[604778]

At least for their non-keyboard BB10 phones.

It would be a great way of starting out fresh and avoiding the stigma that has become associated with BB in certain segments.

If they could come up with a zippy brand name and tone down the RIM/BlackBerry branding, I think they could generate some fresh interest.

Any thoughts?

[_StephenBB81]

Hate the idea.

BlackBerry is the brand, they need to rebuild the brand, not call it a failure and kill it

[604778]

Hate the idea.

BlackBerry is the brand, they need to rebuild the brand, not call it a failure and kill it

You might hate the idea - you are a BlackBerry loyalist. I would hate to see the demise of the brand too. But I'm thinking of a fresh start for RIM. There are a lot of people who see BlackBerry as a laughable brand.

[phoreoneone]

I like the sound of blackberry and the looks of the logo.

We don't need a COMPLETE fresh start; we just have to start thinking about the future.

Hopefully we launch ourselves AHEAD of the competition instead of trying to catch up to them.

[jafobabe]

You might hate the idea - you are a BlackBerry loyalist. I would hate to see the demise of the brand too. But I'm thinking of a fresh start for RIM. There are a lot of people who see BlackBerry as a laughable brand.

This is going well ..

[_StephenBB81]

You might hate the idea - you are a BlackBerry loyalist. I would hate to see the demise of the brand too. But I'm thinking of a fresh start for RIM. There are a lot of people who see BlackBerry as a laughable brand.

But they have a core demographic,

People saw hyundai as a laughable Brand, they have grown to a very large player in the North American parket.

The Kia Slogan used to be "because everyone deserves a well made car" which was followed by many "That's why they don't drive a kia" yet Key has rebound to another strong Brand


BlackBerry Still carry's a name, that is relevant, and powerful, people KNOW the Brand, know the name, creating a new brand, in a saturated market is very difficult, and then you also alienate your existing user base who are not die hards, those who come in say they want the newest BlackBerry, they don't ask for the Bold, or the Curve, they ask to see the BlackBerry, those users don't see the new device by RIM.

It is just a bad marketing strategy, they need to use the power of the BlackBerry Band name, and ad fun and sexy appeal to it, call on people to remember when they loved their blackberry's and make people who never owned one, wonder why.

[glassofpinot]

I disagree. Brands are assets, even through troubled times. "Dropping the BB brand" would be like dropping your house (destroying it) to get a "fresh start". Easy to say if you don't own teh value. When you can repair, do so, and build on your strengths.

You only drop the brand (or destroy your house) when...
--the benefits are not fixable and there is no (or negative) recoverable value
--it is toxic to anyone and can't be touched
--the benefits have totally passed by (remember, even Jeep sold their name to a boom box maker and both got value)

IMO we're not even close to any of the above.

[604778]

Again people who love the brand are not seeing how poorly regarded BlackBerry is in the wider smartphone-user community. The brand is tainted and one way to save RIM is to come up with a fresh start - starting with the brand.

Incidentally, RIM could still brand keyboard phone as BlackBerrys.

I would make the non-keyboard phones subsidiaries of RIM and build a campus in Silicon Valley to develop the phone. Time to venture further than Waterloo I think.

[604778]

Click to view quoted image


I like the sound of blackberry and the looks of the logo.

We don't need a COMPLETE fresh start; we just have to start thinking about the future.

Hopefully we launch ourselves AHEAD of the competition instead of trying to catch up to them.

I totally agree with that last part. At the very least the phones should be released ahead of Apple and other usupers of the smartphone space.

[_StephenBB81]

Again people who love the brand are not seeing how poorly regarded BlackBerry is in the wider smartphone-user community. The brand is tainted and one way to save RIM is to come up with a fresh start - starting with the brand.

Incidentally, RIM could still brand keyboard phone as BlackBerrys.

I would make the non-keyboard phones subsidiaries of RIM and build a campus in Silicon Valley to develop the phone. Time to venture further than Waterloo I think.

Are you a Brand new marketing student?

BlackBerry is Still a respected brand in many circles, it has taken a hit, but it was in the not so distant past a very favorable brand, and desired product. Now you're saying you want RIM to develop and spend marketing dollars on 2 brands, BlackBerry and some other Brand,

as well as spend money on ReBranding and marketing Key BlackBerry Built technologies,

BlackBerry Enterprise Server
BlackBerry Internet Server
BlackBerry Messenger
BlackBerry Travel
BlackBerry Traffic
BlackBerry Protect
BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing solution
BlackBerry Bridge

Where does the BlackBerry PlayBook go? does it drop the Branding all together?

do they name them all after research in Motion? do they also create a neutral brand for products to be used under both Brands? where is the unity?

[604778]

I am not a brand new marketing student. I work for a major Canadian Business School.

