[anon(5956773)]

BlackBerry doesn't advertise, so I'm confused as to why they would spend money sponsoring a racing team.

Is it to test devices? Test car technology? It can't be brand exposure to the consumer market, can it?

[diegonei]

That's called... advertisement.

You may not know but sponsoring a sports/racing team is nothing but buying a ad on their cars/suits/pits/etc. And BlackBerry seems to have a few other perks in, like having the races on Passports and talking on BBM Channels from time to time.

[Meaty123]

Yeah. F1 is worldwide not like Indy and NASCAR. So it is pretty decent amount of advertising all over the world. Someone has to be pay Lewis Hamilton �30 million a year to drive a car, or at least some of it. Hehehe

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[AnimalPak200]

I believe the $45M sponsorship agreement was made when BlackBerry was still pushing to 'be cool' with consumers. But then the company pretty much kept falling due to the failure of BB10 and has been so consumed almost entirely in cutting costs and digging itself out of that crisis ever since, that it never truly took advantage of what would have been a good marketing opportunity (considering Mercedes/AMG has been unquestionably dominant).

The sponsorship deal runs out at the end of this year. Chen doesn't seem like a car guy at all, and unless they determine that 'security-conscious professionals' really love F1, I doubt it will be renewed.

[keithhackneysmullet]

It's actually a really good use of ad dollars. F1 has a worldwide audience and a "cool factor" that is helpful to BlackBerry. I would have liked to see them with TV ads as well but money is tight.

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[anon(5956773)]

I figured this deal was made before Chen took over. Heins is a car guy so maybe he made the deal originally.



I also doubt this partnership will continue.

[Prem WatsApp]

I figured this deal was made before Chen took over. Heins is a car guy so maybe he made the deal originally.



I also doubt this partnership will continue.

I wish it does... :-)

Or, how many sales reps can you pay to have the same (measurable or not measurable?) effect on sales or number of devices and software packages sold?

�   Passposted while waiting for the Z-lider....   �

[Troy Tiscareno]

Or, how many sales reps can you pay to have the same (measurable or not measurable?) effect on sales or number of devices and software packages sold?

You're suggesting that this sponsorship was successful in helping to sell BB phones? Have you seen BB's sales numbers?

[ozdezignr]

3 year deal started in 2013, good exposure but as any business should know, you need to capitalise on it. That part has been lacking. So many still think BlackBerry is OS7.... and a car and driver sponsorship won't change that. Plenty of opportunities, and time is running out...

[Captain_Hilts]

You're suggesting that this sponsorship was successful in helping to sell BB phones? Have you seen BB's sales numbers?

Honestly, is everything you say laced with negativity, pessimism, and cynicism? You must be real fun to have at parties.



Posted via CB10

[Prem WatsApp]

You're suggesting that this sponsorship was successful in helping to sell BB phones? Have you seen BB's sales numbers?

Yes, I know with regards to the sales numbers there's room for improvement.

With regards to the advertising (exposure to the audience at an international sporting event), I have no hard data on that one. That's why I wrote " measurable or not measurable" in between the brackets followed by a question mark ...
:-)

�   Passposted while waiting for the Z-lider....   �

[SK122387]

The relationship is, Mercedes is the engine manufacturer for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team, and BlackBerry is a secondary sponsor, like Epson and Qualcomm and Hugo Boss.

It's not like this partnership has set BlackBerry sales on fire, but Nico Rosberg or Lewis Hamilton, the two drivers for the team, win almost every week, so this is great exposure for BlackBerry...especially because people wonder if BlackBerry is even "alive" anymore.

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[tinochiko]

I really hope it continues, a possible hint that it might for me is the fact that since Chen came on (as far as I can tell) the partnership has got much more BlackBerry friendly, you see BlackBerry more boldly on the cars and clothes that they wear, I went to Goodwood Festival of speed last year and the BlackBerry logo was even on the sculpture that was made celebrating Merc's 120 years in motor sport




The drivers and the company seem to have got much more involved as well in terms of showing of phones etc, I think they even held an exclusive 'live chat' thing on BlackBerry Channel, of course this might be BlackBerry just making the best of it until it's gone but I really hope they keep it on and I think they will.

In terms of its effects there's few people that will agree that it isn't useful, I used to think it was a waste of money, but now I think your brand name being consistently seen at an event like this helps even if it leads to just a minimal amount of sales, it tackles the issue Chen spoke about that people think BlackBerry is dead, how can a dead company be a sponsor of one of the best teams in a prestige sport?

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[rohetaku]

Chen all but confirmed that blackberry will not continue with the sponsorship

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[tinochiko]

Chen all but confirmed that blackberry will not continue with the sponsorship

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Don't remember seeing this.. could you elaborate?

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[AnimalPak200]

Don't remember seeing this.. could you elaborate?

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In the last interview posted on CrackBerry, he basically said the timing of it was unfortunate because they were so consumed with trying to save themselves.

Edit: actually, it was in this interview with the Toronto Star 'cars' section.

http://m.thestar.com/#/article/autos...his-match.html

"In the meantime, automotive concerns of a different nature are also front and centre. BlackBerry�s sponsorship contract with Formula One�s Mercedes AMG Petronas team runs out at the end of this year.

