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So another analyst has slashed their rating on RIM. It's unfortunate to see the market turning on RIM, but as much as I hate to say it, it's probably justified. Their recent acquisition of Cellmania is a bad sign in the sense that it clearly tells you that they do not have the in-house capacity to keep pace with the competition... ergo they had to buy another company to try and keep up. While it may be a good thing down the road, right now it tells you they are clearly on their heels (at least in the consumer space).
I recently got to use an android phone and I've got to say... I think it's better than RIM by a long shot and it even trumps the Apple iPhone.
When competition is neck-and-neck, it's the small user-centric features that will often put you over the top. What I was impressed with when it came to the Android was how instead of static wallpaper, like RIM and Apple have on their interfaces, the Android has a motion backdrop.
Something as simple as that creates an entirely different user experience. I have an Apple iPod Touch (basically same as the iPhone without the phone) and after using the Android, going back to the iPod definitely felt like moving to a less advanced user experience.
I will say though, RIM continues to hold dominance when it comes to bandwidth on the carrier network, which could in the long run make it a winner. But if history teaches us anything it's that consumer demand tends to drive innovation... so I expect carriers will figure out a way to deal with bandwidth capacity in order to keep pace with consumer demand for iPhone and Android.
Anyway, I don't think RIM's PR efforts have been lacking (although I think their marketing efforts have been off the mark - this is a perfect case study of how marketing and PR truly are two different things). In fact, I'd give RIM's PR efforts a thumbs up... they've been out there engaging the press on a regular basis and pushing the strengths behind RIM's carrier expertise.
I think Apple's PR has been middle of the road (but as always their marketing efforts are top notch).
And Google's PR efforts (and marketing efforts) have been pretty none existent for the time being. Typical google though, they tend to favor a more grassroots movement.
Anyway, RIM's in a tough spot. Even if they project out to future products that will trump Google and Apple, all that does is erode existing sales and people stop buying current products in anticipation of future products.
This is a great lesson for PR folks out there. You have to think strategically. You can't just sit back and wait for a business to hand you news items to promote. You have to understand the industry, understand the trends, and advise management of how you see those trends impacting the brand and PR efforts in the future - and then cross your fingers that management listens and factors your advise in to their operational decisions.
And even if they don't listen, you have to be thinking about various outcomes and how you will respond to those outcomes so that when they happen, you've got a proposed set of messages to help you communicate your position in the market.
I feel sorry for the RIM PR folks, because I think they are very good at what they do. I think they have been doing the right things - actively engaging the media, putting CXOs in front of the media for over a year now, and highlighting their existing strengths. And I think they are a big reason RIM isn't trading in a $25-40 range right now. But they can only do so much... RIM needs stronger products and stronger marketing to stay competitive.
So another analyst has slashed their rating on RIM. It's unfortunate to see the market turning on RIM, but as much as I hate to say it, it's probably justified. Their recent acquisition of Cellmania is a bad sign in the sense that it clearly tells you that they do not have the in-house capacity to keep pace with the competition... ergo they had to buy another company to try and keep up. While it may be a good thing down the road, right now it tells you they are clearly on their heels (at least in the consumer space).
I recently got to use an android phone and I've got to say... I think it's better than RIM by a long shot and it even trumps the Apple iPhone.
When competition is neck-and-neck, it's the small user-centric features that will often put you over the top. What I was impressed with when it came to the Android was how instead of static wallpaper, like RIM and Apple have on their interfaces, the Android has a motion backdrop.
Something as simple as that creates an entirely different user experience. I have an Apple iPod Touch (basically same as the iPhone without the phone) and after using the Android, going back to the iPod definitely felt like moving to a less advanced user experience.
I will say though, RIM continues to hold dominance when it comes to bandwidth on the carrier network, which could in the long run make it a winner. But if history teaches us anything it's that consumer demand tends to drive innovation... so I expect carriers will figure out a way to deal with bandwidth capacity in order to keep pace with consumer demand for iPhone and Android.
Anyway, I don't think RIM's PR efforts have been lacking (although I think their marketing efforts have been off the mark - this is a perfect case study of how marketing and PR truly are two different things). In fact, I'd give RIM's PR efforts a thumbs up... they've been out there engaging the press on a regular basis and pushing the strengths behind RIM's carrier expertise.
I think Apple's PR has been middle of the road (but as always their marketing efforts are top notch).
And Google's PR efforts (and marketing efforts) have been pretty none existent for the time being. Typical google though, they tend to favor a more grassroots movement.
Anyway, RIM's in a tough spot. Even if they project out to future products that will trump Google and Apple, all that does is erode existing sales and people stop buying current products in anticipation of future products.
This is a great lesson for PR folks out there. You have to think strategically. You can't just sit back and wait for a business to hand you news items to promote. You have to understand the industry, understand the trends, and advise management of how you see those trends impacting the brand and PR efforts in the future - and then cross your fingers that management listens and factors your advise in to their operational decisions.
And even if they don't listen, you have to be thinking about various outcomes and how you will respond to those outcomes so that when they happen, you've got a proposed set of messages to help you communicate your position in the market.
I feel sorry for the RIM PR folks, because I think they are very good at what they do. I think they have been doing the right things - actively engaging the media, putting CXOs in front of the media for over a year now, and highlighting their existing strengths. And I think they are a big reason RIM isn't trading in a $25-40 range right now. But they can only do so much... RIM needs stronger products and stronger marketing to stay competitive.
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