But messaging is not the only battle RIM needs to fight: Its devices have been lagging behind as other players enter the smartphone market and dominate with a larger number of applications, better abilities to surf the Internet, and fewer glitches, which is part of what has made RIM’s tech-obsessed attitude ring false in recent months.
“Whoever RIM hires to take on the role of CMO needs to think more holistically about innovation and building value for the customer, and for the business,” said Heather Fraser, a former advertising executive and now director of the Rotman School of Management’s DesignWorks centre. “…The only ‘loyalty’ factor they have going for them now is ‘well-trained thumbs.’ ”
Part of that equation will be re-establishing the reputation for security that initially helped build the brand. Once RIM began to see more competitors in the smartphone game, it wasn’t enough to simply deliver e-mail to a mobile device. The company then focused on the fact that it could deliver reliable, impenetrable service, which was a key for its business-oriented customers. However, as other smartphone devices beefed up security, coupled with BlackBerry outages that threw its server management into doubt last year, RIM’s positioning as the brand for secure smartphone usage has fallen off.
Now, with mobile devices such as phones and especially tablets acting more like traditional personal computers, serving up games and other applications and allowing users to surf the Web even more freely, Evercore’s Mr. Shah believes the same concerns that arose for computer users will begin to appear on other devices: that is, viruses and malware. And that represents an opportunity for RIM.
“At this point, consumers are more excited about the cool Internet things, but in the next couple of years they’re going to be interested in security again,” Mr. Shah said. “…RIM is neglecting one of their biggest strengths, which is that they are built with security. I wish they would get back to marketing themselves as the Volvo of smartphones.”
It’s that reliability that will help it win back the kinds of business people that are currently in the closet with their BlackBerry fandom – or have abandoned it altogether. Even in the advertising world, where creativity rules and many have converted to the cult of Apple, john st.’s Mr. Fleischmann held on to his BlackBerry for years because he believed it was a useful business device.
He recently switched to an iPhone.
With files from reporter Sean Silcoff in Ottawa
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RIM’S STAR FACTOR
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RIM’s impact with Canadian consumers is on the wane. A new survey released by Ipsos Reid on Tuesday highlights the problem. The firm has developed its first ever Ipsos Influence Index, to track the most influential brands in Canada. The top 10 include RIM competitors Apple and Google (which makes the Android operating system for smartphones) as well as other tech brands such as Facebook and Google’s YouTube, but RIM does not make the list.
RIM is number 13 on the index’s results, which were determined by polling 1,013 consumers across the country. They were judged on nine attributes to measure influence, including how relevant, leading-edge, and trustworthy they are.
“For a brand … to impact people in their daily lives is not an easy thing to do,” Ipsos Reid president Steve Levy said. “It’s not a question of how much you spend. It is to do with how frequently people touch that brand.”
The top 10 most influential brands in Canada, according to the index, are:
1. Microsoft
2. Google
3. President's Choice
4. Apple
5. Walmart
6. CBC
7. Facebook
8. Visa
9. YouTube
10. Air Miles
Susan Krashinsky
