[amazinglygraceless]

I think it's the one thing RIM can really advertise for the time being. They can't talk about hardware specs. They can't talk about apps. They can't talk about browsing. Everything else that makes BlackBerrys great is not really "commercial material". Can you imagine a commercial about the keyboards? How about a commercial talking about the benefits of push? Boring! Battery life? Convenience keys? SureType? Surepress? You get the idea.

You make a great set of point. Unfortunately you are also backing up mine.

You're right. None of those things you listed would play well in a consumer
focused ad campaign. Nor does BBM.

Yes, there are tons of people who say they stay with RIM because of BBM. How
many of them do you think bought their BlackBerry thinking "I have to have BBM"

I'd be willing to bet you most people who bought their first BB didn't even
know what that was ("What is BBM" posts bear that out ) I doubt anyone
will look at those spots and say "Screw, pick a platform, they don't have BBM.

[WillieLee]

You make a great set of point. Unfortunately you are also backing up mine.

You're right. None of those things you listed would play well in a consumer
focused ad campaign. Nor does BBM.

Yes, there are tons of people who say they stay with RIM because of BBM. How
many of them do you think bought their BlackBerry thinking "I have to have BBM"

I'd be willing to bet you most people who bought their first BB didn't even
know what that was ("What is BBM" posts bear that out ) I doubt anyone
will look at those spots and say "Screw, pick a platform, they don't have BBM.

Considering that Jim Balsillie has cited the viral spread in the popularity of BBM as a driver for growth in past earning conference calls, I would say that many people are buying the BlackBerry because they "have to have BBM". But what does he know?

[Masahiro]

I disagree. A lot of my friends get blackberrys for BBM. They get talked into it by other friends that already have blackberrys, and it snowballs from there.

By talking about BBM, RIM can convey the strength of BlackBerry as a messaging platform. Indirectly, it also exemplifies the benefits of physical keyboards and push.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Username00089]

I'm not going to get into the argument of what BBM really is. It's an IM client, and
that's that.

But as far as the ads go, I seriously would still have no idea of WTF BBM is if I was
watching those ads without having ever used a Blackberry. Thanks RIM for showing
me how the cholito from my local barrio uses BBM to exchange classic car info.

[amazinglygraceless]

Considering that Jim Balsillie has cited the viral spread in the popularity of BBM as a driver for growth in past earning conference calls, I would say that many people are buying the BlackBerry because they "have to have BBM". But what does he know?

Seriously? How "viral" can a closed communication system be.
Try harder next time.

But you can't fault the man for throwing that nugget out there knowing most
people would just buy it as gospel. Or not question whether that "growth" was
new users or existing users upgrading to newer devices.

[Laura Knotek]

===== QUOTE cplush ====

personally, the only reason i didnt jump off BB is for BBM. facetime is cool, but BBM is super duper addictive.

===== /QUOTE ====

I think it's the one thing RIM can really advertise for the time being. They can't talk about hardware specs. They can't talk about apps. They can't talk about browsing. Everything else that makes BlackBerrys great is not really "commercial material". Can you imagine a commercial about the keyboards? How about a commercial talking about the benefits of push? Boring! Battery life? Convenience keys? SureType? Surepress? You get the idea.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

The problem is that most potential new customers would have no clue what BBM is based on those commercials.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

[Masahiro]

The problem is that most potential new customers would have no clue what BBM is based on those commercials.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

Perhaps, but my point is that BBM is a good target for RIM's advertising. Whether the actual commercials are effective or not is a separate issue. Keep in mind we are bias in the sense that we all know exactly what BBM is.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[K Bear]

These commercials are for the tweens and teens. They are the segment that is using BBM virally.

[mcg3745]

I like the ads. I think they are much more appealing than the 'District 9' syle ads Droid is airing. They show people that u might see in a typical day, using a product to keep in touch. What's the problem with that?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Username00089]

The ad with the barber was stupid. So he can cut a haircut and post it right
away in his BBM group. Any barber can do that with any phone and post it on
Facebook, Twitter, etc.

[Laura Knotek]

===== QUOTE lak611 ====

The problem is that most potential new customers would have no clue what BBM is based on those commercials.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

===== /QUOTE ====

Perhaps, but my point is that BBM is a good target for RIM's advertising. Whether the actual commercials are effective or not is a separate issue. Keep in mind we are bias in the sense that we all know exactly what BBM is.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

There is no point for any company to produce ineffective ads. If RIM wishes to market BBM to new customers, they need to show customers what it is.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

[Alienware_51]

The more I think about these ads, the more silly these ads are. BBM is great for BB to BB and that is it. However, you could pretty much replace the words BBM with MMS (or SMS) and it would be the same (except it would apply for all newer mobile phones). Any other phone can do this with MMS or SMS and send it to any phone, make, model, or brand as long as it has the capabilities to receive them. BBM is a cool feature that plays off of the BIS/BES push system, but definitely not one to do an advertisment on.

[Masahiro]

The more I think about these ads, the more silly these ads are. BBM is great for BB to BB and that is it. However, you could pretty much replace the words BBM with MMS (or SMS) and it would be the same (except it would apply for all newer mobile phones). Any other phone can do this with MMS or SMS and send it to any phone, make, model, or brand as long as it has the capabilities to receive them. BBM is a cool feature that plays off of the BIS/BES push system, but definitely not one to do an advertisment on.

Then what should RIM do an advertisement on?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Alienware_51]

Then what should RIM do an advertisement on?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Their new operating system to let customers know that something new and refreshing is coming, or advertise the speed and power of their new WebKit browser, or advertise the benefits of having a push information system which could include push email, push notifications, then explain how BBM is apart of the entire push system , etc...this way they could cover more things that would show how their operating system is different from others.

