[hauger]

Okay, first, I believe the positive news about the Z10 and it's sales numbers, that as a phone its selling well (maybe not "iPhone well", but it never had to hit crazy numbers to be successful). I also like the phone, my wife traded in her 9800 for one (I'm stuck in a contract still).

I was also one of the people derided for not liking the superbowl commercial. I felt it was ineffective as a marketing tool meant to generate interest and awareness in the non-blackberry-believers out there. Since then, I've seen very little beyond print/online ads for the phone. It IS selling well (or at least seems to be) but I have real fears that it's early adopters and BB faithful driving those numbers. With a new CMO, I was under the hope that there would be a big, coordinated marketing effort to build on the momentum the early adopters are providing. Instead, it seems the marketing department is again nearly absent, relying on word of mouth, (hopefully) positive press and positive push by the carriers. That scares me for a few reasons, one is the average consumer doesn't read tech sites, let alone fan sites before buying, and relying on carriers means relying on the kid at the store making $10 an hour telling housewives that the BB product is for them.

So, tell me I'm wrong, but where is the buzz generating marketing plan? What, exactly is the CMO doing to earn his salary?

[Bla1ze]

You must not watch a lot of TV. I can't watch 30 minutes of a Canadian TV channel w/o seeing 2-3 ads. Nevermind the advertising in airports, stores, bus stops online, radio etc.

[Cale M]

I was also one of the people derided for not liking the superbowl commercial. I felt it was ineffective as a marketing tool

Agreed. If they wanted to fail to reach a consumer market, there were much cheaper ways to do it. That was prestige-level cash used to generate a sneeze on someone's radar.

I wonder if the insider trades are being targeted. I wouldn't really hear about those unless my company decides to re-invest in BB technology. Maybe not even then.

[ibpluto]

Are you kidding me???

Every second commercial on TV is a Blackberry Commercial! Every website I visit (because I come here a lot), populates their google ads with Blackberry spots. The carriers are going gang busters with advertising in their store fronts.

If you look from Space, they rearranged the baffin islands to read "BB" .......ok, I made that last one up

But seriously, its BB all over up here!

[Cale M]

Are you kidding me???

Every second commercial on TV is a Blackberry Commercial! Every website I visit (because I come here a lot), populates their google ads with Blackberry spots. The carriers are going gang busters with advertising in their store fronts.

What region are you in? I can't recall seeing any BB ads in the U.S. Midwest. And the banner at the top of this page, as I'm typing now, is for a free Galaxy SII through Sprint.

[playbookster]

I see ads everywhere in Vancouver. All 3 major carriers are heavily advertising, bill boards, bus stops, busses, tv, news papers, radio ads etc. Its in everyone's faces and its great

[mad.dog99]

In the UK, I've seen more blackberry adverts in the last week than I have in the whole time I've owned a BB

On top of that, there are tube (London Underground) posters
Newspaper adverts
Full cover wraps on the free London newspapers (Metro and Evening Standard)

This is in a country that has the Z10 released, perhaps when it releases in the US they are going to ramp things up - why advertise a phone no-one can buy?

[Bla1ze]

What region are you in? I can't recall seeing any BB ads in the U.S. Midwest. And the banner at the top of this page, as I'm typing now, is for a free Galaxy SII through Sprint.

And there, you have your reason. U.S. You won't see much until the device gets closer to launch.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccsinsi...7632680795368/



Heck, even Walmart is on the action... lol

[RubberChicken76]

Okay, first, I believe the positive news about the Z10 and it's sales numbers, that as a phone its selling well (maybe not "iPhone well", but it never had to hit crazy numbers to be successful). I also like the phone, my wife traded in her 9800 for one (I'm stuck in a contract still).

I was also one of the people derided for not liking the superbowl commercial. I felt it was ineffective as a marketing tool meant to generate interest and awareness in the non-blackberry-believers out there. Since then, I've seen very little beyond print/online ads for the phone. It IS selling well (or at least seems to be) but I have real fears that it's early adopters and BB faithful driving those numbers. With a new CMO, I was under the hope that there would be a big, coordinated marketing effort to build on the momentum the early adopters are providing. Instead, it seems the marketing department is again nearly absent, relying on word of mouth, (hopefully) positive press and positive push by the carriers. That scares me for a few reasons, one is the average consumer doesn't read tech sites, let alone fan sites before buying, and relying on carriers means relying on the kid at the store making $10 an hour telling housewives that the BB product is for them.

