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Rebranding of BlackBerry
Research · April 2021
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.12368.38401
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East West University
Rebranding of BlackBerry
MKT201
Section- 6
Prepared for
Sunny Saha
Lecturer
Department of Business Administration
East West University
Prepared by
Name
ID
Participation (%)
Anikah Naower
2020-1-10-441
16.67%
Bhuiyan Md. Tasnim Hossain
2020-1-10-452
16.67%
Md. Zahid Hasan
2020-1-10-208
16.67%
Mst. Jakia Afrin Ome
2020-1-10-221
16.67%
Qazi Zulfiquer Ahmed Jafree
2020-1-10-401
16.67%
Ahnaf Tahmid
2020-1-10-327
16.67%
Date of submission
28th April 2021
i
Letter of Transmittal
Sunny Saha
Lecturer,
Department of Business Administration
East West University
Aftabnagar, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh
Subject: Term Paper on Rebranding of BlackBerry.
Dear Madam,
It gave us immense pleasure in presenting this thesis paper, which was assigned to us in the
MKT201 course. In this report, we have tried our level best to carry out the “Rebranding of
BlackBerry”.
We consider ourselves very privileged to prepare this report under your guidance. This has
been an enormous opportunity for us to learn about this sector. It has provided us with a great
scope of applying the gathered knowledge in the practical field. We must mention here that we
are extremely grateful to you for your valuable guidance, tiresome effort, and constant attention
whenever required.
We will be pleased to answer any sort of query you think is necessary, as now and when needed.
I would like to draw attention, particularly to the matter that there is always a space for
clarification of any relevant topic.
Sincerely,
Ahnaf Tahmid
ID: 2020-1-10-327
On behalf of the group
ii
Acknowledgment
We would like to express my utmost gratitude and wholehearted appreciation to all those who
helped us and provided us with guidance and the opportunity to complete and present this term
paper.
First of all, we would like to thank our honorable faculty supervisor, Sunny Saha, Lecturer,
Department of Business Administration, East West University for providing us with the
opportunity to observe and analyze such an interesting topic “Rebranding of BlackBerry” and
for her supervision, relentless guidance and invaluable advice whenever needed.
Secondly, we would like to give thanks to our friends and group members, for their enthusiastic
encouragement and helps during the preparation of this term paper by sharing ideas regarding
this subject and for their contribution in typing and proofreading this script.
We are also grateful to our dearest parents, who encouraged us to extend our reach. With their
help and support, we have been able to complete this term paper.
iii
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ...............................................................................................................vi
CHAPTER 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................1
1.1 Background of the study ..............................................................................................1
1.2 Objectives of the study ................................................................................................1
1.3 Limitation of the study ................................................................................................1
CHAPTER 2: Situation Analysis and Market Overview ....................................................2
2.1 Scenario Analysis ........................................................................................................2
2.2 Company Overview .....................................................................................................2
2.3 Competitor Analysis ....................................................................................................2
2.4 Consumer Perceptual Mapping ...................................................................................3
CHAPTER 3: Analysis of Threats & Opportunities ............................................................4
3.1 SWOT Analysis ...........................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 4: The Rebranding Strategies ............................................................................6
4.1 Core Values .................................................................................................................6
4.2 Holistic Selling Proposition .........................................................................................6
4.3 Brand Identity of BlackBerry ......................................................................................7
4.4 Brand Name .................................................................................................................7
4.5 Brand Logo & Symbol ................................................................................................7
4.6 Brand Slogan ...............................................................................................................8
4.7 Brand Packaging ..........................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 5: The Marketing Strategies ............................................................................10
5.1 Segmentation .............................................................................................................10
5.2 Targeting ...................................................................................................................11
5.3 Positioning .................................................................................................................11
5.4 Product Strategy ........................................................................................................12
5.5 Pricing Strategy .........................................................................................................12
5.6 Distribution Strategy .................................................................................................13
5.7 Promotions Strategy ..................................................................................................13
CHAPTER 6: Budget ............................................................................................................18
6.1 Budget Plan ...............................................................................................................18
6.2 Budget Allocation ......................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 7: Brand Rebuilding Milestones ......................................................................19
7.1 Activity Timeline ......................................................................................................19
