[ajst222]

There has obviously been a lot of criticism of BlackBerry's marketing (for good reason) but it seems to end there. It's just "BlackBerry sucks", or "BlackBerry's marketing is terrible", but there is no real analysis. So that is what I'm going to do. In this thread I will give my opinions and break down BlackBerry's marketing and strategy and its effectiveness.

Let's start with the Super Bowl commercial:

In all honesty, I thought it was a great commercial and a great concept. What makes a good commercial is doing something other than just showing off phone features because that is the absolute most boring thing that a company can do. The commercial is basically saying that the Z10 is very capable. The song has a catchy tune, and if you listen, I'm sure BlackBerry chose the song because it suggests that the Z10 is ready for anything. The action in the commercial itself is neat and makes the viewer think "Well what the heck is going on here?", and then it ends in a twist and they find out. It could have been a very effective commercial...BUT...the timing was horrible. The phone wouldn't be available for a few months. People probably aren't going to stay interested for that long. When they see something, they want it right then. It would have been much more effective if the Z10 would have been available much sooner. Therefore, it was kind of a flop. Maybe if they played the commercial after the Super Bowl in regular slots...who knows?

Next are the "Keep Moving" commercials (not the "Keep Moving Projects"...I will get to those later):

These commercials could have been amazing. The song is great and catchy, and the concept is cool as well. Obviously they clipped a bunch of people "moving" because the slogan for BB10 is "Keep Moving" and these commercials definitely show that off. However, they are redundant. I know this is a longer version of a standard commercial, but it is still redundant. It has that same "What the heck is going on here?" effect as the Super Bowl commercial, but the commercial takes way to long to show you. And plus it gets boring because it is the same thing over and over and over. One thing that I learned when it comes to marketing and videos in general is that once you establish a point, move on. BlackBerry didn't move on and they stuck on that point. Sure they slipped the Z10 in there a few times but you would have to be really paying attention to notice it as it is so nonchalantly shown. And yes, the commercial let's you know what it is for at the end, but the viewer is too bored when that comes to still be paying attention.

The Verizon Z10 commercial:

You know, it's sad when the best marketing for BlackBerry is done by Verizon Wireless. This is a very very well done commercial. Not only does it show something about the phone, it does it in a satirical and funny way. Generally, Verizon's commercials are pretty good so I am glad the Z10 ended up getting the same treatment.

"Keep Moving Projects":
I didn't include a video for this as there are a bunch of them. Basically, the "Keep Moving Projects" are three celebrities that show off how BlackBerry keeps them moving and helps them create something. These could have worked, but as usual, there's always a "but". What I have the most concern with is that the only way anyone can find them is if they stumble upon them on BlackBerry's website. No commercials? Nothing that was ever aired with Alicia Keys that says something along the lines of "I love my BlackBerry, it's this, that, and the other thing, check it out at blackberry.com". So the fact that nothing was ever aired already convinces me that they were just a big waste of money. My next gripe: it's obvious that celebrities sell. Alicia Keys is fine. But Robert Rodriguez? Neil Gaiman? Cmon BlackBerry! You can do better than that. They are C list celebrities. If you show their faces or their names, only a handful of people will know who they are when compared to Alicia Keys who everyone knows. I think that part is self explanatory

The Q5 advertisement:

Oh dear Lord every waking moment of this ad is pure agony. It's long, it's boring, the dialog and the music is corny. Remember when I said that the worst thing a commercial could do is just show off the phone? This is it. Just showing people using the phone and listening to them go on about it is painful and boring. I know I don't live in the UK, but I don't think this ad is good by any standards.

The Q10 commercial:

While this one mainly shows off features which generally isn't the most effective strategy, there are a few minor things that don't make this one a real failure. The first thing is: the man isn't just listing off what is going on. He is going a little beyond that giving a little color commentary. The second thing is that if you notice, there is a little story on the Q10 screen between a man and his wife. I didn't notice it myself until I think the second time I saw the commercial which means that you might not get it instantly. I don't have too many negative things to say about this commercial because they did an ok job pulling off the feature listing, but then again, I can't praise the commercial either as there is nothing special about it:

Another Q10 ad that I just stumbled on:

