Studying BlackBerry as a Brand: Your Feedback please!

Hi there!
So to cut things short. I've been studying BlackBerry as a company for a while now.
I may mostly take it up as my main assignment for my end semester exams later this year.
I have been reading 'Losing the signal', going through almost every advertisement I could come across on YouTube ,be it from the time BlackBerry and apple had competitive commercials to the confusing BlackBerry 10 commercial during the superbowl.
I've been reading so many articles on its market share, old reviews from the good ol' BBOS days to the latest BlackBerry Classic.

Now for my Brand Building paper
I picked BlackBerry as a Brand.
1) I need to know the meaning of its logo, the meaning of the name etc. (I read a bit of this from Losing the signal, so I just wanted to know anything else)
2) The Brand Personality and what the company has always strives to maintain (I found this easy but at the same time confusing, especially during the Alicia Keys time *rolls eyes*)
3) How is BlackBerry's social media communications maintained or their brand image and presence maintained.

I would really love some input.
Thanks a LOT

(I own three BlackBerry devices so far, the Classic, Passport and my Z30. I really adore this brand and I just cannot pen down why)

Posted via CB10

Speaking of branding, I gave your thread a bit of a snappier title. ;)

Also, thread moved from Ask-A-Question Forum to General BlackBerry Discussion Forum.
Ask-A-Question Forum is for brand-new members and guests. Other members must select the most appropriate Forum to post their new thread.

Best of luck with your project!

Thanks a lot.
Sorry for posting it in the wrong area.
I'm hoping for some responses.

Posted via CB10

Nike is more about "brand" than they are about sneakers. Their approach seems to be doing quite well.

Posted via CB10

Let me know if you need a working BlackBerry 7520 for your studies. Comes with original everything

Blackberry Passport running 10.3.2.798

Not to be that guy, but you should really find this stuff on your own instead of having people spoon feed it to you. All of it is widely available on the web.

Originally Posted by donnation

Not to be that guy, but you should really find this stuff on your own instead of having people spoon feed it to you. All of it is widely available on the web.

Hate to be the guy to agree with this, but I do. All of this info is very readily available. Reading the book alone should give you a ton of insight. As a piece of advice, take the questions with a grain of salt - the answers don't have to be black and white. For instance, I think it's fair to say that their brand personality has struggled over the years. I would talk about that instead of just saying "security and reliability."

Good luck!

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by hoopitz

Hate to be the guy to agree with this, but I do. All of this info is very readily available. Reading the book alone should give you a ton of insight. As a piece of advice, take the questions with a grain of salt - the answers don't have to be black and white. For instance, I think it's fair to say that their brand personality has struggled over the years. I would talk about that instead of just saying "security and reliability."

Good luck!

Posted via CB10

Yep the book itself is super in-depth.
Yep will do. Thanks!

---

I've read tons already and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
I even found the BlackBerry branding 'handbook' online and how they have variants of it for country specific demographics.
Even the manual where specifics like where to place the BlackBerry logo branding on an A4 paper should be and what the photographs of each product should follow and more.

--
Any opinions and what the brand spoke to you would be a nice put.

Did you guys find their message from 2012-(end 13) pre-Chen era to be a bit confusing?
Or just something on those lines.

I most certainly don't want anything to be spoon-fed as I've already stuffed myself with enough of berries. :D. #bad


Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by rebroker2009

Let me know if you need a working BlackBerry 7520 for your studies. Comes with original everything

Blackberry Passport running 10.3.2.798

I doubt even the one flashed with boost mobil would work here in India.
Thanks anyway.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by donnation

Not to be that guy, but you should really find this stuff on your own instead of having people spoon feed it to you. All of it is widely available on the web.

I didn't need any spoon-feeding at all.
I just wanted some inputs, maybe a different insight if available.
Or any fun facts that you won't find online.
Thanks.


Posted via CB10

I don't think the op was asking to be spoon fed just if anyone had some input or insights.