7.2 Implementing Control ...............................................................................................19
CHAPTER 8: Conclusion .....................................................................................................20
Reference ................................................................................................................................21
iv
List of Tables
Table 01: Immediate Competitors .............................................................................................2
Table 02: Impending Competitors .............................................................................................3
Table 03: SWOT Analysis ........................................................................................................4
Table 04: Skimming Pricing ....................................................................................................12
Table 05: Competitive Pricing ................................................................................................13
List of Figures
Figure 01: Perceptual Map ........................................................................................................3
Figure 02: Core Values of BlackBerry ......................................................................................6
Figure 03: Holistic Selling Proposition of BlackBerry .............................................................7
Figure 04: New Logo ................................................................................................................8
Figure 05: New packaging ........................................................................................................9
Figure 06: BlackBerry Market Share Based on Age Distribution ...........................................10
Figure 07: BlackBerry Market Share Based on Profession .....................................................10
Figure 08: BlackBerry Market Share Based on Technology Users ........................................11
Figure 09: BlackBerry Product Positioning ............................................................................11
Figure 10: Newly Released Phone ..........................................................................................12
Figure 11: Distribution Diagram .............................................................................................13
Figure 12: Newspaper Ad ........................................................................................................14
Figure 13: Subway Billboard ..................................................................................................15
Figure 14: Digital Billboard ....................................................................................................15
Figure 15: BlackBerry Facebook Page ....................................................................................16
Figure 16: BlackBerry Instagram Page ...................................................................................17
Figure 17: Budget Allocation ..................................................................................................18
Figure 18: Activity Timeline ...................................................................................................19
Figure 19: Product Release Timeline ......................................................................................19
v
Executive Summary
As a part of an assignment of East West University, we've been appointed to do a term paper
on “Rebranding BlackBerry”. BlackBerry, a Canadian company formerly known as “Research
In Motion”, or RIM, was one of the most prominent brands in the smartphone market.
However, BlackBerry lost its market share with the rise of touchscreen smartphones.
Market analysis shows that the smartphone market is captured by tech giants such as Apple
and Samsung. BlackBerry is almost non-existent in the market among these tech giants. Other
than these tech giants BlackBerry also has a huge number of competitors. Through the process
of rebranding, we want to take BlackBerry to Samsung’s market position in three years. SWOT
analysis shows that BlackBerry can be taken to that position with a remodeled identity and
strategy. We will be changing BlackBerry’s logo, slogan, and packaging keeping its name and
nostalgic identity. We segment the market by geographic, demographic, psychographic
segments, behavioral and will use differentiated targeting with a wide range of products. We
will take skimming and competitive pricing strategies to set prices for our products and will
use a distinctive distribution strategy. For promotion strategy, we will strategize a digital
marketing plan along with traditional promoting strategies. We have planned a three-year
budget plan to return to its rightful position in the market. We have organized a 15-month
activity timeline that will help us follow a precise schedule to release our products that will
meet customer expectations to the end.
vi
CHAPTER 1: Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
Smartphones have come a long way since the invention. This is one of the biggest markets in
the world economy. This term paper mainly deals with rebranding a declined company that
was once a market-leading brand in the product market. Our chosen product is the BlackBerry
phones. Mobile phones by BlackBerry were once most sought for mobile phones. However,
their misjudgment of the future mobile market lost them their market-leading position. They
tried to capture the market again by developing a new operating system but it fell short
compared to operating systems like iOS & Android. The purpose of the study is to rebrand
BlackBerry and present its new marketing plan. For preparing the report, the information has
been mainly collected from the BlackBerry website, Wikipedia, and other authorized articles
on the internet. The models and plans that are suggested or taken are derived from thorough
market research and analysis. The brand has been remodeled to capture its rightful position in
the market.
1.2 Objectives of the study
The objectives of the term paper were:
1. To provide a market overview for BlackBerry.
2. To analyze the market situation with perceptual mapping.
3. To display SWOT analysis of BlackBerry.
4. To present a rebranding strategy for BlackBerry.
5. To strategize a marketing plan for BlackBerry.
6. To create a budget plan for BlackBerry.
7. To show the steps of the rebranding of BlackBerry.
1.3 Limitation of the study
The presented study is not out of questions in terms of limitations. A few of the limitations
pertaining to it are:
• The time constraint for the study.
