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BlackBerry jam the accelerator
They ask, is this the new BlackBerry?, but thats like asking if something is the new Coke, or the new Nike, or even the new iPod. The answer is in the question itself, with BlackBerry being the benchmark that each new converged device to hit the market is measured against – some brands simply become so powerful that the identity of the product is synonymous with the companys name.
But how does the manufacturer, Research in Motion (RIM), respond to that question? With a new BlackBerry, of course. Launched on May 3, the latest addition to its line-up, the BlackBerry Curve, comes with an enhanced media player and camera application as part of its revamped multimedia suite.
RIM is banking on this continued roll-out of innovative features to help it fulfil its own prophecy that it will be the first to feed the anticipated boom in demand for smart devices.
Nothing beats experience
Despite a raft of new devices in a sector it once had all to itself, RIMs handle on brand and marketing has helped it keep a grip on the mobile email marketplace. New products from mainstream manufacturers such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and HTC have not diminished RIMs share of the global smartphone market. There are currently eight million BlackBerry users worldwide, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of the smartphone market.
But smartphones still occupy a relatively niche sector. Penetration within the UK market is just two per cent. Analysts predict that figure will surge to a whopping 80 per cent in the next five to 10 years. RIM believes its BlackBerry options will see it well-placed to flourish in this boom time.
Promoting cultural diversity
From its origins in Waterloo, Canada, in 1984 to its arrival in Europe in 2001, RIM has tried to match its growing global presence with a cultural diversity in staff and locations for its various company headquarters. >
RIMs UK engine room is housed in a monolithical glass building that cuts the Slough skyline and is every bit as impressive as the devices themselves. RIM head of marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa James Hart is, true to the companys cultural ethos, an American in the UK representing a Canadian company.
Hart explains: Most people here speak one or more languages besides English, so theres a real European feel to it.
Four or five years ago in Europe there were only 10 or 12 staff now there are more than 500. We often describe ourselves as a company that is in hyper growth as opposed to high growth and that is because of the amount of expansion we see quarter-on-quarter. Our turnover for last year was a fraction over $3 billion (£1.5 billion).
As well as the expected European smartphone boom, emerging Middle Eastern markets in Turkey, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are ripe for the taking. RIM knows it has to be sure of what makes the BlackBerry brand one of a kind.
I get asked about that all the time, admits Hart, who reckons the reasons for its brand success are threefold. The first point is push email. Its usually instant, depending on mobile coverage. But its very rare youll find a place that doesnt have BlackBerry coverage. We have relationships with 275 networks around the world. I think push email gives you comfort, whether its directly for work or as part of the work-life balance, says Hart.
The second point is BlackBerrys security measures. We started off with security accreditation from the Canadian defence department and then the United States defence department. We then spent a lot of years trying to get accreditations globally and were very pleased with a breakthrough about nine months ago which meant the security services of the UK can now use the BlackBerry.
He adds: If BlackBerry is secure enough for the armed services, then its absolutely secure enough for your companys corporate data.
The third factor is scaleability, according to Hart – the user experience is consistent for self-employed single users and huge corporations teeming with staff across many continents. The companys IT administrator controls the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) like we control our desktops and our latest BES enables more than 140 commands where they can kill the device if its lost, wipe it clean and disable the memory card – they can even prevent pictures being copied.
The police get smart
One of the best examples of how BlackBerry has changed government departments, Hart says, is the West Yorkshire police force.
The devices time-saving capabilities have seen officers increase their time on the streets without the need to constantly trek back to the station to complete paperwork. The BlackBerry devices they use are complete with secure password and encryption, providing remote access to the Police National Computer as well as complementing the use of the established Airwave digital radio service.
A measure of the confidence RIM has in its products strengths is its creation of software that replicates the BlackBerry experience for the handsets of rival manufacturers.
Agreements have been established so far with Nokia, Symbian, HTC, PalmSource, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Microsoft, Motorola and Siemens.
Hart explains: We recognise users need a choice and that some want to have their preferred handset but still get the BlackBerry experience, so we have something known as the BlackBerry Connect program ? a software licensing program weve done with the major OEMs, says Hart.
It means that when you turn on a non-BlackBerry device, the screen will look the same as a BlackBerry and you will benefit from all its features, but its in the casing of another handset.
Rather than sales of this alternative product line creating a cut in BlackBerry handset sales, Hart argues it all comes down to user choice and how BlackBerry can meet that in every way possible. In line with the user-chooser phenomenon, were trying to cater for the requirements of our customers without diluting our brand, says Hart.
So the avenues for us are three-fold – the handheld avenue, the software avenue, and services revenue. All of them are important, not just the handset itself. But what of the competition from Microsoft, and its latest mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.0 – We recognise Windows Mobile is going to be a force in the market and we welcome the competition, he says.
I think its an important thing. At the end of the day, the user of the company will decide what is the best experience for them.
Beyond businesses
Introducing BlackBerry to consumers and small business users – taking BlackBerry out of the boardroom – has also been a paramount strategy in keeping the brand at the top of the ladder. This has been delivered through the BlackBerry Internet Solution (BIS).
This is more for small businesses or individuals and the idea is they get the same BlackBerry experience, explains Hart.
You can have up to 10 personal email accounts and go to any of the main retail outlets, choose a BlackBerry on BIS, and you then receive your regular email like you would at work.
Whats brought that to life is the Pearl, which we launched in September last year.
This was transformational for us, because it had a camera and it was candybar-shaped, making it more consumer and prosumer-centric, as opposed to the PDA form of our other devices.
The Pearl is the first example of our focus on creating a work-life balance. The prosumer market is huge and thats one of our focuses. But our origins come from business and well continue to invest in that.
Training in the field
RIM acknowledges the importance of its network operator partners, and in turn, their indirect partners. Evidently, selling such a specialist device to a niche market requires specialist sales support, which Hart says RIM provides amply.
We extensively use field trainers to help stores and retail outlets, Hart says.
We train individuals and work with carriers. We do a lot of peripheral things ourselves, like giving distributors access to web page tools. Our websites are very comprehensive to help individuals get up to speed.
One shortcoming in BlackBerrys supposed worldwide popularity is its lack of penetration in the UK and European markets compared to America, and this is where work is to be done.
Hart says this is down to the origins of choices, with European customers worshipping fashion while those in the US are reared on a productivity pager culture.
We have a single brand, but the way we execute it is different here to the way we do it in America. Thats to do with the brands life cycle, and where we are with it, Hart says.
Aided awareness of the brand in America is probably 100 per cent, but thats not the case in Europe. The UK is probably more advanced but theres a lot of education to be done from our perspective. Our strategy has to take into account what is happening in the industry and reflect its fashion consciousness.
Two per cent of the Western European market is penetrated with mobile email. In the UK its a bit more than two per cent, but its still just the tip of the iceberg.
Welcoming competition is about more than just being nice, Hart says, but it helps educate the market on the growing value of smart devices, whether they are BlackBerry or not.
We also recognise that were not going to be able to cover everything in the eco-system of mobile data and there will be times that we have to acquire systems, he adds.
RIM acquired voice mobility provider Ascendent Systems in March 2006, enabling it to extend corporate desk phone functionality to mobile users on their wireless handset.
We see that the market is expanding substantially and its important for people to have a choice in devices. But there is a benefit for us in being first in that market, Hart says.