So, tell me I'm wrong, but where is the buzz generating marketing plan? What, exactly is the CMO doing to earn his salary?

Geez, coming to this site today, I saw banner ads for the Z10 in every site I visited. Going to the mall to see if I could get one on sale at the BEST BUY mobile store (sold out), I saw banner ads in ever window of every store that sold mobile phones. I saw it playing videos on every monitor running. I see commercials on TV. I hear radio spots every time I get in the car.

[ibpluto]

What region are you in? I can't recall seeing any BB ads in the U.S. Midwest. And the banner at the top of this page, as I'm typing now, is for a free Galaxy SII through Sprint.

I'm North of the 49th

You won't see any advertisement if you are in the US yet, no sense in advertising something you can't get for another couple weeks. Once they launch in the US you'll get swamped with marketing.

[RubberChicken76]

What region are you in? I can't recall seeing any BB ads in the U.S. Midwest. And the banner at the top of this page, as I'm typing now, is for a free Galaxy SII through Sprint.

It's not out in the US midwest.

[RubberChicken76]

Agreed. If they wanted to fail to reach a consumer market, there were much cheaper ways to do it. That was prestige-level cash used to generate a sneeze on someone's radar.

Or to bluntly say, "you may have heard we've gone out of business. Surprise! We're here and advertising on the Superbowl".

[Cale M]

This is in a country that has the Z10 released, perhaps when it releases in the US they are going to ramp things up - why advertise a phone no-one can buy?

Because if people don't know about the product, and aren't excited to see it, then the odds are that they'll buy something that's already available or released prior to the Z10.

Weird. I've been hitting refresh and, so far, I see that I can learn Android development and get a great deal on a Jitterbug. If BlackBerry can't bother to tell me about their new phone while I'm on THIS site, their campaign comes off as a little shortsighted.

[sportline]

The pre-order ad is on Telkomsel Indonesia today and pushed by sms to subscribers. Doesnt say when is the launch?

Posted via CB10

[hauger]

Such a visceral response. I'm in Canada, near Toronto, and yes, I watch television. Having said that, I've seen exactly zero commercials, maybe it's my fault for watching the wrong channels. I have heard some radio spots, but they have been run by Bell. To the guy who said he sees banner ads all over the Web, that means nothing. I once watched a show and saw Wolf Appliances, so did a quick search for them. Next thing I saw was Wolf Appliances banners everywhere. I have seen those print ads at Futureshop and whatnot, again though, a poor way to generate buzz.

So I guess it boils down to myself just not watching the right television, although I would consider my viewing to be pretty average.

[ibpluto]

Because if people don't know about the product, and aren't excited to see it, then the odds are that they'll buy something that's already available or released prior to the Z10.

Weird. I've been hitting refresh and, so far, I see that I can learn Android development and get a great deal on a Jitterbug. If BlackBerry can't bother to tell me about their new phone while I'm on THIS site, their campaign comes off as a little shortsighted.

arrrgggghhh.....

First rule of Marketing, do not spend tangible dollars on something people can't get. As an example, you will not See a single automaker run a commercial about a car that is not available to buy, even thou it has been showcased or "revealed" at some autoshow months prior ....EVER!!! Here in Canada we did not see a single commercial until Feb 5th, after that all he!! broke loose.

Second, the ads you see at the top of your page have NOTHING to do with BB or CB, but everything to do with the sites you visit most frequently, your region and Google!!!

[hauger]

I'm North of the 49th

You won't see any advertisement if you are in the US yet, no sense in advertising something you can't get for another couple weeks. Once they launch in the US you'll get swamped with marketing.

That makes no sense. For a case study, look at Sony's PSOne marketing push pre-release. It is a classic study in a company entering a market they've never been associated with and using expert level marketing to generate significant buzz both pre-release and afterwards.

[RubberChicken76]

Such a visceral response. I'm in Canada, near Toronto, and yes, I watch television.

I'm in Toronto myself. And I too watch television.

Having said that, I've seen exactly zero commercials, maybe it's my fault for watching the wrong channels. I have heard some radio spots, but they have been run by Bell

Cooperative marketing - SmallBusiness.com: The free small business wiki sourcebook

To the guy who said he sees banner ads all over the Web, that means nothing. I once watched a show and saw Wolf Appliances, so did a quick search for them. Next thing I saw was Wolf Appliances banners everywhere.