• Unavailability of data from primary sources to use in the study.
• Researchers’ incapability in conducting the study.
1
CHAPTER 2: Situation Analysis and Market Overview
2.1 Scenario Analysis
BlackBerry once dominated the whole mobile Industry with its phone. Their technology was
better than Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Nokia. Shortly after the introduction of the “touch
phone” by Apple with their iPhone, BlackBerry lost its position. BlackBerry couldn’t come up
with more innovative ideas to compete with iPhone.
Analyzing through SWOT analysis, we found out that the main strength of BlackBerry is its
built quality and performance and the brand reputation that it has since the beginning.
The main issues or lacking are outdated processors, camera quality, and body-to-screen ratio.
Then again, no positioning for years and unavailability in most of the country also count as a
weakness for BlackBerry.
BlackBerry can still do a huge comeback in the smartphone market. If BlackBerry can grab the
attention of the younger generation and with proper advertisements and distribution they can
infiltrate the current market and do well in the long run.
As we live in an age 9f science, smartphones are our daily companion for everything we do
start from getting up to going to bed. The smartphone industry is the fastest growing industry
in the whole world and now is the best chance for BlackBerry to come back and start
production. Availability of products will lead to a loyal customer for the company.
2.2 Company Overview
“Get more done and have more fun” is the slogan of how BlackBerry started its production of
phones. Whenever we hear BlackBerry the first thing that comes to our mind is that 3.5 inches
Black colored phones with a large screen and pop-up keyboards.
BlackBerry was created back in 1984 by 2 Engineers Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin as
research in motion. Now BlackBerry is a Canadian multinational company which is specialized
in Software development and technology. BlackBerry develops Pagers Tablets and
Smartphones. Lazaridis served as the CEO of the company till 2012 and the following year
John S. Chen took the role of CEO.
BlackBerry started with pagers and handsets and in 2011 they sold 50 million units of phones
only in the US market. No wonder BlackBerry was labeled as “King of Smartphones”.
BlackBerry used to dominate 50% in the US market and 20% globally.
The current plan of BlackBerry is to licensing a partnership with TCL Communication a
Chinese multinational electronic company to develop their smartphones and various software.
2.3 Competitor Analysis
Immediate Competitor –
BRAND
LG
Nokia
Sony
Oppo
Motorola
WEAKNESS
Low-quality Camera
Operating system
Built-in sound quality
Built quality
Unavailability
Table 01: Immediate Competitors
2
From the chart, we can see that no company builds a perfect smartphone. There is always some
lagging in them. A perfect smartphone would be if a phone had a fast processor, a high-quality
camera, strong built quality, and a stable operating system. It’s always hard to find a perfect
smartphone with all these features.
Impending Competitor –
BRAND
Apple
One Plus
Huawei
Xiaomi
STRENGTH/WEAKNESS
Operating system / Price
Fast processor / Battery drainage
Competitive pricing / Weak capital
Availability/product innovation
Table 02: Impending Competitors
Even the biggest smartphone companies have some major issues regarding their products. If
BlackBerry can come up with all the demands it’ll be easy for them to capture the market at
once.
Invisible Competitor –
Smartphones are the most used gadgets since the last decade. Every major and minor work can
be done with it in no time and without flaw. So the price of a good smartphone sometimes is
very high. To solve this problem there are some local Smartphone companies in the phone
industries that produce medium quality smartphones at cheap prices. For this facility, they are
slowly gaining loyal customers. They do sometimes build premium-quality smartphones but
their major concern is to get customers with cheap phones.
2.4 Consumer Perceptual Mapping
Here is the perceptual mapping for all recent mobile phone brands to understand the position
we want to capture after rebranding.
Technology(High)
Cheap
Expensive
Technology(Low)
Figure 01: Perceptual Map
3
Analysis of Threats & Opportunities
3.1 SWOT Analysis
As a declined product brand BlackBerry has a lot of threats and opportunities to look out for.
Even a small opportunity can bring heavenly benefits for the brand.
