[Gnomesane]

Just throwing this out there. I've noted in some threads a lot of references to "tools not toys", which was from what I can tell is a pre-BB10 marketing slogan in early to mid 2012 (I wasn't a BB user at the time, had to look it up when a few people referenced it). It's often cited in a negative manner as a bad marketing slogan that backfired on them, hence with the new BB10 series we now have "Keep Moving". I don't mind it, but have also seen some references making fun of that slogan. I guess in a way it leans more to the business enterprise market and is a 'wink' at the idea of a buttonless OS and Peek / Flow.

Armchair quarterback here… I see a greater emphasis with Blackberry now on Music/Movies/TV in Blackberry World and especially the big push on Gaming. Mortal Combat 4 is now available, and many big game devs are on board for the new platform. So while clearly aiming at the business market, they seem to be "all in" on the consumer market (finally).

I'm not a big phone gamer (or anywhere else), but I have thrown videos, music and tv shows on the Z10 and love the multimedia capabilities built into BB10. The OS has clearly been built with entertainment in mind and beyond the 'app gap', I think is a compelling aspect that many people are largely unaware of to this day. And yet I personally don’t have a sense of that being reflected in BB Marketing.

I think something along the lines of a message that says the BB10 allows you to Work Hard, and Play Hard, not just pushing the idea of Blackberry Balance (which still leans on the business aspect) would be a good idea. Like a corporate Mom or Dad (typical stereotype BB user of the past) but when they go home they use the phone to film the kids, edit it on Storymaker and then "Play ON" the TV much to the delight of their children. Just a quick example to illustrate, I'm not in Marketing…

Clearly it's built for Play as well as Work, but how many people know that.

Any other thoughts, ideas would be welcome. Cheers.

[Elite1]

Firstly, congrats on your "Masterful" 1,000th post!
(Not sure if you noticed.)

Great points.
BBRY really needs more advertising that shows features & usage. Keep it simple, but show people more of the great stuff you can do, already!

[howarmat]

Both "slogans" are ok if the message is presented the right way. The "tools not toys" wasnt presented right IMO. The "keep moving" is better but still not there. The "work hard, play hard" is actually not bad but it still needs a new marketing team to bring something to the table i think to be good.

[Gnomesane]

Firstly, congrats on your "Masterful" 1,000th post!
(Not sure if you noticed.)

Great points.
BBRY really needs more advertising that shows features & usage. Keep it simple, but show people more of the great stuff you can do, already!

Holy crap, you're right. Do I get a prize? A free BB microfiber cloth perhaps? =)

Yeah, I'm going to a cottage outing with some old university buds for some sailing in a few weeks, I'll be showing off the multimedia features. I'll throw a few movies on the phone and the play them on the WDTV wirelessly through the Media Server one night. I'm really impressed with the gaming titles that have come to the platform, even if I'm not a big gamer myself. Maybe if the BB Phablet arrives, that'll turn a few heads!

[Gnomesane]

Both "slogans" are ok if the message is presented the right way. The "tools not toys" wasnt presented right IMO. The "keep moving" is better but still not there. The "work hard, play hard" is actually not bad but it still needs a new marketing team to bring something to the table i think to be good.

Someone who can come up with better ideas than my example! Yeah, there's that built in preconception that a Blackberry is a boring business tool I think. Hey, let's face it, the BBOS legacy platform was pretty much exclusively a business tool and regarded that way. The platform just couldn't handle the demands of much more than messaging (and it did an excellent job of that, no doubt).

[pantlesspenguin]

Both "slogans" are ok if the message is presented the right way. The "tools not toys" wasnt presented right IMO.

I completely agree. It's hard to take the "tools not toys" slogan seriously when the accompanying commercial was showing two dj's taking pictures with their fans and uploading them to twitter, something "toy" phones had been able to do for years at that point.

[Gnomesane]

I completely agree. It's hard to take the "tools not toys" slogan seriously when the accompanying commercial was showing two dj's taking pictures with their fans and uploading them to twitter, something "toy" phones had been able to do for years at that point.

Heh. Yeah, I kept seeing the Tools Not Toys reference and had to look it up (as a former iPhone user). Not the best slogan when you're trying to hold off Apple and Android...

Speaking of DJ's, I just googled "Work Hard Play Hard" which apparently is a Wiz Khalifa song (who knew? Not me!)... And there was a link to him owning a Blackberry (2011 I think). Anyway, I looked up the song as I thought "Wow! Great zeitgeist"... Then I read the lyrics, and thought maybe not... Not saying he's not a great artist, just maybe not the kind of song you'd play on PrimeTime televison...

[Oofa]

If you pay close attention to what people carry, what they are picking up and playing with when in a phone store and what they are buying, it's always toys, not tools. Tools are pretty simple and always included in the "toy" market and if that is what people wanted, there would have been no need to come up with BB10.

[pantlesspenguin]

Heh. Yeah, I kept seeing the Tools Not Toys reference and had to look it up (as a former iPhone user). Not the best slogan when you're trying to hold off Apple and Android...