That's how google became a huge company

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdWords

I have seen those print ads at Futureshop and whatnot, again though, a poor way to generate buzz.

It's called retail advertising and is one factor of a marketing plan. Not designed to generate buzz. Designed to drive people into stores to buy in conjunction with other marketing initatives.

So I guess it boils down to myself just not watching the right television, although I would consider my viewing to be pretty average.

I consider myself to be average and see commercials plenty. My luck or yours I guess

[RubberChicken76]

That makes no sense. For a case study, look at Sony's PSOne marketing push pre-release. It is a classic study in a company entering a market they've never been associated with and using expert level marketing to generate significant buzz both pre-release and afterwards.

And also very expensive. IIRC, they spent $500 million in 1995 dollars and could afford it. It was like Microsoft spending billions more on the first XBox (and partly into the 360) than they ever made.

BlackBerry needs to be a bit more strategic than dropping half billion dollar pre-launch campaigns.

[Cale M]

arrrgggghhh.....

Calm down, it'll be okay...

First rule of Marketing, do not spend tangible dollars on something people can't get. As an example, you will not See a single automaker run a commercial about a car that is not available to buy, even thou it has been showcased or "revealed" at some autoshow months prior ....EVER!!! Here in Canada we did not see a single commercial until Feb 5th, after that all he!! broke loose.

I do not agree. First Rule of Tech Marketing is making sure your customer base knows about your soon-to-be-released products before they run out and buy a competitor's.

Second, the ads you see at the top of your page have NOTHING to do with BB or CB, but everything to do with the sites you visit most frequently, your region and Google!!!

We all know how banner ads work. It's not just frequency but also timing. Recency is given priority over frequency. But that doesn't matter since I'm pretty sure this IS the site I visit most frequently. If not number one, then at least in the top two.

[hauger]

And also very expensive. IIRC, they spent $500 million in 1995 dollars and could afford it. It was like Microsoft spending billions more on the first XBox (and partly into the 360) than they ever made.

BlackBerry needs to be a bit more strategic than dropping half billion dollar pre-launch campaigns.

True and a good point. As a counter point though, there are a significant amount of negatively slanted articles available to the US consumer right now with no balancing positive messages from the company. By waiting until the product actually releases to start generating buzz, BB runs a significant risk. Without a doubt, if the release falls flat during the opening days, you can bet the farm the media will rip the company and launch to shreds. At that point, post release marketing will have that much more of a hill to climb. I hope it doesn't happen that way though. To avoid it, there has to be more than a pre-release marketing push, the company should be trying its hardest to secure positive news stories and reviews to get the talking heads talking about the Z10.

Regarding Canadian marketing, maybe there are a lot of commercials. Like I said, I haven't seen them, or at least if they are on while I've watched a show, I haven't noticed them. In some respects, that's even worse.

[Good OL MC]

I haven't seen much in the way of advertising for BB10 yet (in the states) but I've definitely seen and overheard a buzz about it. That proves exactly nothing but I think things are alright for now in areas where the OS hasn't been released yet. It still isn't happening for a few weeks but I would expect a ramp up soon.

[ibpluto]

Such a visceral response. I'm in Canada, near Toronto, and yes, I watch television. Having said that, I've seen exactly zero commercials, maybe it's my fault for watching the wrong channels. I have heard some radio spots, but they have been run by Bell. To the guy who said he sees banner ads all over the Web, that means nothing. I once watched a show and saw Wolf Appliances, so did a quick search for them. Next thing I saw was Wolf Appliances banners everywhere. I have seen those print ads at Futureshop and whatnot, again though, a poor way to generate buzz.

So I guess it boils down to myself just not watching the right television, although I would consider my viewing to be pretty average.

If your watching a lot of US stations you may not see any. I watch TSN, CBC, Global when I see them all. When I watch Dicovery or SPIKE, I see nothing

[ibpluto]

I do not agree. First Rule of Tech Marketing is making sure your customer base knows about your soon-to-be-released products before they run out and buy a competitor's.

You don't need to agree, but I've been in Marketing for almost 20 years ....... might have come across this sort of thing a time or two

[RubberChicken76]

This is a cool discussion, BTW. Regardless of opinions