Wow, what a day for RIM. It got slaughtered on the markets and dropped 21 per cent down to 21.75 a share. Hard to believe analysts were only a year ago pegging this stock to rise as high as 150 bucks a share.
I've blogged a fair bit about RIM:
RIM takes a beating yet again
RIM disappoints again
RIM quarter disappoints
GMP takes a Torch to RIM target
As you can tell, I've been pretty negative on RIM. Yet, even I'm shocked to see the stock trading at 27 bucks. I can't remember for sure, but I think I sold my RIM around the 50 bucks a share level (thank God I did).
Anyway, I guess the reason I find RIM so interesting is that I think a huge part of their problem is PR / marketing. Sure, people talk about how they need new products, but I really wonder if that's what they actually need.
I mean, they could come out with something equivalent to the IPhone and I don't think it would change anything. I think people would still perceive Apple as 'cool' and RIM as 'antiquated'.
It sucks to be honest with you. RIM was, in my opinion, Canada's best tech company and watching them fizzle out of existence (which is what is happening to them in my opinion) is a sad sight.
I wish I could say this was going to end well. Heck, at 27 bucks a share I'd love to jump in and buy some. But I just can't invest in a company that doesn't seem to realize what its core problem is.
Do I expect RIM to come out with new products over the coming years? Sure. But that's the problem, they will try to re-engineer themselves out of this mess. The problem is that such strategy is a 50/50 bet at best.
I'd much rather see them get their act together on the marketing front. Get rid of the 'black' web sites and for the love of God stop emphasizing speeds and feeds.
Look at this 'new' splash image they have on the homepage of their blackberry Web site...
I mean, what an absolute mess. It's hard to read and the pieces all look like junk of some kind.
Until they realize that their problem is marketing they are doomed. That image above not only doesn't get anyone excited, it actually turns people off. They are actually marketing people AWAY from their product.
That image alone says 'If you buy our product you'll get something really confusing and ugly like this."
The good news is that RIM could give its company and products a face lift over night and be reborn as a fresh new company (without having to create a new portfolio). Apple isn't dominating because they are better than RIM, they are dominating because they have utterly crushed RIM when it comes to marketing.
I'm not holding my breath though that RIM sees this as the problem. If they haven't realized it by this point, I don't see what would open their eyes to the real problem moving forward (they'll continue to believe the issue is they just need a billion apps like Apple has or something).
I've blogged a fair bit about RIM:
RIM takes a beating yet again
RIM disappoints again
RIM quarter disappoints
GMP takes a Torch to RIM target
As you can tell, I've been pretty negative on RIM. Yet, even I'm shocked to see the stock trading at 27 bucks. I can't remember for sure, but I think I sold my RIM around the 50 bucks a share level (thank God I did).
Anyway, I guess the reason I find RIM so interesting is that I think a huge part of their problem is PR / marketing. Sure, people talk about how they need new products, but I really wonder if that's what they actually need.
I mean, they could come out with something equivalent to the IPhone and I don't think it would change anything. I think people would still perceive Apple as 'cool' and RIM as 'antiquated'.
It sucks to be honest with you. RIM was, in my opinion, Canada's best tech company and watching them fizzle out of existence (which is what is happening to them in my opinion) is a sad sight.
I wish I could say this was going to end well. Heck, at 27 bucks a share I'd love to jump in and buy some. But I just can't invest in a company that doesn't seem to realize what its core problem is.
Do I expect RIM to come out with new products over the coming years? Sure. But that's the problem, they will try to re-engineer themselves out of this mess. The problem is that such strategy is a 50/50 bet at best.
I'd much rather see them get their act together on the marketing front. Get rid of the 'black' web sites and for the love of God stop emphasizing speeds and feeds.
Look at this 'new' splash image they have on the homepage of their blackberry Web site...
I mean, what an absolute mess. It's hard to read and the pieces all look like junk of some kind.
Until they realize that their problem is marketing they are doomed. That image above not only doesn't get anyone excited, it actually turns people off. They are actually marketing people AWAY from their product.
That image alone says 'If you buy our product you'll get something really confusing and ugly like this."
The good news is that RIM could give its company and products a face lift over night and be reborn as a fresh new company (without having to create a new portfolio). Apple isn't dominating because they are better than RIM, they are dominating because they have utterly crushed RIM when it comes to marketing.
I'm not holding my breath though that RIM sees this as the problem. If they haven't realized it by this point, I don't see what would open their eyes to the real problem moving forward (they'll continue to believe the issue is they just need a billion apps like Apple has or something).
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