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Blackberry in the corporate environment has earned the nickname ͞Crack Berry͟ in reference to the
Crack Cocaine as the users feel that they cannot live without it. The blackberry since then has been nick
named differently in different parts of the world. The most commonly used name is ͞BB͟ for BlackBerry.

It was RIM (Research In Motion), a telecommunication and wireless device manufacturing Canadian
company that started its operations in 1984 and then later on went on to launch the revolutionary
product, the Black-Berry Smartphone in 1996. But if you look at the picture shown you will not be able
to recognize the instrument. This was the original BlackBerry that looked liked a pager and also
functioned like one except that it was different from the rest of the pagers which supported a two-way
exchange of e-mails.

First mover advantage refers to the phenomenon whereby companies can achieve a considerable lead
time over their competitors by being the first in a host of activities such as entering a market,
introducing a new product, launching a new service, creating a distinctive positioning, creating a unique
community or developing an enticing web presence.

  : Since then BlackBerry continued to launch a series of devices running on CDMA, GSM and
iDEN networks. Initially making headway by concentrating on its e-mail feature it then brought in a
bundle of exclusive features such as mobile telephone, push e-mail, portable media player, Wi-Fi, Web
browsing, etc.

But it didn͛t stop with this. It went on to create a complete

revolution in the mobile telephone devices. It introduced the
BlackBerry Enterprise Server which enabled the blackberry to
have enhanced e-mail usage over a WAP access and higher
network security. Today the BlackBerry Internet Service is
supported in 91 countries and provides its customers with value
additions like creating their personal intranet and also the
famous BBM (BlackBerry Messaging).


  : From the launch of the Smartphone in 2002 Blackberry has grown to have 32 million users
around the globe. But its success came along with a lot of criticism. The touch screen model BlackBerry
Storm has faced bashing on all grounds. Recently the UAE United Arab Emirate officials say they plan to
suspend Blackberry Messenger, e-mail and Web browser functions, saying they pose a threat to national
se-curity because they cannot be monitored. The stock is down, even the loyal users are getting antsy
wanting for an updated OS, more applications and new spec-rich hardware, and potential BlackBerry
buyers have more competing products to look at than ever.




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Not surprisingly, many competitors have since then tried to imitate those features in their own
handsets. But since the introduction of Blackberry in 2002, it has been the market leader in smart
phones till today. Blackberry's stranglehold on smart phone market was strongly challenged by Apple
with its introduction of iPhone in June 2007.


 creates trust and an emotional attachment to a product or company. This attachment then
causes a brand͛s market to make decisions based, at least in part, upon emotion--
not necessarily just for logical or intellectual reasons. Branding helps make purchasing decisions easier.
In this way, branding delivers a very important benefit. In a commodity market where features and
benefits are virtually indistinguishable, a strong brand will help customers trust it and create a set of
expectations about its products without even knowing the specifics of product features.

Brand positioning helps to "fence off" customers from the competition and protect market share while
building mind share. Once a brand has mind share, the customers will automatically think of the brand
first when they think of that particular brand͛s product category. A solid branding strategy
communicates a strong, consistent message about the value of the company. A strong brand helps to
sell value and the intangibles that surround products.

Brand experience is conceptualized as sensations, feelings, cognitions, and behavioral responses evoked
by brand-related stimuli that are part of a brand͛s design and identity, packaging, communications, and
environments.

 
  

 

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Blackberry͛s world-wide success in the smart-phone category may seem like a premier example of brand
planning. But according to 
 
  , VP of Brand Marketing at Research In Motion (RIM), it is
really a story about Blackberry͛s ability to shift when necessary to meet the market͛s changing needs.

A key element for RIM͛s success in building the Blackberry brand was being able to respond quickly to
opportunities. In fact, BlackBerry wasn͛t what RIM did originally. RIM set out to build pagers. BlackBerry
was software, and in spite of the company͛s best efforts to brand the device under the name RIM and
the software as Blackberry͙customers didn͛t agree. The most powerful brand tool is that a product
does what it is supposed to do. People got passionate about what it does. They wanted to associate
their device, what they hold in their hand, with the brand name.

The key to the BlackBerry Brand is it does what it promises. BlackBerry wasn͛t afraid to let the
customers own the brand.

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That became the essence of the brand. Blackberry became a status symbol. A confirmation for Type A͛s
that their lifestyle works. A way to stay connected to work at all times.

The brand became a symbol of the user. Emotion selling was the key. That is important to remember in
B2B. Emotional selling should not be overlooked. The message to sales managers was: What does it say
about your organization if you don͛t have one? What image does it give you? The marketing strategy
was based on a status appeal.

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Blackberry was also careful to play the channel card well. They sold the devices through the larger
carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile and let the carriers do the marketing. Carriers had the budgets, so Blackberry
leveraged that. Blackberry put the brand almost entirely in the carriers͛ hands for 5-6 years.

r $  #


Blackberry invested in the channel to provide sales training. They realized it was essential to teach
retailers how to sell the product and carry out the brand message effectively. % c&

  
  


Blackberry͛s shifting brand strategy reflected the change that happens in many technology and device
companies who start off selling features, and then become aware of the brand͛s heart and soul as the
brand gains credibility.

In the beginning, Blackberry marketed its features. Then the message shifted to become about Business
Success. That campaign merged into one about Life Success.

The value promise of BlackBerry became that it͛s a tool to let you live your life.

 
 
   


As the device went global, Blackberry again learned and adapted to its market.In the UK, the message
that was similar to the US message about gaining status by having a Blackberry worked well.