Strengths
•
•
•
•
•
Brand recognition
Security leader
Strength in patents
Leadership team
•
•
•
Opportunities
•
•
•
•
•
•
Enterprise of things
Increase in cyber attacks
Licensing opportunities
Weaknesses
Historically slow to react to market
changes
Diminished brand loyalty due to
defective devices
Branding issues
Lack of resources for R&D
Threats
Evolving technology
Competitors
Market Saturation
Table 03: SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
Brand recognition
The majority of the population in the world has used or in some way been exposed to
BlackBerry devices. BlackBerry devices have been used in movies, TV shows, and by many
public figures that contributed to the recognition of the brand.
Security leader
BlackBerry has always concentrated on security. As a result of this strength, BlackBerry has
gained the United States Government’s trust.
Strength in patents
With over 44,000 patents, BlackBerry holds one of the leading portfolios of patents in the
technological industry. This strong portfolio of patents creates a strong asset that can provide
a strategic advantage among competitors.
Leadership team
John Chen the CEO of BlackBerry for over 7 years has been steadily improving the company
goals and objectives. Over the course of Chen’s tenancy, BlackBerry has seen an increase in
optimism as a result of improved margins and adjusted product strategies toward software and
services.
Weaknesses:
Historically slow to react to market changes
Before the surge of touchscreen devices, BlackBerry was at the top of the ladder with their
keyboard but they did not anticipate that world will be taken over by touchscreen devices and
lost their market position.
4
Diminished brand loyalty due to defective devices
To compete with newly arrived touchscreen devices BlackBerry hurriedly released one of their
product that turned out to be defective. This cost them millions of customers.
Branding issues
BlackBerry has put very little effort to effectively market the brand and retain its leading
position. As a result brand loyalty, awareness, and reputation quickly declined.
Lack of resources for R&D
With a simple financial comparison with other leading brands in the market right now
BlackBerry’s total revenue comes short by a great margin. This leaves BlackBerry with only a
small fraction of money for research and development.
Opportunities:
Enterprise of things
With the increase in concern of cybersecurity, BlackBerry should shift away from just
producing smartphones and enterprise its security strength to make a better way of securing
software.
Increase in cyberattacks
While cyberattacks are typically a threat to many leading brands, for BlackBerry it is the least
of their concern. It is a great opportunity for BlackBerry to create solutions to catch the
attention of the investors.
Licensing opportunities
The abundant patents that BlackBerry holds generate the opportunity of entering into
technology licensing agreements. BlackBerry could gain the facility of monetizing its patents
which could result in increased earnings and improved margins.
Threats:
Evolving technology
Technology has seen rapid growth in the last decade and became a global threat to all
companies including BlackBerry.
Competitors
As a declined brand BlackBerry has been left behind by many of its competitors. Any new
development has a threat of being copied and improved by the competitors to steal a piece of
the market.
Market Saturation
Market saturation is a terrifying threat as we have seen what its influence has done to the
smartphone market. Saturation can be consequent of evolving technology, rising competition,
or price and hence continuous product development and improvement are needed to have any
probability of attaining further growth.
5
Chapter 4: The Rebranding Strategies
4.1 Core Values
We believe that living by solid values is the way to great business. By providing employees
with a clear direction and a sense of ownership, they will be the key to understanding the rise
of BlackBerry in near future.
Honesty: Our honesty will ensure our consumers what to validity expect and it will make
BlackBerry more trustworthy.
Integrity: As our most significant intangible asset, integrity is the way to our endurance and
the source of individual and corporate development.
Customer Centricity: At BlackBerry, consumers come first. BlackBerry can just exist on
account of its clients.
Respect for People: BlackBerry always respects every people involved with them including
employees to consumers.
Change: In the present speedy worldwide economy change is consistent and development is
basic to a brand's endurance.