Rumoured at a cost of more than $45-million for three years, has it been good value for money?
�Given the conditions we were in in the last three years it worked in some places,� Chen says.

�It doesn�t work uniformly but a lot of that isn�t about Formula One, it�s about us because when we were very preoccupied with turning around the company . . . we really didn�t take advantage of the platform . . . The fact of the matter is we haven�t truly been in a position to take advantage of their platform and everything else.�

Chen agrees Mercedes� F1 World Championship win in 2014 produced good foreign market exposure for BlackBerry, but he remains undecided on whether a new sponsorship deal will be signed."

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[carlosmpt]

Honestly, is everything you say laced with negativity, pessimism, and cynicism? You must be real fun to have at parties.



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Hahaha...was thinking the exact same thing. Troy, everything you write is well thought out and documented but I can't help but notice that you always have a certain level of negativity in your comments. Can I ask why?

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[AnimalPak200]

Hahaha...was thinking the exact same thing. Troy, everything you write is well thought out and documented but I can't help but notice that you always have a certain level of negativity in your comments. Can I ask why?

Posted via CB10

It only appears negative because what he says goes against what most of us around here hope for. I'm sure if you're an Android or iOS fan he probably sounds like he's having a blast.

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[johnnyuk]

When the deal was signed in 2012 under Thorsten Heinz Mercedes were also rans in F1.

Now Mercedes are World Champions and Champions elect again this year with a "super star" driver Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. It couldn't have been a better move for BlackBerry to sponsor the team they went with but as Chen says they haven't been in a position financially or organisationally to take full advantage of sponsoring the "winners" in F1.

Chen may not be able to re-sign a BlackBerry sponsorship deal because Mercedes will want a lot more money as champions than they could ask for as also rans. At best I think any future sponsorship will be lower key and not as prominent on the car, racer's overalls or the Mercedes F1 merchandise.

Posted from the CB10 app on my BlackBerry Z30 STA100-2/10.3.1.2576 on O2 UK - Activated on BES10.2.5.6

[tinochiko]

In the last interview posted on CrackBerry, he basically said the timing of it was unfortunate because they were so consumed with trying to save themselves.

Edit: actually, it was in this interview with the Toronto Star 'cars' section.

http://m.thestar.com/#/article/autos...his-match.html




Posted via CB10

Thanks, but he talks past tense a lot, which suggests to me in line with the changes I've seen now (which I spoke about before) that they are now making good use of the partnership, the only thing in the article suggesting they won't renew is the note at the end which says he's unsure, in my opinion

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[johnnyuk]

By the way, if any F1 fans would like to join my BBM Group for F1 and motorsport in general hit me up in the thread below!

http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?t=935681

Posted from the CB10 app on my BlackBerry Z30 STA100-2/10.3.1.2576 on O2 UK - Activated on BES10.2.5.6

[Troy Tiscareno]

Honestly, is everything you say laced with negativity, pessimism, and cynicism? You must be real fun to have at parties.

No, I'm suggesting that BB could have made MUCH better use of $45M of advertisement money. I could have spent that money making innovative, low-cost-but-high-impact ads that would have told customers that BB10 was all-new, efficient, powerful, and secure (back during the BB10 launch, when this contract was signed). That would have done FAR more good for BB than to have its name on a racecar and driver. I bet my ideas would have resulted in far more sales than this sponsorship will, and that's with 3 years to be effective vs. my ideas lasting 6 months or less.

It's a comment on Frank & Thorsten's concept of marketing. It's like THEY didn't want BB to succeed, not me.

[Prem WatsApp]

No, I'm suggesting that BB could have made MUCH better use of $45M of advertisement money. I could have spent that money making innovative, low-cost-but-high-impact ads that would have told customers []that BB10 was all-new, efficient, powerful, and secure [/b](back during the BB10 launch, when this contract was signed). That would have done FAR more good for BB than to have its name on a racecar and driver. I bet my ideas would have resulted in far more sales than this sponsorship will, and that's with 3 years to be effective vs. my ideas lasting 6 months or less.

It's a comment on Frank & Thorsten's concept of marketing. It's like THEY didn't want BB to succeed, not me.

Yes, thanks for that.

Small, high-impact ads. Agreed. Or sending out gadfly-style persistent sales people, what I've been suggesting. Bang for the advertising / marketing buck.

I'd like to see BlackBerry make a few of those high-impact ads you're describing. More value than a Superbowl commercial...

:-D

�   Passposted while waiting for the Z-lider....   �

[KR2013]

I am surprised to see people calling Troy "negative" or "pessimist". I have always found his comments "to the point" and "logical".

Going back to the topic, I doubt the average non-BB-fan will all of a sudden start getting interested in and buying BB devices just because they see the name "BlackBerry" on the side of a Formula 1 car. If there is no advertisement anywhere else to tell them what the NEW BB10 is and what it does, the name wouldn't mean much to them!

[BBZ10wannabe]

I'm no marketing expert and I would guess neither are most of you but I'm not about to trash a marketing deal that exposes the fact that BlackBerry is alive to millions of people around the world that ended up sponsoring champions no less as a bad investment. If millions saw it, countless more were likely informed that BlackBerry is still around which could be very, very valuable for a company on the ropes as they were.

For all we know that deal saved BlackBerry from bankruptcy because not all people and businesses and governments lost faith.

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