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However, is some European countries, the status image didn͛t resonate. The message became about
taking control of time. Work and Life balance. In Asia, and Latin American the message was about
efficient use of time.By featuring TV celebrities in ads talking about what their Blackberries meant to
them, Blackberry sent the message that it was selling success.

  


The shift in thinking from ͞What does Blackberry do?͟ to ͞What does Blackberry do for me͟ was a
powerful introspection on the Brand for the Blackberry team.

Blackberry͛s final piece of advice was:       


 
 
    


This great e-mail user experience got RIM to where it is today. It needs to focus on key experiences of its
consumers. But email alone is clearly not enough anymore because there are new domains for
Smartphone utility out there which must be exploited to attract new legions to BlackBerry especially
with its competitors like Apple s I-Phone, Sam-sung Mobile, HTC, Sony Ericsson soon catching up and
eating its market share especially in the Smart-phone segment. RIM must build and perfect other
experiences - not just enable them, but integrate them so seamlessly with the device, network
capabilities and the existing tools and processes in use, that the added convenience and saved time
generate unique value. They need to protect their enterprise base by coming up with innovations that
appeal to the end user. The key is to innovate again. Go deeper into the horizontal enterprise processes
- and make sure what one creates matters to the end-user, not just to the IT expert or the CFO. It's the
grassroots who are now facilitating the advance of competitors into the turf.

From the experience of BlackBerry we can take home that it͛s not just enough to be the best, but to re-
main the best and continue to innovate is a bigger challenge. For this brands need to constantly be in
touch with their customers and track their competitors.

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A cult brand is one that develops a strong following from a group of people who are devoutly loyal to it
and search for the new ways to experience the brand, and then share those experiences with the other

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members of the group. Loyalty is derived from a strong emotional connection to the brand. Blackberry is
a good example of such a brand. Loyal users believe they cannot live without their blackberries that
provide access to e-mail, telephone, the internet and more. Members of the Blackberry brand cult band
together as the members of the same ͚club͛. Even US President Barrack Obama is a member of the
blackberry cult. Upon his election in 2008, the U.S government had to find a way to ensure the
president͛s Blackberry was secure (originally, he was told his beloved Blackberry did not meet the
security͛s requirement), because he refused to give it up. In the minds of Blackberry loyalists, ͞You are
either with us or against us͟. The opposite extreme came from Apple iPhone customers who position it
differently but no less than Blackberry͛s customer. It͛s an interesting battle and to date both brands
have developed strongholds in their respective niches.




The RIM corporate marketing team recognized that the BlackBerry brand faced a number of challenges
and opportunities as it headed into the new decade. Many of these, such as brand control and identity
consistency, were simply the result of the brand's successful growth and rapid expansion. Others were
tied to ever-changing and advancing technologies, and the effect these were having on the evolution of
the overall mobile communication marketplace and the impact on end-user wants, needs, and
behaviors. RIM knew that its flagship brand would quickly become irrelevant if it stood for nothing more
than the cool technology and email functionalityͶboth being highly transient. BlackBerry needed a clear
definition, a new positioning for an expanding user base, and new tools to help manage its identity
(often in hard-to-control third-party situations).

     "#     


The RIM/BlackBerry team led the brand's repositioning. Two major strategic shifts were made: (1)
broadening the brand͛s range of authority beyond email functionality to a promise of real-time, instant
access, and connectivity; and (2) defining a true brand personality to better enable an emotional
connection between brand and user.

With this new brand strategy in place, there was no doubt that BlackBerry needed to change its entire
identity. The decision to change was further reinforced by research revealing that even current users
didn't believe the mark facilitated recognition or recall of the brand. A packaging system for BlackBerry
accessories was designed to accommodate the brand's move into the consumer market and retail
channels (predominantly mobile carrier retail stores). % î&

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ȑ BlackBerry was named one of the Best Brands of 2007 by BtoB magazine.
ȑ Since 2004, Research In Motion Limited (behind its BlackBerry brand) has been one of the
outstanding performers on Wall Street, with a 2-for-1 stock split in 2004 and 3-for-1 split in
2007; it has become the "must-have" business tool for the twenty-first century.
ȑ BlackBerry is the fourteenth most valuable global brand according to the 2010 BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Global Brands study by Millward Brown, posting a 12% increase in value over
2009. It was not even listed in the Top 100 five years ago.
ȑ In 2010, BlackBerry was named one of Landor's Top 10 Breakaway Brands, showing a 57%
increase in brand strength between 2006 and 2009. % r&


 
 

FORD MUSTANG-

‘ Join Mustang owners Club

‘ Attend Mustang owners events
‘ Purchase Mustang Merchandise

Apple/iPod

‘ I love the touch and feel of the products.

‘ I enjoy playing with all the products.
‘ I am part of a ͞smarter͟ community.
‘ This brand intrigues me. % &


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x
x  

‘ What Blackberry Teaches Us About Global Branding, 2010 % c&, Accessed from
http://e3network.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/what-blackberry-teaches-us-about-
global-branding( November 9th ,2010)
‘ First-mover advantage and branding: Apple versus Blackberry,2010 % î&, Accessed from
http://www.asianbrandstrategy.com/2009/10/first-mover-advantage-and-branding.asp
(November 10th ,2010)
‘ Building Brand Value the Playboy Way by Susan Gunelius,2010 % r& Accessed from
http://books.google.co.in/books (November 10th ,2010)

‘ Category First. Brand Second,2010 % &, Accessed from

http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2009/09/category-first-brand-second.html
(November 10th ,2010)

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