What I REALLY like about this one is that BlackBerry is comparing the Q10 to a Mercedes car; the metaphor of course being that the Q10 is high quality. While this is long and tedious and can really only be found if you stumble upon it like I just did, it is still a much better example of what the Q5 ad was. I think this could have worked better as a real commercial saying something like: "The Mercedes Benz Petronas formula one car and the BlackBerry Q10 are high end, fine tuned pieces of equipment. The Mercedes has a X horsepower engine while the Q10 has a Qualcomm dual core 1.5GHz processor". Hopefully you catch the drift...and obviously if I spent time on it, it could have been a lot less corny

What BlackBerry should have aired :

This. Is. Powerful. What makes this so unique and such a good commercial is that QNX really made it sentimental and about something larger the phone itself. That is what generally makes the best commercials. Another example of a great commercial that is sentimental and about something larger than the phone itself is the Apple "Designed by Apple in California" commercial. Both commercials show you the big picture and the QNX one really makes you go "wow". Moral of the story? Leave the marketing to QNX . The music is powerful, and it is another one of those commercials that makes you go "What the heck is it?" And once you find out what is it, you sort of get the "Keep Moving" aspect of BlackBerry that was highlighted through that ad. And it ends with "Now imagine all of that...in the palm of your hand". Now just tell me you didn't get the chills. I don't really think that I could do a good enough job describing how great this advertisement really is so...just watch it and you'll get it

This took me a while to write all of this out so if you stuck with me until the end, thank you. It means a lot. Now hopefully this can spark some intelligent discussion of BlackBerry's marketing and what they can do to improve. Yes, I want BlackBerry to succeed, and that's why I took this analysis seriously. It does feel a little painful though when I watch a company that has a great product but sits still and spin its wheels because it can't get its word across.

[Playbookjoe]

I liked the super bowl commercial too, but agree the timing was terrible.
I was hoping that BlackBerry would have started off the campaign with a brand reboot. Something like the qnx space commercial, or the one I posted way back 'owning the downturn and reshaping it'.
http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?p=7432683
IMHO, not starting with a brand reboot showed just how out of touch management was with it's brand perception and was pretty arrogant. This then led for the general population to perceive the new bb10's as more of the same. They never shaped the conversation around bb10 and the power that qnx is.
Followup commercials such as the super bowl commercials would have been great, but did nothing on their own.
Even now there seems to be no brand building in a constructive way.


Posted via CB10

[nabil114]

There has obviously been a lot of criticism of BlackBerry's marketing (for good reason) but it seems to end there. It's just "BlackBerry sucks", or "BlackBerry's marketing is terrible", but there is no real analysis. So that is what I'm going to do. In this thread I will give my opinions and break down BlackBerry's marketing and strategy and its effectiveness.

Let's start with the Super Bowl commercial:

In all honesty, I thought it was a great commercial and a great concept. What makes a good commercial is doing something other than just showing off phone features because that is the absolute most boring thing that a company can do. The commercial is basically saying that the Z10 is very capable. The song has a catchy tune, and if you listen, I'm sure BlackBerry chose the song because it suggests that the Z10 is ready for anything. The action in the commercial itself is neat and makes the viewer think "Well what the heck is going on here?", and then it ends in a twist and they find out. It could have been a very effective commercial...BUT...the timing was horrible. The phone wouldn't be available for a few months. People probably aren't going to stay interested for that long. When they see something, they want it right then. It would have been much more effective if the Z10 would have been available much sooner. Therefore, it was kind of a flop. Maybe if they played the commercial after the Super Bowl in regular slots...who knows?

Next are the "Keep Moving" commercials (not the "Keep Moving Projects"...I will get to those later):

These commercials could have been amazing. The song is great and catchy, and the concept is cool as well. Obviously they clipped a bunch of people "moving" because the slogan for BB10 is "Keep Moving" and these commercials definitely show that off. However, they are redundant. I know this is a longer version of a standard commercial, but it is still redundant. It has that same "What the heck is going on here?" effect as the Super Bowl commercial, but the commercial takes way to long to show you. And plus it gets boring because it is the same thing over and over and over. One thing that I learned when it comes to marketing and videos in general is that once you establish a point, move on. BlackBerry didn't move on and they stuck on that point. Sure they slipped the Z10 in there a few times but you would have to be really paying attention to notice it as it is so nonchalantly shown. And yes, the commercial let's you know what it is for at the end, but the viewer is too bored when that comes to still be paying attention.

