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Blackberry tanks... same old same old

Blackberry (previously known as Research in Motion) crashed 27 per cent last week.  The drop came on the company reporting a 84-million-dollar net loss for the quarter.

It's not that surprising to be honest. Leaving aside the technical aspects of the company and its products, Blackberry simply has not stepped it up on the marketing side.

The launch of BB10 generated some coverage for the company, but fell far short of generating buzz in the market.

The Blackberry website, which I've been critical of in the past, remains the same as it was when the company was named Research in Motion.  The marketing effort put into rebranding the company is nothing short of .... well, nothing.

It's clear that Blackberry doesn't believe in marketing as a component to their future success and instead are hoping that being an alternative to the iPhone and Android will be enough to sustain themselves.

My personal opinion is that start-ups can get away with sloppy marketing, but not the big boys. If you want to play on the world-stage and compete with iPhone and Android, then it's essential to cultivate a brand that can compete.

If the iPhone is a BMW and the Android is Audi, Blackberry, because of its lack of marketing, is seen as the Kia Rio. When your product costs roughly the same as the others, ain't no one going to be buying the Kia Rio!

Kia Rio
BMW
Audi



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