[amazinglygraceless]

Then what should RIM do an advertisement on?

Rather than focusing their energy on a messenger that only works on their
platform it would have been better for them to play up the entire social
networking capability of the BlackBerry.

Think of how much more effective the barber ad would have been had he said
"... and without missing a beat, I can post it to Twitter, my Facebook page, etc
all from my BlackBerry." That people would get.

[Alienware_51]

Rather than focusing their energy on a messenger that only works on their
platform it would have been better for them to play up the entire social
networking capability of the BlackBerry.

Think of how much more effective the barber ad would have been had he said
"... and without missing a beat, I can post it to Twitter, my Facebook page, etc
all from my BlackBerry." That people would get.

Bingo. Couldn't have said it any better.

[K Bear]

Rather than focusing their energy on a messenger that only works on their
platform it would have been better for them to play up the entire social
networking capability of the BlackBerry.

Think of how much more effective the barber ad would have been had he said
"... and without missing a beat, I can post it to Twitter, my Facebook page, etc
all from my BlackBerry." That people would get.

Agree with that 110%!

[cplush]

Bingo. Couldn't have said it any better.

yep, thats what most manufacturers say in their commercials but it works!! that or do a commercials that explains BBM to people who have no clue about it. heck, some blackberry users have no clue what it even is. ive had to show people who've used BB's for years what BBM is.

[Masahiro]

Their new operating system to let customers know that something new and refreshing is coming, or advertise the speed and power of their new WebKit browser, or advertise the benefits of having a push information system which could include push email, push notifications, then explain how BBM is apart of the entire push system , etc...this way they could cover more things that would show how their operating system is different from others.

This would be detrimental to RIM! Why would they tell customers that something new and exciting is coming? That only sends the message that customers should hold off on their purchases until the new models and software are released. Not only that, but a lot of people look to Blackberrys for their messaging capabilities, not for web browsing.

As for push, it would take a lot more than a 30 second commercial to explain that. I don't think most people are interested in the details anyways, as long as they get instant notifications.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Alienware_51]

This would be detrimental to RIM! Why would they tell customers that something new and exciting is coming? That only sends the message that customers should hold off on their purchases until the new models and software are released. Not only that, but a lot of people look to Blackberrys for their messaging capabilities, not for web browsing.

As for push, it would take a lot more than a 30 second commercial to explain that. I don't think most people are interested in the details anyways, as long as they get instant notifications.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

They already announced the software publicly, so as it got closer toward release they could built hype for it, but you know how that always fails . Just like Verizon did with the first Droid commercials 2 weeks (or whatever it was) before it was released. This may have made some Verizon customers hold off buying Motorola's other headsets for the time being to wait for the Droid. But it worked for Motorola. Making the Droid the one of their most top selling phone/smartphone since the Razr days and helped them boom back into the market. Also, Apple announced the i4 a few weeks before the release. It was all over the television and internet. Guess what? People still bought the iPhone 3Gs and 3G between the announcement and release day. I know 10 people that bought the iPhone 3Gs even though I explained to them that something better was coming in the iPhone line.

As for the internet browser thing not being important for some people, thats fine. Make a commercial about how overall the blackberry does messaging better. Include email, bbm, sms, mms, etcc. whatever else you want to throw in there.

[Masahiro]

Weeks, not months. People can wait weeks. If someone was on the fence about getting a BlackBerry or IPhone and had to decide within a month, they need reasons to pick up a BlackBerry now, not two months from now. For now, the earliest rumours of an OS6 and 9800 release is sometime beyond September.

I also did not say web browsing wasn't important. It's just not what BlackBerry's strength is.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Alienware_51]

Weeks, not months. People can wait weeks. If someone was on the fence about getting a BlackBerry or IPhone and had to decide within a month, they need reasons to pick up a BlackBerry now, not two months from now. For now, the earliest rumours of an OS6 and 9800 release is sometime beyond September.

I also did not say web browsing wasn't important. It's just not what BlackBerry's strength is.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I know what you mean. I was referring to the hype of a new upcoming RIM product, I know that OS 6 and the 9800 will not be around for awhile, but when they are right around the corner, RIM should build some hype

I didn't mean to say that the browser wasn't important, but RIM should make it a strong point, and they know it. That's why they are taking their time with it to make sure it screams

[K Bear]

I know what you mean. I referring to the hype of a new upcoming RIM product, I know that OS 6 and the 9800 will not be around for awhile, but when they are right around the corner, RIM should build some hype

I didn't mean to say that the browser wasn't important, but RIM should make it a strong point, and they know it. That's why they are taking their time with it to make sure it screams

They did operate like that for a while. That's what happened with the Storm 1 & OS 5. We know what happened with that.

[Alienware_51]

They did operate like that for a while. That's what happened with the Storm 1 & OS 5. We know what happened with that.

Ha. But they learned from that whole situation. Hopefully they are taking their time and will get it right this next time.

[Masahiro]

I know what you mean. I referring to the hype of a new upcoming RIM product, I know that OS 6 and the 9800 will not be around for awhile, but when they are right around the corner, RIM should build some hype

I didn't mean to say that the browser wasn't important, but RIM should make it a strong point, and they know it. That's why they are taking their time with it to make sure it screams

I'm sure they will build hype, but it's still a relatively long ways away. The question is what they should do to sell devices in the mean time.

RIM is obviously improving the browsing experience. Nonetheless, the basic public perception of a BlackBerry is a messaging device with sub-par browsing capabilities, and it will take time for that to change.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com