The Verizon Z10 commercial:

You know, it's sad when the best marketing for BlackBerry is done by Verizon Wireless. This is a very very well done commercial. Not only does it show something about the phone, it does it in a satirical and funny way. Generally, Verizon's commercials are pretty good so I am glad the Z10 ended up getting the same treatment.

"Keep Moving Projects":
I didn't include a video for this as there are a bunch of them. Basically, the "Keep Moving Projects" are three celebrities that show off how BlackBerry keeps them moving and helps them create something. These could have worked, but as usual, there's always a "but". What I have the most concern with is that the only way anyone can find them is if they stumble upon them on BlackBerry's website. No commercials? Nothing that was ever aired with Alicia Keys that says something along the lines of "I love my BlackBerry, it's this, that, and the other thing, check it out at blackberry.com". So the fact that nothing was ever aired already convinces me that they were just a big waste of money. My next gripe: it's obvious that celebrities sell. Alicia Keys is fine. But Robert Rodriguez? Neil Gaiman? Cmon BlackBerry! You can do better than that. They are C list celebrities. If you show their faces or their names, only a handful of people will know who they are when compared to Alicia Keys who everyone knows. I think that part is self explanatory

The Q5 advertisement:

Oh dear Lord every waking moment of this ad is pure agony. It's long, it's boring, the dialog and the music is corny. Remember when I said that the worst thing a commercial could do is just show off the phone? This is it. Just showing people using the phone and listening to them go on about it is painful and boring. I know I don't live in the UK, but I don't think this ad is good by any standards.

The Q10 commercial:

While this one mainly shows off features which generally isn't the most effective strategy, there are a few minor things that don't make this one a real failure. The first thing is: the man isn't just listing off what is going on. He is going a little beyond that giving a little color commentary. The second thing is that if you notice, there is a little story on the Q10 screen between a man and his wife. I didn't notice it myself until I think the second time I saw the commercial which means that you might not get it instantly. I don't have too many negative things to say about this commercial because they did an ok job pulling off the feature listing, but then again, I can't praise the commercial either as there is nothing special about it:

Another Q10 ad that I just stumbled on:

What I REALLY like about this one is that BlackBerry is comparing the Q10 to a Mercedes car; the metaphor of course being that the Q10 is high quality. While this is long and tedious and can really only be found if you stumble upon it like I just did, it is still a much better example of what the Q5 ad was. I think this could have worked better as a real commercial saying something like: "The Mercedes Benz Petronas formula one car and the BlackBerry Q10 are high end, fine tuned pieces of equipment. The Mercedes has a X horsepower engine while the Q10 has a Qualcomm dual core 1.5GHz processor". Hopefully you catch the drift...and obviously if I spent time on it, it could have been a lot less corny

What BlackBerry should have aired :

This. Is. Powerful. What makes this so unique and such a good commercial is that QNX really made it sentimental and about something larger the phone itself. That is what generally makes the best commercials. Another example of a great commercial that is sentimental and about something larger than the phone itself is the Apple "Designed by Apple in California" commercial. Both commercials show you the big picture and the QNX one really makes you go "wow". Moral of the story? Leave the marketing to QNX . The music is powerful, and it is another one of those commercials that makes you go "What the heck is it?" And once you find out what is it, you sort of get the "Keep Moving" aspect of BlackBerry that was highlighted through that ad. And it ends with "Now imagine all of that...in the palm of your hand". Now just tell me you didn't get the chills. I don't really think that I could do a good enough job describing how great this advertisement really is so...just watch it and you'll get it

This took me a while to write all of this out so if you stuck with me until the end, thank you. It means a lot. Now hopefully this can spark some intelligent discussion of BlackBerry's marketing and what they can do to improve. Yes, I want BlackBerry to succeed, and that's why I took this analysis seriously. It does feel a little painful though when I watch a company that has a great product but sits still and spin its wheels because it can't get its word across.

How much do they spend on marketing?

[ajst222]

I liked the super bowl commercial too, but agree the timing was terrible.
I was hoping that BlackBerry would have started off the campaign with a brand reboot. Something like the qnx space commercial, or the one I posted way back 'owning the downturn and reshaping it'.
http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?p=7432683
IMHO, not starting with a brand reboot showed just how out of touch management was with it's brand perception and was pretty arrogant. This then led for the general population to perceive the new bb10's as more of the same. They never shaped the conversation around bb10 and the power that qnx is.
Followup commercials such as the super bowl commercials would have been great, but did nothing on their own.
Even now there seems to be no brand building in a constructive way.


