[CrackedBarry]

All Things D:


BlackBerry Lands Deal With Univision for Q10 Smartphone - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD



For a smartphone maker whose turnaround effort hasn�t quite gone as planned, forcing it into a strategic review of its business options, even the small victories are cause for celebration.

No surprise, then, that BlackBerry today issued a press release touting a small order for its new Q10 smartphone. Evidently, Hispanic broadcaster Univision Communications has agreed to purchase 2,000 units of the keyboarded handset, which it will use to upgrade all corporate-issued BlackBerrys.

Hardly a large order. Indeed, it�s woefully small compared to the purchases BlackBerry typically touts via press release. Recall that, back in March, the company announced a one-million-handset deal.

Which is not to say that smaller handset orders like these aren�t victories. Just that BlackBerry�s announcement of it on its own is curious. If the company is having trouble landing big enterprise orders for its new handsets, its best hope is to score lots and lots of smaller ones. That a pioneering smartphone vendor of BlackBerry�s size and history announced this small Univision buy on its own today suggests that perhaps the company is having trouble landing those smaller orders, as well. And that�s not a good sign.

If BlackBerry is landing larger enterprise engagements, where are the announcements? If it�s racking up smaller buys, why weren�t those noted along with Univision adding more heft to today�s press release?

[howarmat]

interesting points indeed

[cjcampbell]

It seems that many disregard that in order for BlackBerry to announce the sale, there has to be an agreement from the purchaser to announce. I'm sure many decline as it's just another purchase to them as a part of doing business. Is it posted anywhere of all of there enterprise clients?

[CrackedBarry]

It seems that many disregard that in order for BlackBerry to announce the sale, there has to be an agreement from the purchaser to announce. I'm sure many decline as it's just another purchase to them as a part of doing business. Is it posted anywhere of all of there enterprise clients?

Well, if the buyers are hesitant to step toward, you just sweeten the deal a little and offer them some free headsets. That would make most companies go along.

But is mostly standard practice in the industry. No company would mind being mentioned in a typical guess-what-we-just-sold-press release unless its something like Apple buying HP servers or something like that.

But regarding the Univision deal, it might mean something, or it might mean nothing, but its an announcement about a deal, bringing in a little over a million dollars. (600*2000). It really IS a remarkably small deal to announce.

[notfanboy]

Well at least this is bigger than the press release they issued when they sold a whopping 500 phones to law firm Akin Gump.

http://forums.crackberry.com/news-ru...phones-814951/

WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 5, 2013) - BlackBerry(R) (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB) today announced that international law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has chosen to deploy 500 BlackBerry(R) 10 devices and BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Service 10 to its employees.

It really isn't a good sign that they think these deals are worthy of a press release.

[codehut]

Does anyone else get the sense that John Paczkowski takes particular glee in writing up things negative about BlackBerry? I can't ever recall reading anything from him that put BlackBerry in a positive light.

[koolrosh]

BlackBerry should send out more of these press releases no matter how small the deal is. There is no negative and this creates exposure and awareness for the company. They should constantly be out there with hood news. Imagine if every week there is a press release of X company switching to BB10, even if it's for 50, 100 or 1000 devices.

Here is a press release from Nokia when Mall of America switched 100 employees from BlackBerry to Nokia.

http://press.nokia.com/2013/02/21/ma...kia-lumia-920/

Check out my Channel: C001242DE

[dusdal]

My organizations is likely in the 500 unit range complete with BES10 and I am certain there will be no announcement.

Posted via CB10

[ricocan]

What I think is significant about this purchase is that the buyer is a media company which may have some influence over the broader audience that uses their services. That influence can translate into some father exposure and sales for BBRY.

I could not begin to quantify that influence, but it could be a few more than 1000?

Ricocan

[russworman]

What I think is significant about this purchase is that the buyer is a media company which may have some influence over the broader audience that uses their services. That influence can translate into some father exposure and sales for BBRY.

I could not begin to quantify that influence, but it could be a few more than 1000?

Ricocan

I think that you are on the right track... an announcement such as this could influence some people's decisions when buying a new phone...

Posted via CB10

[CrackedBarry]

What I think is significant about this purchase is that the buyer is a media company which may have some influence over the broader audience that uses their services. That influence can translate into some father exposure and sales for BBRY.

I could not begin to quantify that influence, but it could be a few more than 1000?

