichols]

Below was based on poor reading comprehension. Leaving here for context of what follows.

Sounds like the real issue was the Q10 couldn't meet all his needs because of the lack of Instagram, which is an important app for his business, which caused him to complain on Twitter, and Samsung capitalized on this. No deep pockets involved that stole the business, it was the phone BlackBerry gave him for free didn't do everything he needed. Had the Q10 been able to do Instagram, he would not complained in a very public way, Samsung wouldn't have jumped in, and he would probably still be using a Q10.

Where you see an issue with lack marketing money by BlackBerry and deep pockets of Sansung, I see a clear case of the app gap costing BlackBerry yet another customer and it isn't costing Samsung much at all (minor write offs).

Posted via CB10

[eddy_berry]

Spin it any way you like Inichols. You weren't there. He didn't complain about BlackBerry on twitter. He didn't say that to me. But hey I'm not surprised by this comment in the least. Because Samsung spending ten times as much to market him with their product had nothing to do with it. It was because he didn't have Instagram. Yup that's it.

Where in my OP did I say he complained about BlackBerry on twitter?

[eddy_berry]

I'm not saying the lack of Instagram wasn't an issue with him. It was. I'm saying sponsoring gigs and giving prizes at venues was more beneficial to him as an artist than just replacing his lost phone. He is clearly the type of guy that likes his phones and he said he was impressed with the Q10 and Samsung caught on to him tweeting about having a BlackBerry. Not even to his original tweets about losing his iPhone which BlackBerry caught on to. He didn't complain about BlackBerry. That is a marketing issue and the issue I was talking about.

[MiSsY_]

Spin it any way you like Inichols. You weren't there. He didn't complain about BlackBerry on twitter. He didn't say that to me. But hey I'm not surprised by this comment in the least. Because Samsung spending ten times as much to market him with their product had nothing to do with it. It was because he didn't have Instagram. Yup that's it.

It was a really good effort on their part I think and goes to show how they are actually watching the social media sites.
The only thing I would have maybe suggested they should have done differently for him instead, was sent him the Q10 he requested and also a Z30 preloaded (sideloaded) with the popular apps he might want like Instagram or whatever else it might have been

Posted via CB10 from my Z30

[eddy_berry]

It was a really good effort on their part I think and goes to show how they are actually watching the social media sites.
The only thing I would have maybe suggested they should have done differently for him instead, was sent him the Q10 he requested and also a Z30 preloaded (sideloaded) with the popular apps he might want like Instagram or whatever else it might have been

Posted via CB10 from my Z30

Yeah that would have been great on their marketing department to do that but it would have not stopped Samsung. The story would not have changed. He would still have a Note 3 and Galaxy Gear. BlackBerry would have needed to sponsor his show and gain exclusive rights to him to keep Samsung at bay. I don't think it would have been worth it. But Samsung doesn't care if it was worth the expenditure or not.

[anon(5639363)]

He should be identified, and a campaign launched to boycott anything he's involved in.

He's a Canadian public figure, and should be promoting a great Canadian product.





.

j/k

Visit Geek Lite

[lnichols]

Spin it any way you like Inichols. You weren't there. He didn't complain about BlackBerry on twitter. He didn't say that to me. But hey I'm not surprised by this comment in the least. Because Samsung spending ten times as much to market him with their product had nothing to do with it. It was because he didn't have Instagram. Yup that's it.

Where in my OP did I say he complained about BlackBerry on twitter?

Sorry I read it as he was having trouble side loading and was tweeting BlackBerry for support. Then Samsung swooped in. Re read it and my bad. Will adjust appropriately..

Posted via CB10

[potatoguy]

It may show in a way why BlackBerry isnt getting some of the apps they have been trying to get.
Deep pockets from other platforms may be somehow blocking Instagram or Netflix etc... from creating the apps.

[TGR1]

Was it the Note 3, Galaxy Gear, or the sponsorship that won over your friend? If it was the sponsorship of gigs, there is no one that can compete with Samsung with the stuff beyond freebie hardware so BBRY shouldn't feel bad. BTW, ask him if the Gear is as underwhelming as it has been reported to be.