Posted via CB10

Oh yeah...the timing could not have been worse. And you bring up good points about a "brand reboot". BlackBerry is basically irrelevant (particularly in the US) and a lot of people don't even know they are around. They need to be aggressive to let people know that they are there and they need to refresh their image. Average Joes will picture BlackBerry phones as dinosaurs and strictly business and/or dated phones. We CBers know that BB10 is a complete overhaul, but regular consumers might not. BlackBerry needs to let them know.

[ajst222]

How much do they spend on marketing?

That's a good question. I believe that I have seen it on Forbes or somewhere else not too long ago. I will see if I can find it

[ajst222]

So I really couldn't find any information of BlackBerry's marketing budget. If anyone stumbles upon one, feel free to share. It would be great to have a side by side comparison of BlackBerry, Nokia, Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc.

[md386]

I have mixed feelings about the Super Bowl commercial. Aside from the unfortunate timing, I think it would have been more suited to a company that didn't need a "brand reboot." A well done commercial, but I think they needed to really emphasize the complete newness of the Z10.

I couldn't agree more about the QNX "Space-grade technology" video though. Great commercial that makes the most of BlackBerry's strengths. BlackBerry needs to get that (or something like it) airing ASAP. And for that matter, put whoever made it in charge of future commercials.

[Chicago777Guy]

I love QNX vedio, also loved the Q5 and Q10...pre-mash was good too..but problem is that none of them except Q10 was ever aired....lets hope BlackBerry gets the message...

Posted via CB10

[Tariq Nasir]

There has obviously been a lot of criticism of BlackBerry's marketing (for good reason) but it seems to end there. It's just "BlackBerry sucks", or "BlackBerry's marketing is terrible", but there is no real analysis. So that is what I'm going to do. In this thread I will give my opinions and break down BlackBerry's marketing and strategy and its effectiveness.

Let's start with the Super Bowl commercial:

In all honesty, I thought it was a great commercial and a great concept. What makes a good commercial is doing something other than just showing off phone features because that is the absolute most boring thing that a company can do. The commercial is basically saying that the Z10 is very capable. The song has a catchy tune, and if you listen, I'm sure BlackBerry chose the song because it suggests that the Z10 is ready for anything. The action in the commercial itself is neat and makes the viewer think "Well what the heck is going on here?", and then it ends in a twist and they find out. It could have been a very effective commercial...BUT...the timing was horrible. The phone wouldn't be available for a few months. People probably aren't going to stay interested for that long. When they see something, they want it right then. It would have been much more effective if the Z10 would have been available much sooner. Therefore, it was kind of a flop. Maybe if they played the commercial after the Super Bowl in regular slots...who knows?

Next are the "Keep Moving" commercials (not the "Keep Moving Projects"...I will get to those later):

These commercials could have been amazing. The song is great and catchy, and the concept is cool as well. Obviously they clipped a bunch of people "moving" because the slogan for BB10 is "Keep Moving" and these commercials definitely show that off. However, they are redundant. I know this is a longer version of a standard commercial, but it is still redundant. It has that same "What the heck is going on here?" effect as the Super Bowl commercial, but the commercial takes way to long to show you. And plus it gets boring because it is the same thing over and over and over. One thing that I learned when it comes to marketing and videos in general is that once you establish a point, move on. BlackBerry didn't move on and they stuck on that point. Sure they slipped the Z10 in there a few times but you would have to be really paying attention to notice it as it is so nonchalantly shown. And yes, the commercial let's you know what it is for at the end, but the viewer is too bored when that comes to still be paying attention.

The Verizon Z10 commercial:

You know, it's sad when the best marketing for BlackBerry is done by Verizon Wireless. This is a very very well done commercial. Not only does it show something about the phone, it does it in a satirical and funny way. Generally, Verizon's commercials are pretty good so I am glad the Z10 ended up getting the same treatment.