Ricocan

Not even close... Theyll stick those devices to the salespeople, fixers and a handful of producers. They'll never even get on air. That would cost money and fit under a sponsorship deal of some kind. Media companies have very strict rules for what can be shown on air on what can't. For good reason.

[imz]

Yeh those were my thoughts too when I saw the press release.

All this time I thought Blackberry was quietly plodding along selling thousands to enterprise customers, when in actual fact they've been sat next to the phone waiting for it to ring with potential orders, they get this small 2,000 order and release it to the press.

Kind of puts in to perspective how slow the sales are.

[h20work]

Not even close... Theyll stick those devices to the salespeople, fixers and a handful of producers. They'll never even get on air. That would cost money and fit under a sponsorship deal of some kind. Media companies have very strict rules for what can be shown on air on what can't. For good reason.

Do you watch univision? They uses tons of blackberrys in their novelas.

[CrackedBarry]

Do you watch univision? They uses tons of blackberrys in their novelas.

And? They don't make those themselves. (And if they did, product placement is slightly different with dramatic series.)

Are you suggesting they bought those Q10s as show props?

[RubberChicken76]

Flipped the other way, the media sure got a lot of mileage about stories where 400 person shops dropped BlackBerry like this one. ;-) I still see it quoted fairly regularly and used as evidence that most government bodies have dropped or are dropping. ;-)

RIM BlackBerry ditched by U.S. National Transportation Safety Board | Financial Post

[the_igg]

Yeah when a small number of BBs are dropped in favor of another brand for smaller companies, people will say "BB can't even hold on to the small companies". So when they get a small order and announce it, people go "it's a small order, why bother announcing it? You guys must be short on sales" SMH... Damned if you do, damned if you don't.. And I always thought the announcement was also made cause Univision released a BB10 app in addition to the orders. Seriously, it's so messed up.

[lc474]

Negative people will always look at the glass half empty..
It could have been an order for 2 million and they would still find fault in it.

[h20work]

And? They don't make those themselves. (And if they did, product placement is slightly different with dramatic series.)

Are you suggesting they bought those Q10s as show props?

I didn't suggest anything, but you said none of those devices will make it to air. The shows I'm referring to are produced by Univision. You do realize that Univision does a lot of filming inside the US right, and they have their own original programming?

[amazinglygraceless]

Forgetting product placement for just a second, it also has to be considered that Univision is a network with a very large reach. If they are now a BlackBerry "shop" I would like to think that there will be a bigger advertising focus vis a vis the network. The potential reach of that cannot be underestimated.

[notfanboy]

Forgetting product placement for just a second, it also has to be considered that Univision is a network with a very large reach. If they are now a BlackBerry "shop" I would like to think that there will be a bigger advertising focus vis a vis the network. The potential reach of that cannot be underestimated.

They've always been a BlackBerry shop though.

[h20work]

They've always been a BlackBerry shop though.

More importantly, they are sticking with BlackBerry.

Can't believe no one picked up on the biggest part of this, even after all the strategic options crap, companies are still buying.

Fanboy are slacking when I have to point this out

Yes, this is one in the win column any way you slice it.

[amazinglygraceless]

They've always been a BlackBerry shop though.

True, I got one word ahead of myself with "now".
My thinking was with them, Univision, jettisoning the old platform for the new this would be a good opportunity for BlackBerry to make a serious advertising push. At least on that particular network.

[Wiki Cydia]

The potential reach of that cannot be underestimated.

Cannot be underestimated? You sure about that?

[qbnkelt]

Not even close... Theyll stick those devices to the salespeople, fixers and a handful of producers. They'll never even get on air. That would cost money and fit under a sponsorship deal of some kind. Media companies have very strict rules for what can be shown on air on what can't. For good reason.

Aaaaawwww Barry you missed seeing Erin Burnett talk about The Beloved on CNN.
who hasn't seen the iPads on The Weather Channel?
Product placement intended and unintended to an audience who identifies with people or entities iin media is easy advertising.
Univision's reach for its audience is unparalleled in other markets.

Sent from my Z10 using Tapatalk 2

[qbnkelt]

Cannot be underestimated? You sure about that?

Univision's market reaches all of Latin America and Spain with the possible exceptions of Cuba and Nicaragua. It reaches Venezuela I think.

Sent from my Z10 using Tapatalk 2