Speaking of DJ's, I just googled "Work Hard Play Hard" which apparently is a Wiz Khalifa song (who knew? Not me!)... And there was a link to him owning a Blackberry (2011 I think). Anyway, I looked up the song as I thought "Wow! Great zeitgeist"... Then I read the lyrics, and thought maybe not... Not saying he's not a great artist, just maybe not the kind of song you'd play on PrimeTime televison...

"Work Hard Play Hard" just reminds me of my mom. When I was little and she'd send me off to school she'd yell after me "Work hard, play hard, and wear a big smile!"

[pantlesspenguin]

If you pay close attention to what people carry, what they are picking up and playing with when in a phone store and what they are buying, it's always toys, not tools. Tools are pretty simple and always included in the "toy" market and if that is what people wanted, there would have been no need to come up with BB10.

I think distinguishing phones as tools or toys doesn't do anyone any good at all. A device is as productive as the user makes it. Years ago I was a big fan of the Sidekick line. That was primarily marketed to kids and trendy people, but I used mine to take class notes and send them to my computer, keep track of assignments and due dates, and I even wrote several pages of a research paper on my Sidekick while on a road trip. This was when I was around 28 years old and in grad school, hardly a kid. Likewise, there could conceivably be people who only play games on a BlackBerry Z10.

[Gnomesane]

"Work Hard Play Hard" just reminds me of my mom. When I was little and she'd send me off to school she'd yell after me "Work hard, play hard, and wear a big smile!"

Sounds to me like you have a great mom!

[BBUniq01]

Love the post and congrats on your 1000th post. Yes, again it falls to marketing to educate the public about the new BlackBerry 10s. I have been able to do such more with my Z10 for both work and play. And people I have shown it to have been impressed. I keep getting positive comments on the gorgeous screen and the great pictures I have taken. My son loves playing games on it. I have all of my music on it, use the StoryMaker, side loaded Netflix and much more.

Curve 8320, Bold 9780, Bold 9900, PB 64gb, Z10

[FunGuyLover]

A good compromise might be to show how much more quickly one can get one's work done so that they can enjoy more play. That was the missing ingredient from the tools not toys campaign.

Posted via CB10

[Gnomesane]

A good compromise might be to show how much more quickly one can get one's work done so that they can enjoy more play. That was the missing ingredient from the tools not toys campaign.

Posted via CB10

That sounds like a good idea. My thought in posting was that the platform (BB10) is capable of both work and play. Personally, I'd like to see Blackberry roll out ads that show how the SAME phone can accomplish both. In my experience, it's both a work tool and a play tool. Why not emphasize that? Cheers.

[pantlesspenguin]

That sounds like a good idea. My thought in posting was that the platform (BB10) is capable of both work and play. Personally, I'd like to see Blackberry roll out ads that show how the SAME phone can accomplish both. In my experience, it's both a work tool and a play tool. Why not emphasize that? Cheers.

Here's my idea along those lines: http://forums.crackberry.com/general...1/#post8316051

[Gnomesane]

Here's my idea along those lines: http://forums.crackberry.com/general...1/#post8316051

Ah, good to see that it's already being discussed.

We should collapse this thread and point it to yours. Better to have one thread than several!

http://forums.crackberry.com/general...1/#post8316051

EDIT: I already posted! I troll the threads, didn't realize I'd already contributed, lol.

[pantlesspenguin]

Ah, good to see that it's already being discussed.

We should collapse this thread and point it to yours. Better to have one thread than several!

http://forums.crackberry.com/general...1/#post8316051

EDIT: I already posted! I troll the threads, didn't realize I'd already contributed, lol.

That wasn't my thread, it's MarsupilamiX's thread. I just contributed a concept that sounds a lot like the one you think would be beneficial for the brand (and I obviously agree!!).

[Gnomesane]

That wasn't my thread, it's MarsupilamiX's thread. I just contributed a concept that sounds a lot like the one you think would be beneficial for the brand (and I obviously agree!!).

Ah, thanks! Whatever, we're all on the same page. I'm totally on board for challenging the outdated perception of Blackberry.

Personally I'd prefer one single thread on the subject as opposed to several so if the other thread is more popular then let's contribute there, not here...

[BlackBerry Guy]

Instead of "keep moving", they should switch to "keep on keepin' on". Basically whatever it is you do, - work, play, a little bit of both, a BlackBerry lets you do all of it.

[FunGuyLover]

I'd like to see an ad featuring a dude like me, getting it done all day, chillin' on the train on the way home and hookin' up with his ppls for some great fun after dark, chatting on Crackberry, Twitter and BBM all the while just for giggles.

Posted via CB10

[southlander]

Depends on the angle. Do you want a positive message or negative? If negative I'd think an approach similar to Microsofts scroogled ad might work in BlackBerrys target market. The security and privacy conscious.

Posted via BlackBerry 10

[MarsupilamiX]

That wasn't my thread, it's MarsupilamiX's thread. I just contributed a concept that sounds a lot like the one you think would be beneficial for the brand (and I obviously agree!!).