"Keep Moving Projects":
I didn't include a video for this as there are a bunch of them. Basically, the "Keep Moving Projects" are three celebrities that show off how BlackBerry keeps them moving and helps them create something. These could have worked, but as usual, there's always a "but". What I have the most concern with is that the only way anyone can find them is if they stumble upon them on BlackBerry's website. No commercials? Nothing that was ever aired with Alicia Keys that says something along the lines of "I love my BlackBerry, it's this, that, and the other thing, check it out at blackberry.com". So the fact that nothing was ever aired already convinces me that they were just a big waste of money. My next gripe: it's obvious that celebrities sell. Alicia Keys is fine. But Robert Rodriguez? Neil Gaiman? Cmon BlackBerry! You can do better than that. They are C list celebrities. If you show their faces or their names, only a handful of people will know who they are when compared to Alicia Keys who everyone knows. I think that part is self explanatory

The Q5 advertisement:

Oh dear Lord every waking moment of this ad is pure agony. It's long, it's boring, the dialog and the music is corny. Remember when I said that the worst thing a commercial could do is just show off the phone? This is it. Just showing people using the phone and listening to them go on about it is painful and boring. I know I don't live in the UK, but I don't think this ad is good by any standards.

The Q10 commercial:

While this one mainly shows off features which generally isn't the most effective strategy, there are a few minor things that don't make this one a real failure. The first thing is: the man isn't just listing off what is going on. He is going a little beyond that giving a little color commentary. The second thing is that if you notice, there is a little story on the Q10 screen between a man and his wife. I didn't notice it myself until I think the second time I saw the commercial which means that you might not get it instantly. I don't have too many negative things to say about this commercial because they did an ok job pulling off the feature listing, but then again, I can't praise the commercial either as there is nothing special about it:

Another Q10 ad that I just stumbled on:

What I REALLY like about this one is that BlackBerry is comparing the Q10 to a Mercedes car; the metaphor of course being that the Q10 is high quality. While this is long and tedious and can really only be found if you stumble upon it like I just did, it is still a much better example of what the Q5 ad was. I think this could have worked better as a real commercial saying something like: "The Mercedes Benz Petronas formula one car and the BlackBerry Q10 are high end, fine tuned pieces of equipment. The Mercedes has a X horsepower engine while the Q10 has a Qualcomm dual core 1.5GHz processor". Hopefully you catch the drift...and obviously if I spent time on it, it could have been a lot less corny

What BlackBerry should have aired :

This. Is. Powerful. What makes this so unique and such a good commercial is that QNX really made it sentimental and about something larger the phone itself. That is what generally makes the best commercials. Another example of a great commercial that is sentimental and about something larger than the phone itself is the Apple "Designed by Apple in California" commercial. Both commercials show you the big picture and the QNX one really makes you go "wow". Moral of the story? Leave the marketing to QNX . The music is powerful, and it is another one of those commercials that makes you go "What the heck is it?" And once you find out what is it, you sort of get the "Keep Moving" aspect of BlackBerry that was highlighted through that ad. And it ends with "Now imagine all of that...in the palm of your hand". Now just tell me you didn't get the chills. I don't really think that I could do a good enough job describing how great this advertisement really is so...just watch it and you'll get it

This took me a while to write all of this out so if you stuck with me until the end, thank you. It means a lot. Now hopefully this can spark some intelligent discussion of BlackBerry's marketing and what they can do to improve. Yes, I want BlackBerry to succeed, and that's why I took this analysis seriously. It does feel a little painful though when I watch a company that has a great product but sits still and spin its wheels because it can't get its word across.

I love the mercedez q10 ad. That's what they need

Posted via CB10

[ajst222]

I love the mercedez q10 ad. That's what they need

Posted via CB10

The metaphor in the Q10 Mercedes ad is great. I really like the idea.

[ajst222]

I have mixed feelings about the Super Bowl commercial. Aside from the unfortunate timing, I think it would have been more suited to a company that didn't need a "brand reboot." A well done commercial, but I think they needed to really emphasize the complete newness of the Z10.

I couldn't agree more about the QNX "Space-grade technology" video though. Great commercial that makes the most of BlackBerry's strengths. BlackBerry needs to get that (or something like it) airing ASAP. And for that matter, put whoever made it in charge of future commercials.

