1. ThePoisonBerry's Avatar
    I thought they had one in place but apparently Jim also is the acting CMO! They need to bring someone in before the BBX release or face another disaster.

    As more bad news flows in, BBX is really shaping up to be THE make or break event for RIM. Considering the similarities, this is eerily like Palm's situation before they released WebOS (gestures!) and Pre.
    12-16-11 11:57 AM
  2. mud314's Avatar
    Agreed, whoever is in charge of their marketing needs to be fired like yesterday. They are clueless.
    12-16-11 12:03 PM
  3. TBone4eva's Avatar
    The guy that was in charge left not long after the PlayBook was released. I don't remember hearing about a replacement.

    EDIT: Actually he resigned the month prior to the PlayBook being released and agreed to stay on for 6 months during a transition period.

    http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/05/r...ficer-resigns/

    Hiring a CMO can't fix the problems RIM has. You need a compelling product to go along with marketing.
    Last edited by TBone4eva; 12-16-11 at 12:16 PM.
    12-16-11 12:06 PM
  4. ThePoisonBerry's Avatar
    The guy that was in charge left not long after the PlayBook was released. I don't remember hearing about a replacement.

    EDIT: Actually he resigned the month prior to the PlayBook being released and agreed to stay on for 6 months during a transition period.

    RIM's chief marketing officer resigns -- Engadget

    Hiring a CMO can't fix the problems RIM has. You need a compelling product to go along with marketing.
    So pretty much this guy Keith Pardy ran both Nokia and RIM to the ground in the US market!
    12-16-11 02:08 PM
  5. grunt0300's Avatar
    So pretty much this guy Keith Pardy ran both Nokia and RIM to the ground in the US market!
    RIM should hire him back! Why make it a slow and painful death, when it could be a quick and painful death? Can anyone say "Nokiaberry" or "Appleberry"?
    12-16-11 02:24 PM
  6. George__'s Avatar
    RIM should hire him back! Why make it a slow and painful death, when it could be a quick and painful death? Can anyone say "Nokiaberry" or "Appleberry"?
    Rim must be pretty stupid to have hired this guy if he already ran Nokia into the ground.
    12-16-11 03:25 PM
  7. Tre Lawrence's Avatar
    The guy that was in charge left not long after the PlayBook was released. I don't remember hearing about a replacement.

    EDIT: Actually he resigned the month prior to the PlayBook being released and agreed to stay on for 6 months during a transition period.

    RIM's chief marketing officer resigns -- Engadget

    Hiring a CMO can't fix the problems RIM has. You need a compelling product to go along with marketing.
    Very well said.

    People tend to think hat putting out a few hundred ads will fix the issue.
    12-16-11 03:35 PM
  8. ThePoisonBerry's Avatar
    But the key difference with US consumers is they don't think for themselves--just look at what Apple did. Push out some crappy OS and slap an "i" in front of it, then combine it with one of a kind marketing and BAM see what you get now? Everyone is drinking that coolaid. It's just too bad the same combinations of ****ty product and marketing doesn't work in other non-American crowds, example: Japan, Korea, South Africa...

    Check out that Samsung Galaxy commercial on the kool-aid drinking: "I'm Creative!"


    Do you think Android would be as big today without Verizon's Droid marketing blitz 2 years ago? This was the key in getting Android out of the nerd market and into view of general consumers
    Last edited by ThePoisonBerry; 12-16-11 at 11:01 PM.
    12-16-11 10:59 PM
  9. BBMINI's Avatar
    People tend to think hat putting out a few hundred ads will fix the issue.
    Even a few hundred ads wouldnt do the trick if theyre the same quality as RIM's recent adds. The current ad where the boss is telling all his employees how they could be avoiding work by using their BBs seems to me to be a slap in the face to RIMs best customer group -- businesses! What total idiots they must have up there in RIMs mktg dept . . . if there even IS a mktg dept.
    12-17-11 10:40 AM
  10. Tre Lawrence's Avatar
    The innate problem is that some people erroneously choose to think Apple is built on advertising alone.

    One myth I can dispel is that no one complains about Apple. In my experience, beyond the tongue-in-cheek my-phone-is-best banter, my iPhone carrying friends, as a whole are the most persnickety people I know. They nitpick the devices, and they complain. I think this attitude goes beyond my limited circle; I think iOS users can be a bit demanding. That forces a better product.

    My roundabout point is this: it starts with a compelling product. CEOs have to be persnickety. I don't believe in spec wars (Android devices show that specs go only so far), but I do believe in perfecting devices.