Samsung is amazing. It's been funny seeing the various endorsement tweets praising Sammy stuff that is tagged "Sent from my iPhone" though. Couldn't happen to a nicer company

[amazinglygraceless]

App issue aside I think what this reflects more than anything else is a line from the movie "The Siege"...The most committed wins.

BlackBerry was willing to give the man a phone and hope that would be enough. That the recipient would do the word of mouth, heavy lifting for them.

Samsung on the other hand realized giving the man the equipment was half the equation and getting placement at his shows was the other half. The cost of the items they gave away pales in comparison to the potential sales they could garner from this sponsorship and simple goodwill.

This isn't really a matter of deeper pockets as BlackBerry could have easily done the same with no material downside. I do agree with you that is is a matter of marketing and in this one case it appears that Samsung was committed to going all in.

[eddy_berry]

Sorry I read it as he was having trouble side loading and was tweeting BlackBerry for support. Then Samsung swooped in. Re read it and my bad. Will adjust appropriately..

Posted via CB10

That's fine dude. We did talk about the lack of apps being an issue. It's not like I'm saying it wasn't but he didn't seem to care. He really liked the keyboard (no surprise) and said the screen was great (that was a surprise). He took a look at my Q10 as well and was impressed with 10.2.1.1055. He really liked the phone and really liked iGrann because of the use of screen real estate. He was surprised to see both Instagram and Vine on my phone.

[eddy_berry]

Was it the Note 3, Galaxy Gear, or the sponsorship that won over your friend?

I think it was more the sponsorship, but I think the support from Samsung as a whole was beneficial to him and to his fans.

[l3ittersweet]

I was writing with a man from an investment forum, who is thinking about "shorting" BBRY stocks. (Shorting is kinda like you bet that the share price will decrease, and you profit with it.) After arguing about some points, we have agreed on two points.
1. BBRY had to make a counterpart of Lumia 520, which is the cheapest Windows Phone but it is giving people a smooth WP experience, half the price of Q5. And Lumia 520 is selling more and more. What this mean? This means more WP usage on the charts and researches (Do you know how WP became the 3rd OS? This is the key.) BlacBerry should do it before, I am not sure if it is too late but selling cheap plastic flashless but smooth phones to teenagers is a really good way to keep market share.
2. Instagram. I am not sure people are aware, but the Instagram is really a game changer in mobile world. I did not read any research about this, but i am sure of that after WP gets Official Instagram, Lumia 1020 sales would be jumped since it is the best option if your life is taking photos and sharing them. BlackBerry had to find a way to get official Instagram client on BB10 just at launch. But i am not sure if it can help from now or not.

While this seems general marketing opinions, in stock market you know people are betting on company's future. For me, this 2 thing, really cheap plastic smooth BB10 os phone and native Instagram, can save the BlackBerry handheld operation, but i may be too late.

[eddy_berry]

App issue aside I think what this reflects more than anything else is a line from the movie "The Siege"...The most committed wins.

BlackBerry was willing to give the man a phone and hope that would be enough. That the recipient would do the word of mouth, heavy lifting for them.

Samsung on the other hand realized giving the man the equipment was half the equation and getting placement at his shows was the other half. The cost of the items they gave away pales in comparison to the potential sales they could garner from this sponsorship and simple goodwill.

This isn't really a matter of deeper pockets as BlackBerry could have easily done the same with no material downside. I do agree with you that is is a matter of marketing and in this one case it appears that Samsung was committed to going all in.

You're absolutely right but what I'm saying here is that having deeper pockets to commit that kind of sponsorship helps. Samsung doesn't have to think about the budget (to a degree). He told me that the giveaways at events were his idea and they just said yes without skipping a beat. Deeper pockets can help marketing teams go all out.

[eddy_berry]

This really makes me think about sensitive marketing subjects like Alicia Keys and how effective that campaign has actually been. Thanks for everyone's response so far.