I get what you're saying, but in a way, I think that the Super Bowl commercial sort of showed the "fun" side of BlackBerry. All the colors and whatnot make it look fun and somewhat youthful. I don't think anyone is going to argue that BlackBerry needs a brand reboot and they need marketing that can A: make you go wow, and B: give BlackBerry a more youthful image

[FSeverino]

BB has a marketing team for BB10?

must have missed them...

[The Aficionado]

I was thinking about this... maybe blackberry 10 is harder to market compared to the other phones

What defining features does it have that are easy to showcase in a commercial?

Timeshift camera is one. But the thing is the camera, though adequate, isn't really that great compared to the competition. Not overall

The hub is another one, but it's not something that blows people away, the way that, say, a 41 megapixel camera does. It's just not compelling enough to make someone consider a blackberry if they weren't already

Can we advertise based on apps the way apple does? Nope, not at all

The advantage and charm of bb10 is the snappiness of the os, the speed and ease of the gesture based UI once you know all the gestures, and the convenience of having everything in the hub and the integration of core apps with social media (eg how easy it is to share a pic or a link with bbm, whatsapp, Facebook or whatever)


But these are subtle strengths compared to huge awesome app catalogs, 41 mp cameras, and the cool (though imo gimmicky) features of the gs4 like scrolling down on the page based on eye movement . BlackBerry 10 has more of a subtle, seductive charm in comparison.

To really appreciate the elegance of bb10 you need to pick one up and use it for a bit. Or at least have someone who knows it show you the gestures and how it works.

Worse still, even some of the few people who are picking up bb10 phones and giving them a try are getting turned off by the pitfalls that come from bb10 being such a new os. Lack of apps, bugs and missing features

I think bb needs to focus on marketing that actually gets people trying out the phones. Like the site where you can try bb10 gestures and hub on your Android or iPhone, or the bb10 vans at concerts. More hands on stuff, and less focus on tv commercials is the way to go. More celebrity endorsements too, cuz I'm not convinced that Alicia Keys is really that relevant

Posted via CB10

[cgk]

No idea where that Q5 video is from - but I don't think it has ever been used on UK TV?

[The Aficionado]

As has been mentioned they need a brand reboot too. Blackberry has a bad reputation. A reputation of being out of date, buggy, behind the competition. Not cool, only for suits who get them issued by their company.

They need marketing that shows that bb10 is completely redesigned from the ground up, that this isn't just the next model of blackberry like the next model of a car (or iPhone) that comes out every year, and that bb10 is completely different from previous blackberries, which it really is.

Like maybe something along the lines of this

"blackberry... we invented the smartphone (show old blackberry phones)... email on your phone, full qwerty keyboard, calendar and scheduling, all blackberry innovations... but then the competition got tough ... so we went back to the drawing board ... the result : blackberry 10 (BAM! Show z10 and q10)... a completely new OS built from the ground up using QNX, the same ultra reliable software used in cars, medical devices, and the International space station ... (start showing bb10 features) one thing that hasn't changed from the past is we have once again brought new innovations (show timeshift, show bbm video and screen sharing)... not just a phone anymore, it's a mobile computer (show browser with flash support, then show user peeking at a text but going back to the browser, then show user going to the hub and seeing Facebook, LinkedIn, email, text and bbm all in one place)... BlackBerry is not a thing of the past, it's a thing of the future, packed with new features to 'keep you moving' (show the user snapping a pic, then checking it with the pic checking gesture, then sharing it with someone on whatsapp)"

Better yet if they could film it in a way that the viewer can actually see the user performing the gestures with her thumb, while still being able to see what's happening on the screen


I picture it in the style of an all-american know how commercial, with the narration and style of a ford pick up truck commercial



Posted via CB10

[Tariq Nasir]

BB has a marketing team for BB10?

must have missed them...

Bunch of homer Simpsons

Posted via CB10

[The Aficionado]

--(never mind)

Posted via CB10

[ajst222]

I was thinking about this... maybe blackberry 10 is harder to market compared to the other phones

What defining features does it have that are easy to showcase in a commercial?