I also read losing the signal and found it really interesting. If they had a "brand" it was probably during there pre 2008 days when they were a no nonsense device maker meant to be used as a convenient way of communicating securely while away from the office. I doubt they even thought of branding the way we do now.

I guess once ios and android took off they were probably scrambling to come up with something but as we all know BlackBerry makes good devices but has virtually no marketing abilities.
A Canadian tech company that makes great products I don't think would ever be good at creating hoopla or buzz over their product on their own.
Good luck!


Posted via CB10

It's a complex topic. "What the brand means" has changed so much.

Some stages I observed, what a Blackberry meant:

1 - Aspirational. You were the tip of the spear, you were at the top of a top firm and had the top devices/systems/services. Price be damned, you were VALUABLE and your company gladly handed you a magical Blackberry device to boost your availability/productivity. People gasped when you used it in public.

2 - Ubiquitous. Blackberry everywhere, it was table stakes. If you were in business, you had to have a Blackberry. Period. If you didn't, you were either too far down the totem pole or your company was a fossil.

3 - Mandatory. All your friends in the US had iPhones, all your third-world friends were on Android. You might have been in the C Suite, or a Director, or further down the line, but some guy in a short sleeve dress shirt with a clip on tie and a pocket protector gave you a Blackberry on your first day and said "You can't use your phone. This is our Corporate Standard and you have to use it. Just deal with it. Because uh security or something."

4 - Flat Earthing. You write passionate defenses of Blackberry on your Amiga, THE BEST DESKTOP OS EVER YEARS AHEAD OF ITS TIME while talking about how Mike and Jim Thor Pres Chen are the answer and the next next next NEXT device will slay all those isheeple who just want pretty colors.

What point in time are you covering?

Originally Posted by last_attempt

I don't think the op was asking to be spoon fed just if anyone had some input or insights.

I also read losing the signal and found it really interesting. If they had a "brand" it was probably during there pre 2008 days when they were a no nonsense device maker meant to be used as a convenient way of communicating securely while away from the office. I doubt they even thought of branding the way we do now.

I guess once ios and android took off they were probably scrambling to come up with something but as we all know BlackBerry makes good devices but has virtually no marketing abilities.
A Canadian tech company that makes great products I don't think would ever be good at creating hoopla or buzz over their product on their own.
Good luck!


Posted via CB10

To the first half; precisely! My bad for not executing it properly / not being so clear about it.
--
To the main part after the beginning ; Pre-2008 was what I gathered as well. But even after that they appeared to be 'confused' to me as a company.
As pointed out somewhere 'Jim and Mike may have just become accidental billionaires '.

Thanks for your input.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Cashgap

It's a complex topic. "What the brand means" has changed so much.

Some stages I observed, what a Blackberry meant:

1 - Aspirational. You were the tip of the spear, you were at the top of a top firm and had the top devices/systems/services. Price be damned, you were VALUABLE and your company gladly handed you a magical Blackberry device to boost your availability/productivity. People gasped when you used it in public.

2 - Ubiquitous. Blackberry everywhere, it was table stakes. If you were in business, you had to have a Blackberry. Period. If you didn't, you were either too far down the totem pole or your company was a fossil.

3 - Mandatory. All your friends in the US had iPhones, all your third-world friends were on Android. You might have been in the C Suite, or a Director, or further down the line, but some guy in a short sleeve dress shirt with a clip on tie and a pocket protector gave you a Blackberry on your first day and said "You can't use your phone. This is our Corporate Standard and you have to use it. Just deal with it. Because uh security or something."

4 - Flat Earthing. You write passionate defenses of Blackberry on your Amiga, THE BEST DESKTOP OS EVER YEARS AHEAD OF ITS TIME while talking about how Mike and Jim Thor Pres Chen are the answer and the next next next NEXT device will slay all those isheeple who just want pretty colors.

What point in time are you covering?

It has changed a lot indeed!
I'm covering pre -2000.
'00-11
'12-13
'13-present.
I had to add that I absolutely loved the way you described it all!
Thank you
Warm regards
- Fabian

Posted via CB10