Brand Audit: BlackBerry

Josianne Caceres
Xavier Cebria
Hasan Chaaban
Maite Echeverria
Rahul Trivedi
External Analysis
Introduction

• Research In Motion => Founded in 1984 in

Waterloo ON, Canada
• Co-CEO => Mike Lazaridis, Jim Balsillie
• Products=> BlackBerry, BlackBerry
Enterprise Server, BlackBerry Internet
Service
• Revenues => $15 Billion in 2010

• Line of mobile-email and smartphones since

1999
• Revolutionized “Push” mobile emailing
system since 2000
• 17.9% market share of worldwide
smartphone sales in 2010
Paradigm Shift
Environment (1)

 Smartphone market more than quadrupling in

next 4 years

All major smartphone OS players to record

increase in sales of devices

Symbian and Android based phones clear

leaders by 2014

Around102 million RIM devices to be sold in

2014 ; approximately thrice of its sales in 2009

Forecast: Mobile Communications Device Open OS Sales to End Users

by OS (Thousands of Units) Source: Gartner (August 2010)
 OS 2009 2010 2011 2014
Symbian 80,876.30 107,662.40 141,278.60 264,351.80
Android 6,798.40 47,462.10 91,937.70 259,306.40
Research In Motion 34,346.80 46,922.90 62,198.20 102,579.50
iOS 24,889.80 41,461.80 70,740.00 130,393.00
Windows Phone 15,031.10 12,686.50 21,308.80 34,490.20
Other Operating Systems 10,431.90 12,588.10 26,017.30 84,452.90
Total Market 172,374.30 268,783.70 413,480.50 875,573.80
Environment (2)

 The big three: Symbian, RIM & iOS lose

percentage market share

Android gains heavily; around 25% market

share by 2014

Windows Mobile gains too; maintains 5th

position with around 10% share in 2014

RIM slips slightly with -3.5% change in marke

share between 2010-’14; around 17% market
share in 2014
Competition
Apple Nokia Samsung HTC

Endorsement Endorsement Endorsement Endorsement

Numerical Names to OS Emotional
Naming Naming
 Competition

Android Symbian iOS Windows Phone

Multiple devices: Multiple devices: Brand devices: Multiple devices:

 PC - SLC
 BlackBerry products

 Smart Phones
 Tablets

Android OS changes smartphone life cycle

The Consumer
 Direct sales to corporations: B2B channel
 Users: Executives, Intellectuals
 People valuing productivity, domain, control of
their daily activities, seek to have their office in
their hands
 Trend towards a more playful device (BB
messenger, games, touch screens…)
Internal Analysis
Brand Identity

 BlackBerry Value Proposition:

 Emotional - Sensation: Goes beyond email
functionality
 Rational - Promise:
 Real-time delivery of information
 Instant access and connectivity
 Long battery life
 Brand Identity - Logo

 Before 2001: focus on mailing solution

 Afterwards, shift towards connectivity, active network (or group),
movement, flexibility..
 Suggestion of precision, speed, boldness and direct while providing
approachability in a contemporary way.
 Better reflection of the end-user’s lifestyle both professionally and
personally.
Internal Analysis:
Communications
 Medium:
 Blackberry official TV ads
 Co ads and prints with mobile service providers
 AT&T, Vodafone, Virgin Mobile Canada, Vodafone Ghana…
 Allows for local ads
 Digital Media “BlackBerry Community”
 Facebook official page (6M followers)
 YouTube official channel (32K subscribers, 15M views)
 Twitter (330K followers)
 Inside BlackBerry official blog
 Conferences and congresses (Mobile World Congress)
Internal Analysis:
Communications
 Message: (Phase I)

”Best wireless e-mail solution”

1. No emotional side
2. Purely technical
3. Targeted professionals
 Internal Analysis:
Communications
 Message: (Phase II)
News
More Sports
“More to do”
Navigation Weather

1. Emotional message
 Colorful
Photos Travel
 Active
 Dynamic
Video Games
 professional Music
Internal Analysis:
Communications
 Message: (Phase III)

“Love what you do, do what you love”

1. Responding to competition
2. Refuting the misconception (work only)
3. Emotional & Technical messages
 Internal Analysis:
Communications
 Message: (Phase III)
“Love what you do, do what you love”

Faster, easier browsing

Drumbeats and heartbeats Cleaner, tighter
Beauty and Brains Web-presense
Celebrating differences
Music culture Social feed-out
Teammates and best-mates Inspiring
Connect
Internal Analysis:
Communications
 Message: BlackBerry PlayBook

Finally fulfilling the message, or creating a new one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx_wdg-BSaY
 Internal Analysis: Experience
Brand Loyalty Customer Satisfaction

Blackberr Iphone/An Blackberr Iphone/An

y droid y droid

Underlying Reasons?

Mandated by corporations -> Pushed on users

●

Non-Product Related Only 35% satisfied with “mandatory” smart phones

●

Lack of “Cool” factor

●

Experiential Apps Download: 73% BB < 5 apps Vs 72% IP > 10 apps

●
 Brand Architecture
Corporate Brand

 Investing in recognizable, meaningful sub brands

Monolitic

Brand
Endorsement

Sub-brands

Torch Bold Pearl Storm Curve PlayBoo

k
Diagnosis

Message Perception
Pin to Pin emailing
Work
BB Messenger

Fun Efficient OS
Strategic Recommendations
 Invest more in R&D: Develop expertise in
 Touch screen technology
 Launch a new brand targetting non-business users

Play
 Enhance the applications library
 Promote the GreenBerry concept
 Engage with 3rd party game developing companies
(exclusivity)