Timeshift camera is one. But the thing is the camera, though adequate, isn't really that great compared to the competition. Not overall

The hub is another one, but it's not something that blows people away, the way that, say, a 41 megapixel camera does. It's just not compelling enough to make someone consider a blackberry if they weren't already

Can we advertise based on apps the way apple does? Nope, not at all

The advantage and charm of bb10 is the snappiness of the os, the speed and ease of the gesture based UI once you know all the gestures, and the convenience of having everything in the hub and the integration of core apps with social media (eg how easy it is to share a pic or a link with bbm, whatsapp, Facebook or whatever)


But these are subtle strengths compared to huge awesome app catalogs, 41 mp cameras, and the cool (though imo gimmicky) features of the gs4 like scrolling down on the page based on eye movement . BlackBerry 10 has more of a subtle, seductive charm in comparison.

To really appreciate the elegance of bb10 you need to pick one up and use it for a bit. Or at least have someone who knows it show you the gestures and how it works.

Worse still, even some of the few people who are picking up bb10 phones and giving them a try are getting turned off by the pitfalls that come from bb10 being such a new os. Lack of apps, bugs and missing features

I think bb needs to focus on marketing that actually gets people trying out the phones. Like the site where you can try bb10 gestures and hub on your Android or iPhone, or the bb10 vans at concerts. More hands on stuff, and less focus on tv commercials is the way to go. More celebrity endorsements too, cuz I'm not convinced that Alicia Keys is really that relevant

Posted via CB10

That's another thing: BB10 has nothing special that sets it apart from the conpetition or that makes it stand out. If you want a great camera, buy a Lumia. If you want apps, buy an iPhone. If you want a bunch of quirky features, buy an Android phone. And then there's BlackBerry. There's nothing that really sets it apart and it sort of blends in. Time Shift? Maybe, but I wouldn't try pulling it off because the camera is mediocre. Yeah, they have the keyboard market, but that is diminishing.

I guess the closest thing to a something that sets BB10 apart is communication but that isn't anything as exciting as a lot of apps or an amazing camera. It also sounds a bit lame when compared to what sets other OS's apart. BB10 does have a bit of the quirky features that sets Android apart and I could sort of see them going for that, but they couldn't get away with just that.

Posted via CB10

[ajst222]

Hey...maybe BlackBerry should give Steve Ballmer a call

[w0lfgang]

blackberry has marketing?

Posted via CB10

[4ron]

Wow! The QNX commercial is powerful - the one BlackBerry should be airing. Thank you for the excellent analysis of BlackBerry marketing.

Posted via CB10

[ajst222]

Wow! The QNX commercial is powerful - the one BlackBerry should be airing. Thank you for the excellent analysis of BlackBerry marketing.

Posted via CB10

I love the QNX commercial. Not sure what's holding them back from airing it :/. And thanks. I'm glad you liked it.

Posted via CB10

[Hup55]

Great post OP! Thanks for taking the time to share all of the commercials. I've never seen the last one QNX was responsible for. That should have been their go to commercial for sure it is by far the best one. Now compare the last against the first 2 commercials and I don't think it's even close.

Posted Via my Z-10

[ikerrin]

Just moving my post to the right thread.

I think we can all agree that while the BB10 phones are awesome, their marketing needs some work. To my mind, it looks like the same engineers who build the phone were asked to storyboard the marketing over a couple of beers on a Friday night.

What does Blackberry sell? A 4th version of the basic cell phone framework where you can take your pick based on some set of undefined preferences and legacy nostalgia? Personally, I think that Apple sells phones washed in unicorn tears and Android throws a bunch of different phones out into the market in the hopes that they will stick (and they do.) Microsoft is like Blackberry in not having a coherent story other than maybe that their phones work really well with their computers. Here are my ideas for some ways that Blackberry could establish their brand. All of them involve their own pixie dust, but isn't that what marketing is.

1) The Mercedes (Porsche) story. Message: yes our phones are not everywhere you go. Neither are Mercedes. We sell premium phones for people who demand the best. Not everyone can afford a Rolex and not everyone can afford a Blackberry. If you want a bit of the Blackberry magic, buy the Q5 which is an overpriced entry phone but with the same great Blackberry engineering with less expensive components. (This doesn't need to be true. Is a Rolex that much better than a Seiko?)

2) The "We aren't the Americans" story. Message: Every smartphone on the market today, except for Blackberry is built on American software or hardware. Blackberry is Canadian and it allows you to participate in the Canadian brand of fairness and diversity ( of people and of smartphone platforms). Buying a Blackberry means that you support the things that Canadians support - decency, fair play, a good product for a reasonable price and a well constructed smartphone built by people who give pregnant women a year's paid maternity, little kids free dental coverage, refugees a chance to build a better life, and where everyone has a good work-life balance. Basically, this is the Blackberry as organic farm produce model.