We are responsible for
customer’s safety,
information security
BlackBerry
Core Values
(principles to
understand our
values)
We respect customers and
employees
We believe in change and
evaluation
We maintain a neat and clean
hygienic brand culture
We obey all laws and ethical
standards
Figure 02: Core Values of BlackBerry
4.2 Holistic Selling Proposition
A holistic selling proposition means one element or the apparent advantage of a brand that
makes it interesting from the remainder of the contending brands on the lookout. HSP is a vital
idea utilized when a brand advances its item through any medium. A strong HSP makes a brand
stand apart in the competition. As a holistic brand, we are focusing on some points. These are:
6
Figure 03: Holistic Selling Proposition of BlackBerry
4.3 Brand Identity of BlackBerry
BlackBerry is an iconic brand of smartphone manufacturer. The redesign of the brand brings a
new image to BlackBerry's visual identity. The BlackBerry brand personality is about lifestyle,
imagination, innovation, passion & power-to-the-people through technology. BlackBerry is
continuously working on the removal of complexity from people's lives, people-driven product
design, and being a humanistic company with a heartfelt connection with its customers. The
innovative, beautifully designed, highly ergonomic, and technology-leading products which
BlackBerry delivers are not only designed to match the brand promise but are fundamental to
keeping it. We fully understand that all aspects of the customer experience are important and
that all brand touchpoints must reinforce the BlackBerry brand.
BlackBerry has expanded and improved its distribution capabilities by opening hundreds of its
retail stores in key cities around the world.
4.4 Brand Name
We are keeping the same old and renowned 'BlackBerry' name. Our target customers are quite
familiar with that name. Gen Z is quite familiar with the ‘BlackBerry’ name. So, changing this
name will have an immense effect on our newly launched strategy. Keeping the same old
renowned name will help us to grasp more customers. So changing the name would create a
negative vibe among customers.
4.5 Brand Logo & Symbols
We are bringing big changes to our logo. The older logo was intended to look like an
actual BlackBerry fruit. There were 8 'bits' in the logo - 7 bits were displayed and 1 was missing
as if someone took a bite out of the BlackBerry 'byte'. We’re bringing changes to our older logo
and also the font in that logo. The new logo consists of eight BlackBerry with several leaves.
The color of the logo will remain the same as ‘Black’
7
Figure 04: New Logo
4.6 Brand Slogan
The "Re-Imagine your Experience" slogan is based on a smooth android experience. Customers
will enjoy redefined OS experience on new BlackBerry phones. Our newly launched phone
will be equipped with a ‘Titan M’ chip, which is almost impossible to break and will ensure
maximum user security. Our team will be continuously working on providing regular security
patches and Android updates on BlackBerry phones so that our customers can experience a
buttery smooth software experience.
4.7 Brand Packaging
We're bringing changes to our product packaging. A brand needs to design attractive packaging
for its products to stand out in the crowd. It is also important to attract customers. The
significance of product packaging is multifaceted, and it can go a long way in securing a good
first impression and lasting brand loyalty. Our new packaging will signal a higher price and
will be a makeover change of the outdated package. We’ll be ditching plastic phone protection
inside the box, instead, we’ll use paper-made phone protection. The new packaging will contain
30W fast charger, headphones, one cover, and a user manual.
8
Figure 05: New packaging
9
Chapter 5: Marketing Strategies
5.1 Market Segmentation
BlackBerry Market Share Based on Age Distribution:
Sales Based on Age
10%
18-30 Years
38%
22%
31-40 Years
41-55 years
56-70 Years
30%
Figure 06: BlackBerry Market Share Based on Age Distribution
BlackBerry Market Share Based on Profession:
Sales Based on Profession
0.2
0.3
Students
Professionals
0.2
General Public
Operating Service Companies
0.28
other
0.25
Figure 07: BlackBerry Market Share Based on Profession
10
BlackBerry Market Share Based on Technology Users:
Sales Based on Tech. Users
18%
High tech lovers
Random technology users
51%
Less technology users
31%
Figure 08: BlackBerry Market Share Based on Technology Users
5.2 Targeting
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
20-60-year-old, urban, and suburban youth.
Upper-mid to high-class people.
Advanced Tech-loving people.
Occupation- Students, employees, professionals.
First-time users and regular users.
Determined and ambitious personalized people.
Health and environment-conscious people.
5.3 Positioning
We plan to position our products concerning price, quality, attributes, and competitors.