    I think Apple ads do one thing: they reinforce word of mouth. Without word of mouth, they do not become the smartphone juggernaut it is today. Commercials do not sell products in and of themselves; products do.

    People ask me all the time if I think Android is better than BB OS. My answer? Nope. I hold that the product-ecosystem combo is what creates a desire that makes people talk about a product. I feel RIM cannot make people talk about their product. I smile when people complain about Best Buy employees pushing people to other devices. They are people FIRST. They push people to the devices they (Best Buy employees) like and carry.

    Commercials go only so far. RIM's biggest problem, IMHO, is not marketing.
    12-17-11 11:01 AM
  11. Tre Lawrence's Avatar
    Even a few hundred ads wouldnt do the trick if theyre the same quality as RIM's recent adds. The current ad where the boss is telling all his employees how they could be avoiding work by using their BBs seems to me to be a slap in the face to RIMs best customer group -- businesses! What total idiots they must have up there in RIMs mktg dept . . . if there even IS a mktg dept.
    Good point. Well said.
    12-17-11 11:02 AM
  12. TGR1's Avatar
    But the key difference with US consumers is they don't think for themselves--just look at what Apple did. Push out some crappy OS and slap an "i" in front of it, then combine it with one of a kind marketing and BAM see what you get now?
    If that were true, Apple would be sitting with the sort of sales performance RIM is enjoying now.

    Everyone is drinking that coolaid. It's just too bad the same combinations of ****ty product and marketing doesn't work in other non-American crowds, example: Japan, Korea, South Africa...
    If I am understanding your comment to mean that Apple marketing doesn't work to non-US markets, iOS device sales are on par or greater outside the US. Many US-sold phones, including used, are sent overseas due to demand. It is very possible certain countries have issues. For example, check out the cost of an iPhone in Brazil due to exorbitant import taxes.

    Check out that Samsung Galaxy commercial on the kool-aid drinking: "I'm Creative!"
    Samsung is very likely not targeting the populace at large with those ads. They resonate particularly strongly with consumers similar to you: those who actively dislike Apple. Many of this group buy Android phones and, while Android the platform has some stickiness, individual Android vendors have almost none. Samsung's recent ad campaign is intended primarily to poach other Android users.

    The TV ad is a little dumb but I laughed at the Australian newspaper ad touting the Tab as "the tablet Apple tried to stop". That was funny.

    BTW, there are two trains of thought about this sort of ad campaign. While it can work (and according to some "buzz" nonsense it is certainly getting out there) the ad sponsor does run the risk of heightening awareness of the competition as well.

    Do you think Android would be as big today without Verizon's Droid marketing blitz 2 years ago? This was the key in getting Android out of the nerd market and into view of general consumers
    This I agree with to a large extent. Google is very aware of this and reputedly has some generous concessions in place with Verizon, who is equally fully aware of how much power they have (BTW, there was an interesting recent article about how Verizon squeezes more out of high-end Android handsets because early adopters are willing to pay). But note the Droid blitz was over before Android began its phenomenal sales path. Clearly there is more that sustains sales.
    Last edited by TGR1; 12-17-11 at 11:43 AM.
    12-17-11 11:40 AM
  13. JAGWIRE's Avatar
    im gonna play Devil's Advocate here casue its always fun to do .

    A good marketing and advertising team would help RIM immensely. When i was working at The Source and the PBs came out i was like a kid in a candy store. I love the product, yes i know it has faults but for my uses it still works LOL, but trying to sell it was as bad as pulling teeth and the reason why is that no one knew about it. I had to first educate people on RIM then on BBs then on the PB. If RIM just got the word out that they are still here and making phones and upgrading their tablet then people would know they existed.
    The fire-sale that was on the PBs really got them out there and moving and in the news. But people turned it around due to the fact of no information to go with the sale. Everyone was asking: "Why are they going on sale?" "is RIM going to stop making them?" "is there going to be no more support like HP?" If RIM just went out there and said 'ok this is why' then it would of helped.
    A marketing/advertising team is never money wasted any time you can get the news out there about your product its good they just need to find a way to turn all this bad news into good new LOL.
    12-17-11 04:33 PM
  14. ekv's Avatar
    They need someone with the the skills of Jobs in Marketing. (with reality distortion abilities)
    It did wonders for apple.
    12-17-11 10:12 PM
  15. kbz1960's Avatar
    RIM should hire him back! Why make it a slow and painful death, when it could be a quick and painful death? Can anyone say "Nokiaberry" or "Appleberry"?
    No I throw up in mouth when I try.
    12-17-11 10:15 PM
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