Comments on: BlackBerry Pearl Most Successful BlackBerry Launch Ever

By: The BlackBerry won’t have an Apple competitor as soon as once thought | RIMarkable | The official, unofficial BlackBerry Weblog

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:14:34 +0000

[...] No FCC approval probably means no MacWorld debut which probably means RIM has a bit more time to get it’s marketing around consumer oriented BlackBerry devices worked out. I’ve been critical of RIM on their efforts of the marketing, or lack there of, on the BlackBerry Pearl to first time BlackBerry buying consumers. [...]

By: Robb Dunewood

Robb Dunewood — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:57:12 +0000

I would settle for a consumer marketing campaign period. If RIM does anything that even approaches what Apple does with the iPod, it is game, set, and match for everyone else.

By: Thought

Thought — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:33:57 +0000

Robb: Ahh…that statistic change makes a big difference. You are correct…if the estimate is true, and we really don’t know for sure, then you are correct…RIM needs and wants more than 30 to 40% of Pearl buyers to be new to BB. However, that indeed is at least an opening into the market.

You are also correct: Apple has marketed the heck out of the iPod, and that has made a huge difference.

Now if RIM had a marketing campaign like Apple does with the iPod…well, one can dream…

By: Robb Dunewood

Robb Dunewood — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 03:57:14 +0000

Thought, I made a mistake in this post. I said only 60% to 70% of BlackBerry Pearl users. I actually had this backwards. Only 30% to %40 of BlackBerry Pearl sales were from new BlackBerry subscribers.

I wouldn’t call 30% to 40% new subscriber adoption negative either when existing BlackBerry users are buying the Pearl in droves, however, RIM will have to re-evaluate their consumer marketing campaign, or lack there of, if they truly want to make an entrance into the consumer market. The Pearl not only is catching on with consumers slower than what analyst thought it would, consumers aren’t aren’t aware that the Pearl is the “BlackBerry for them.”

The iPod did take a year to catch on, however, it was a new device and Apple marketed the hell out of it until it did. MP3 playing smartphones aren’t brand new, however the consumer market is still immature. Like I said the other day, RIM is selling an email device that makes phone calls and plays MP3s to a market looking for a mobile phone that can send email and play MP3s.

RIM needs to change this perception with consumers if they are to have a chance in this market. Unfortunately their competitors have a head start on them. That SuperBowl commercial idea that you have, however, could change that overnight.

By: Thought

Thought — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 01:52:57 +0000

Robb: I agree with you that the marketing of the Pearl could have/should have been amped up even more, and certainly Cingular again botched a major BB launch pre-Christmas.

That all being said, what RIM accomplished with the Pearl was really “rimarkable.” For a company like RIM to go off in an entirely new design direction with the success they achieved is really pretty amazing, mistakes and all.

As for those estimates of first time buyers of the Pearl being about 60 to 70%: even that is not necessarily a negative. First, 60 to 70% still amounts to a pretty substantial number. Second, that figure also indicates a rather large degree of current user loyalty and excitement. I am sure when Apple releases a new model of iPod, many of the initial buyers are current iPod owners as well. So that percentage figure can be taken as a feature and not a bug.

Going with the iPod analogy, even that device took about a year or so to really take off in sales.

So it’s still very early in the cycle of RIM’s consumer product line, and some mistakes are to be expected. But measured against realistic expectations, RIM has hit a home run.