[lnichols]

I'm hoping with 10.2.1 that BlackBerry convinces Instagram and Netflix and the other major missing apps to put the APK directly into BBW. Loading a separate appstore to get these won't be an ideal solution. I know that BlackBerry has said BAR files only, but they have zero lerverage.

Posted via CB10

[TGR1]

You're absolutely right but what I'm saying here is that having deeper pockets to commit that kind of sponsorship helps. Samsung doesn't have to think about the budget (to a degree). He told me that the giveaways at events were his idea and they just said yes without skipping a beat. Deeper pockets can help marketing teams go all out.

A little bit more delicate question: would many people in your friend's position prefer BBRY sponsorship over Samsung's even if they did decide to try to compete? I don't think I am the right age group (I need an old fart smiley!) but I was wondering if the perception of BBRY would affect their ability to line up such opportunities in the first place.

[amazinglygraceless]

@ eddy_berry: Correct but I think in this case the deeper pockets is an immaterial issue. We are talking about a DJ not Jay-Z.
My only point was given the scope of the shows and the amount of in venue advertising and giveaways (assuming this is relatively light) compared to the sales the same could generate makes it a smart move and one BlackBerry could have done. On a larger scale, probably not, but for this their marketing department should have seen this as a no brainer.

[eddy_berry]

A little bit more delicate question: would many people in your friend's position prefer BBRY sponsorship over Samsung's even if they did decide to try to compete? I don't think I am the right age group (I need an old fart smiley!) but I was wondering if the perception of BBRY would affect their ability to line up such opportunities in the first place.

That's a great question. I'm sure he would have done just fine without sponsorships. It's business though and if we go back to Amazingly Graceless' quote 'the most committed wins' I'm sure If BlackBerry were to commit to sponsoring him and doing some marketing through him he would really like it, but Samsung took the initiative and did more for him in the end. Initially BlackBerry replaced his lost phone and Samsung replaced the BlackBerry with a new phone and watch and sponsorships and promotional items for contests and well you can clearly see how quickly that escalated.

I can't really speak for him on whether he would have preferred a BlackBerry sponsorship. I don't know him that well. I just met the guy. Maybe if I meet up with him again I'll ask him.

[SparkyBC]

Artists don't sell phones. Never have never will. Getting them to endorse them is a waste of money.

[eddy_berry]

Artists don't sell phones. Never have never will. Getting them to endorse them is a waste of money.

Partly true. Put phones in enough artists hands and you can change perception and market effectively because everyone who is anyone has one so should you. Put your phone into one major artists hands and most people will see through the marketing gimmick.

[JR A]

App issue aside I think what this reflects more than anything else is a line from the movie "The Siege"...The most committed wins.

BlackBerry was willing to give the man a phone and hope that would be enough. That the recipient would do the word of mouth, heavy lifting for them.

Samsung on the other hand realized giving the man the equipment was half the equation and getting placement at his shows was the other half. The cost of the items they gave away pales in comparison to the potential sales they could garner from this sponsorship and simple goodwill.

This isn't really a matter of deeper pockets as BlackBerry could have easily done the same with no material downside. I do agree with you that is is a matter of marketing and in this one case it appears that Samsung was committed to going all in.

This.

Samsung was just flat out more committed to the cause than BlackBerry in this situation.

Deep pockets in the grand scheme of things does account for a lot, however, in this particular situation regarding a DJ (not Jay Z or Kanye West) who is a Canadian who already likes and uses a BB10 device, BlackBerry should have easily won this battle. I mean, all Samsung really did was send him about $1000-$1,200 in mobile devices and several more thousand in giveaways at his shows, and now Samsung has a "sponsored" DJ and great publicity.

BlackBerry could have easily done the same with little expense for a larger gain.

[eddy_berry]

No doubt BlackBerry could learn from this. They just didn't see the potential like Samsung did. Marketing failure. In the grand scheme yes because they should have locked it down if they wanted a well known artist to promote their product instead of just giving him one. Samsung did an amazing job to lock him down.