BlackBerry newly relased
phone -Positionning
General public,operating
service companies and
others (random and less
tech. users)
Students,
Professionals (high
tech. lovers)
BlackBerry
EVOLVE
BlackBerry
EVOLVE PRO
BlackBerry
EVOVLE MINI
Figure 09: BlackBerry Product Positioning
11
5.4 Product Strategy
Our older phones lacked innovation. Now we're releasing a series of smartphones with
bleeding-edge specifications. The name of the series will be "EVOLVE." This series includes
3 models. All these models will receive 3-years of security updates and 2 years of warranty.
Figure 10: Newly Released Phone
5.5 Pricing Strategy
Pricing is one of the trickiest issues in marketing as it requires understanding the product and
understanding the market. BlackBerry will also face high rivalry by others in the market like
Apple, HTC, and Samsung among others. To curb this competition and to be competitive,
BlackBerry has to undertake a pricing strategy that is winning. We will set the pricing strategy
in two different phases- skimming pricing and competitive pricing.
Skimming Pricing –
Price (After launch)
Price 5% decrease
(After 1 year)
Price 10% decrease
(After 2 years)
20000
19000
18000
Price 20%
decrease (After
3 years)
16000
40000
38000
36000
32000
60000
57000
54000
48000
Table 04: Skimming Pricing
12
Competitive Price –
Pricing
BlackBerry Evolve Mini
Samsung A32
BlackBerry Evolve
Samsung A51
BlackBerry Evolve Pro
Samsung A52
64GB
24999
26999
27999
29999
32999
33999
128GB
26999
28666
29999
31999
34999
35999
Table 05: Competitive Pricing
5.6 Distribution Strategy
Marketing strategy is the marketing logic whereby the company hopes to achieve its marketing
objectives, which includes special strategies for target markets, positioning, the marketing mix,
and marketing expenditure levels. Once the overall competitive marketing strategy is set, the
company is ready to begin planning the distribution part. We will sell their products
accordingly to the new diagram
Manufacturer
Authorized
retailers
BlackBerry
store
Online store
Customer
Customer
Customer
Figure 11: Distribution Diagram
5.7 Promotion Strategy
Traditional Marketing Strategies –
IMC Strategy
For BlackBerry’s rebranding, we’re majorly focusing on vertical integration where marketing
and communications objectives must support the higher-level corporate objectives and
corporate missions. Besides, another focus is external integration where it requires external
partners such as advertising and PR agencies to work closely together to deliver a single
seamless solution that is a cohesive and integrated message:
13
o 360 degrees “reminder” – The Brand Exists- Rebranding of BlackBerry is going to
involve the integration of traditional and digital media communications along with
well-decorated ATL-BTL activities where the major focus will be to remind the
customers’ minds about the existence of the brand. These 360-degree reminder
activities are going to remind the customers about a brand that somehow is already in
their minds for a long time and the activities are going to work as intensives to remind
again what they loved once.
o Focus on core value – Nostalgia, Simplified- The sturdy BlackBerry phones were
built with a long-lasting battery, great speed processing, a great camera, clear display,
great storage space, of course, QWERTY physical keyboards, and a great look! Do
you know that Barack Obama in particular refused to give his BlackBerry up when he
took office in The White House? After winning the election he said that if officials
wanted him to stop using it they would have to “pry it out of his hands
o Subtle positioning of alternative usage- Through the rebranding, BlackBerry is going
to enter the market with a whole new image integrated with the nostalgia of the
customers. At this point, BlackBerry will be positioned in customers’ minds with an
image that BlackBerry is premium and better than other international and local mobile
phone brands existing in the market right now. Customers are going to have their former
love as a better alternative this way. Thus, nostalgia with a premium feel is a major
consideration of this rebranding.
Above the Line (ATL)
Above the Line (ATL) advertising is where mass media is used to promote brands and reach
out to the target consumers. These include conventional media as we know it, television and
radio advertising, print as well as the internet. This is communication that is targeted to a wider
spread audience and is not specific to individual consumers. ATL Activities by BlackBerry will
be Print Ad, Lifestyle tabloids, Youth-focused pages, Radio, TVC, and Billboards.