And I don't think they should kill the brand for their solutions such as BIS/BES. And they should retain it for the business-centric phones and keyboard phones.

I don't think re-bra ding their initial slate phones will kill BlackBerry as a brand. At least not in the short-term.

[_StephenBB81]

I am not a brand new marketing student. I work for a major Canadian Business School.

And I don't think they should kill the brand for their solutions such as BIS/BES. And they should retain it for the business-centric phones and keyboard phones.

I don't think re-bra ding their initial slate phones will kill BlackBerry as a brand. At least not in the short-term.

sorry for the assumption, suggestions like this usually come from new marketing people.

It doesn't have to Kill the brand, as much as take image away from it, anything positive the new RIM slate phone could bring to RIM's Branding is lost as it isn't under the umbrella associated with RIM,

do they then not link BlackBerry products to this Brand? lets for the sake of argument call the new Brand the Orange, would you then use BlackBerry Messenger FOR Orange? how do you market that? or BlackBerry protect, for Orange?
As a CTO 100% BlackBerry do they see Orange as a BlackBerry product that can be managed by the BlackBerry Enterprise server? or does the confusion come in that they need to bring in Mobile fusion to support Orange, or just not allowing it? if they Bring in Mobile fusion because there is confusion you've now opened the door for iPhone and Android into that fromer locked down stronghold,

You need consistency along your brands, Apple does it with the "i" preceding the product. RIM does it with the BlackBerry nomenclature.

[sleepngbear]

Better to work with a brand that already has global recognition, even if it needs a little lift, than to try to start over from scratch with something totally new and unknown. In addition to the huge obstacle of establishing a new brand, if it even does catch on it will completely destroy what is left of the BB brand. Just a bad idea all around. RIM has enough of an uphill struggle as it is without adding the development of a new brand to the laundry list of things they need to do flawlessly in the next six months.

[604778]

Non-BES phones could retrieve their mail via other solutions. Such as the one currently utilized by the PlayBook via Enterprise. Remember Thorntons point that consumers are not as interested in security as RIM assumed. Bottom line, the new RIM Oranges could operate under the same push environment as Android, iOS, etc.

[_StephenBB81]

Non-BES phones could retrieve their mail via other solutions. Such as the one currently utilized by the PlayBook via Enterprise. Remember Thorntons point that consumers are not as interested in security as RIM assumed. Bottom line, the new RIM Oranges could operate under the same push environment as Android, iOS, etc.

Which means they don't get BBM? don't get compression? all they get is regular push services?
What does Orange have to offer that Android, and iOS can't already offer?

and then with a focus on your Enterprise user you want to make a device that doesn't fit into the Enterprise environment you've built for a decade?
sounds like a solid strategy and a great product
small app category, NO brand recognition, and no distinguishing feature sets.

[Superfly_FR]

no. But they might consider having a more "readable" device name marketing.
"BOLD 4G" or "LONDON AB" (AB for all band) for instance. People get lost with numbers.

[southlander]

Nah. The Blackberry brand, even with some negative connotations in the NA market, is still a very valuable asset.

I have thought maybe RIM should differentiate consumer Blackberrys from enterprise ones. But not drop the bb name as a brand.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9850 using Tapatalk

[belfastdispatcher]

Never, everybody and their pet knows what a Blackberry is, changing that would be suicide.

Blackberry brand is here to stay.

[addicted44]

It will be far easier to rehabilitate the Blackberry brand, than to build a new brand altogether.

[alnamvet68]

In before the lock that should have occurred by post 3.

[cgull]

"Woah!! Whats this new and mysterious QNX device coming out of a random Canadian phone manufacturer? It couldn't possibly be a BlackBerry. Honey, go start the car, we're replacing all our iPhones today."

Pure genius.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9850 using Tapatalk

[xandermac]

The brand is iconic. Sure, RIM are seeing some tough times but hardly bad enough to drop what is probably the most recognizable brand name in the industry. Especially when they will eventually fight back based on the brand itself.

[anon(4018671)]

Theres a lot to be said about a fresh start. Having said that...

I think the best campaign message for BB10 would just be "That's a BlackBerry?"

Yes the brand has taken a hit but if they come out strong with a new product it could work for them. I personally think they will be behind, still lots of work to do and lots being done though. If there is strong marketing and the message makes sense to the average consumer (+APPS), BB will be successful imo.

[alexandros2011]

drop the bb brand? ...ya ok, easy there dude

[trsbbs]

At least for their non-keyboard BB10 phones.

It would be a great way of starting out fresh and avoiding the stigma that has become associated with BB in certain segments.

If they could come up with a zippy brand name and tone down the RIM/BlackBerry branding, I think they could generate some fresh interest.

Any thoughts?

Very bad idea.

Instead toss the name RIM and just call themselves BlackBerry.

Tim