Doesn’t marketing sell a product and/or a service? If you throw enough money at it, it’s likely people will buy into it, sure.
Doesn’t the type of marketing campaign affect the number of sales? It increases the probability, yes.But consider this: how many times do you come across a really great ad but don’t purchase what was advertised? Everyday. Why? It can be for any number of reasons — You don’t need or want it, it’s too expensive, it’s not relative to you or your life, or you simply just don’t care about it.
Increasing the probability that people will purchase a product is all that any marketing campaign can hope to accomplish. It's absolutely true that most ads are ignored by most people most of the time, because at any given moment most people are not interested in most things that are being advertised. This doesn't mean advertising doesn't work. But it does have to be the right kind of advertising, since there is such a thing as bad advertising.
A themed advertising campaign is necessary for rebranding, because this kind of ad campaign isn't just trying to get the word out; it's trying to change a perception that's already entrenched. When a new product comes to the market, you can take advantage of the fact that people don't already think they know all about it. BlackBerry doesn't have that luxury. On the contrary, their problem is that people
do think they already know all about it.
A little while back, in another thread, I had the idea that a good marketing campaign theme for BlackBerry would be summed up in the slogan "Rediscover BlackBerry." The more I think about it, the more I like the idea (heartily patting myself on the back). This is
exactly the kind of interest BlackBerry needs to stimulate. The notion of rediscovery combines nostalgia and newness. It implies good memories along with something new to discover.
Granted, some people have
bad memories of BlackBerry devices. They may be beyond reach. And the app gap will remain an issue for average users who simply won't be interested in any solution that isn't as seamless as just finding apps in BB World or Play or App Store and buying them. That's the industry standard and nothing less is adequate. No marketing campaign can change that.