I love it when you mention my name

But it isn't my thread actually

I tried to ressurect it a number of times now, but with no avail...
So I'll just copy and paste a little bit:

(I hope nobody minds this)

I think the TV spots need to showcase the phone more, instead of a concept like the Keep Moving commercial which barely shows the phone at all. People remember the commercial but not that it was showing a BlackBerry, kinda like the glowing bikes commercial. After that, people wanted a glowing bike but not a BlackBerry! Then there was the "Tools not toys" commercial that basically contradicted itself. The message was tools not toys, but all they showed the BlackBerry doing was taking a pic and uploading it to twitter, something even feature phones had been able to do for years before that commercial aired. I think a spot that showcases the phone in work and play would be best. Say a young businesswoman does an entire presentation from her phone using BBM video and screen share. She ends up landing a big client thanks to that presentation. After work she rounds up her friends (maybe showing Balance switching from business to personal, and showing her friends in a group BBM chat to coordinate) to go out to celebrate. She uses maps to navigate to a new nightspot. She meets a cute guy (or girl, whatever) and scans his/her BBM barcode. Etc etc etc, just showing the phone in action and how it can be a useful device no matter what you're doing. ETA: She could buy her friends a round of drinks using NFC!

*

Every market is different and what works in one place will not work everywhere. Again, in the US, everyone who buys a Z10 knows that they are going against what everyone else would do. But, there are plenty of people that feel this way. The ads should attract them. Apple did this successfully with Think Different. How about: "We didn't make it for everyone." Show this principle at work: the BlackBerry way as opposed to the way everyone else would do it. Yes. I am a lawyer. I don't know much about marketing but I do know about communicating a message. Posted via CB10

*

[MarsupilamiX]

I COMPLETELY agree with this. Thorsten said that same thing at the launch, and I think it was a great effect. It reminded me of when I was a kid, and my classmates would form a club. Someone would express interest in joining the club and we'd say "Now, we can't let just anyone in this club, they have to be special." They'd want to know what was so special about this club, and what they needed to do to get in. Same thing with the BB10 devices. These phones aren't for everyone, you say? Well what makes them so special? What kind of person do I need to be to get one? Thorsten's answer was that they're for the hyper-connected crowd, that is always juggling communication with people in a multitude of venues. Doesn't EVERYONE want to see themself like that? The social butterfly, the one that everyone wants to connect to and make plans with. So with that one "We didn't make these devices for everyone" line, he's targeting the image that everyone wants to be. And the underlying message is "With these devices, you can be the hyper-connected person you want to be." Brilliant.

*

I would have to agree with lawguyman. Bbry should be playing this as the comeback story of the decade. First they should go on an all out marketing blitz. Just put as many adds as possible on tv but yes the content need needs to be altered as well. Put me in the damn commercial. Show me streaming a show for my son on dlna while streaming music to my bt speakers while answering emails, modifying spread sheets, checking cb, checking on the market, and eating breakfast. Or at work doing those things while demoing the z10 to customers. Show it off! Show that you can browse the web while listening to a YouTube music video at the same time in a background tab. People will notice the little things you just have to show them. Posted via CB10

*

[MarsupilamiX]

I think the problem with having a flashy car (or flashy ANYTHING) is that it would detract from the subject of the commercial which is the phone. Like I said earlier, we saw what happened with the glowing bikes. The commercial I thought that did the best job at conveying that blackberry could get things done was the Bold 9000 commercial where the dude was sprinting around a race track all while pulling things up and creating things on his Bold. Simple concept, and it showcased the phone in all its glory. And, that happened to be an amazing selling phone. Coincidence?

*

I'm also wondering if BlackBerry would benefit from a "water cooler' type ad that everyone gathers around the water cooler at work to discuss. Usually those are Super Bowl ads, but lately we've had the Pepsi Max Jeff Gordon commercial, and now there's the K-Mart "ship my pants" spot. In an area where Wal-Mart and Target reign, EVERYONE is talking about K-Mart right now. Sound familiar? It should, because that's what we want to happen to BB. The ad is brilliant because it's 1) HILARIOUS, and 2) K-Mart is prominently featured. Everyone recognizes it as a K-Mart commercial. It's having the desired effect.

*

[MarsupilamiX]

My suggestion would to advertise like tmobile did when they launched their new rate plans. You couldn't go more than 30 minutes on every radio station without hearing a tmobile advertisement or a plug saying "The next 30 minutes of music brought to you by tmobile." And judging by the crowds that weekend at my local tmobile stores I would say it worked. That was prior to the iphone launch. I am sure it cost a fortune but seemed to be worth it. Posted via CB10

*

They can start by saying it is a totally new OS and system. Nothing in any of their advertisement brings this to light. So if you don't follow BBRY you don't know what they have been up to and you're going to think new same old crappy blackberry, not what I think but it is what those that left think about their old BlackBerry. Anyone that heard a friend etc complaining about their blackberry thinks the same. Same old piece of crap. They NEED to emphasize its a brand new OS.

*