Figure 12: Newspaper Ad
14
Figure 13: Subway Billboard
Figure 14: Digital Billboard
15
Digital Marketing Strategy –
Facebook
There will a Facebook page for customers to follow. The page will contain a product review
along with crucial feedback from customers. They will be continuously engaged with various
activities from the Facebook page. There will be bi-weekly events such as share and win events.
The following is a mock Facebook Page:
Figure 15: BlackBerry Facebook Page
Instagram
The Instagram page will be keeping in touch with the #Instatech trend. Photos and stories will
be uploaded regularly to promote the campaign. Certain visuals will suggest alternative and
best smartphone moments. This page will be for engaging smartphone and tech-savvy customer
base.
16
Figure 16: BlackBerry Instagram Page
17
Chapter 6: Budget
6.1 Budget Plan
We plan to commit to a whopping USD 22 billion budget over the next three years to extend
our reach into various industry sectors. To help combat our declined position in the smartphone
market, we aim to diversify our portfolio by further tapping into such areas as artificial
intelligence and 5G wireless systems amongst others. We plan to hire more than 400 more new
employees in the research and development department. Our budget has been to tackle other
tech giants in the industry.
6.2 Budget Allocation
As for budgeting, we allocated most of the USD 22 billion for research and development which
is 35% because we think getting trendy and latest products from customers should be of the
highest priority. The distribution extension will have an allocation of 20%. Widespread
promotion with 25% of the total budget will be enough. Finally, the rest 20% of the budget will
be allocated to production.
Budget Allocation
20%
Reserch & Development
35%
Distributor Extension
Widespread Promotion
25%
Production
20%
Figure 17: Budget Allocation
18
Chapter 7: Brand Rebuilding Milestones
7.1 Activity Timeline
For the activity timeline, we have a very rigorous schedule for the first 8 months of production
and promotion campaign for our new product BlackBerry Evolve, BlackBerry Evolve Pro,
BlackBerry Evolve Mini. For the first 4-8 months we will focus on automation, packaging
reengineering, and hype buildup. This period is very important because it will tell customers
that the brand is back and it’s better than ever. The hype is needed to grab the attention of
unaware potential buyers. The next 8-14months will host pre-launch events. ATL activities like
print ads and radio ads will also be held at this time along with new format marketing. The
following 14-20 months will have a range of activities in the forms of shows, sponsorships,
ATL, TVC, billboards, product line extension via R&D, etc.
1-4 months
#Production
#Packging
#Hype Buildup
#Press Release
7-8 months
# ATL - TVC,
Billboard
#Product Line
Extention Via R&D
5-6 months
#ATL - Print Ad,
Radio Ad
#Digital Marketing
9-15 months
#Product Release
#R&D
Figure 18: Activity Timeline
We do not plan to release all three of our products together. They will have a 3-month
difference in their release dates. BlackBerry Evolve will be released first and will be followed
by BlackBerry Evolve Pro and BlackBerry Evolve Mini respectively. This will give us time to
work on new products.
Month 9
BlackBerry
Evolve
Month 12
BlackBerry
Evolve Pro
Month 15
BlackBerry
Evolve MINI
Figure 19: Product Release Timeline
7.2 Implementing Control
As a declined brand, we have to take every step cautiously. The gap between the promotion
period and product release will give us the time to prepare our contingency plans. We risk
customers becoming unsatisfied with the products. Customer feedback analysis will let us
modify our strategies to maximize customer satisfaction.
Comparing our stand with our competitions will let us understand what our next steps should
be. We will have to measure our brand awareness and promote accordingly. Our promotional
success will decide our sales performance and profit margin. Any negative feedback will be
taken under review to solve any remaining errors.
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Chapter 8: Conclusion
Technology is an integral part of our life. It has enhanced every aspect of our day-to-day life.
Smartphones are one of the most important fragments of technology. Smartphones have
become a source of entertainment and communication among others. BlackBerry is one of the
best to ever crate smartphones that changed the life of many. In this whole project, we have
tried to provide a strategy to rebrand the BlackBerry smartphone brand for that we have tried
to heavily emphasize promotion, activation, and value analysis. We humbly hope that after
implementing this whole plan we will be able to make BlackBerry one of the top brands in the
smartphone market and will be able to occupy a significant position in the mind of the people
all over again.
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