3) The "We're now the ones who 'think different'" model. Message: Apple has become the new Microsoft and it would be a Blackberry user crashing the Big Brother TV screen in the old 1984 commercial. Moreover, Google has abandoned their "don't be evil" slogan and Microsoft ... well they are still Microsoft. If you want to stick it to the man, buy a Blackberry. Blackberry is your phone if you don't want a smartphone monopoly, Blackberry is the hipster phone, it's the phone of artists and creative people who don't listen to the Apple marketing. When you buy a Blackberry, you are saying that you want the market to continue and competition to run wild in smartphones.

Note, none of this needs to be true, but all messages at least start to build an identity for the phone and who uses it. Right now, I feel that Blackberry's campaign could basically be summed up as: "Blackberry is the phone that a random group of people use."

What do you think? How could Blackberry market their mission better.

[ajst222]

Just moving my post to the right thread.

I think we can all agree that while the BB10 phones are awesome, their marketing needs some work. To my mind, it looks like the same engineers who build the phone were asked to storyboard the marketing over a couple of beers on a Friday night.

What does Blackberry sell? A 4th version of the basic cell phone framework where you can take your pick based on some set of undefined preferences and legacy nostalgia? Personally, I think that Apple sells phones washed in unicorn tears and Android throws a bunch of different phones out into the market in the hopes that they will stick (and they do.) Microsoft is like Blackberry in not having a coherent story other than maybe that their phones work really well with their computers. Here are my ideas for some ways that Blackberry could establish their brand. All of them involve their own pixie dust, but isn't that what marketing is.

1) The Mercedes (Porsche) story. Message: yes our phones are not everywhere you go. Neither are Mercedes. We sell premium phones for people who demand the best. Not everyone can afford a Rolex and not everyone can afford a Blackberry. If you want a bit of the Blackberry magic, buy the Q5 which is an overpriced entry phone but with the same great Blackberry engineering with less expensive components. (This doesn't need to be true. Is a Rolex that much better than a Seiko?)

2) The "We aren't the Americans" story. Message: Every smartphone on the market today, except for Blackberry is built on American software or hardware. Blackberry is Canadian and it allows you to participate in the Canadian brand of fairness and diversity ( of people and of smartphone platforms). Buying a Blackberry means that you support the things that Canadians support - decency, fair play, a good product for a reasonable price and a well constructed smartphone built by people who give pregnant women a year's paid maternity, little kids free dental coverage, refugees a chance to build a better life, and where everyone has a good work-life balance. Basically, this is the Blackberry as organic farm produce model.

3) The "We're now the ones who 'think different'" model. Message: Apple has become the new Microsoft and it would be a Blackberry user crashing the Big Brother TV screen in the old 1984 commercial. Moreover, Google has abandoned their "don't be evil" slogan and Microsoft ... well they are still Microsoft. If you want to stick it to the man, buy a Blackberry. Blackberry is your phone if you don't want a smartphone monopoly, Blackberry is the hipster phone, it's the phone of artists and creative people who don't listen to the Apple marketing. When you buy a Blackberry, you are saying that you want the market to continue and competition to run wild in smartphones.

Note, none of this needs to be true, but all messages at least start to build an identity for the phone and who uses it. Right now, I feel that Blackberry's campaign could basically be summed up as: "Blackberry is the phone that a random group of people use."

What do you think? How could Blackberry market their mission better.

I agree with most of what you have said other than about Microsoft. I feel that right now, they have a clear marketing vision. Their marketing of Windows 8 is genius. And their (and Nokia's) marketing of Windows Phone 8 has been solid. They are trying to target the active "nightlifers" and they are driving the point home that Nokia has the best cameras in any phone. However, I do think that Microsoft and Nokia should rev up their marketing of Windows Phone 8 in order to boost ahead.

What BlackBerry needs to do FIRST is define what group they want to go after. Honestly, I don't think they know who their target market is. They just seem to kind of throw a bunch of garbage on camera and call it a day. I like when you say: "To my mind, it looks like the same engineers who build the phone were asked to storyboard the marketing over a couple of beers on a Friday night." Pretty fitting.