Those plans yielded less than meaningful results. Another swing came in Jan. Hopes for a dramatic turnaround at Blackberry have been dashed repeatedly. BlackBerry is an example of the big risks associated with the highly dynamic technology sector. None of the industry rankings, predictions, or recommendations seem to fit the BlackBerry stock play. Long-term investors have been burned, while only a few traders may have made money on the wide swings.
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I Accept Show Purposes. Your Money. Personal Finance. Your Practice. Popular Courses. Business Company Profiles. Key Takeaways Blackberry was a pioneer in handheld devices but has lost market share to larger rivals like Apple. The company, which was formerly known as Research In Motion, grew by leaps and bound from to , as the company's innovative product lines were well received. The launch of the touchscreen iPhone in triggered a dramatic shift away from Blackberry handheld devices.
Mobile devices were in a rapid stage of evolution. Features were being added and removed on the whims of consumer taste. And RIM found a set of features that really met the needs of the emerging consumer mobile phone market at the time. Additionally, RIM had strong brand equity in the BlackBerry name, and people, both consumers, and businesses coveted its aspirational brand.
But here lies the problem. In a changing market, stasis often means death. Things are only aspirational as long as people see them that way. As BlackBerry failed, it saw itself only as a producer of mobile phones. It forgot to protect that high emotional ground with a brand that said why their mobile phones were important.
Its success was due only to being first to market with a highly innovative product. The launch of the Pearl, which allowed the brand to be enjoyed by everyone, was really the last innovation for BlackBerry in mobile devices. From that point on, BlackBerry played defense.
And it rested too heavily on what it thought was its impenetrable enterprise business. BlackBerry thought it was untouchable. Nokia and the Palm Treo brought us the first color displays before the Pearl and firms like Motorola and LG began to change the mobile phone into a stylish accessory.
The defensive form of war is not a simple shield, but a shield made up of well-directed blows. Business is very much like warfare. If an enemy continues to come after you, they will eventually wear you down. BlackBerry simply responded to new features by competitors by simply aping them.
It was at this point when BlackBerry lost its emotional high ground of innovation because it became known as a fast follower. Overnight, the hero of innovation was ripped away by the iPhone.
More importantly, Apple uncovered an emotional intensity that trumped them all, simplicity. Given the rather complex nature of smartphones at the time, simplicity was not only welcomed, it was embraced.
So much so that people waited in lines for the iPhone. The brand promise of simplicity for the iPhone was further solidified by its stunning innovation. But instead of a volley across the bow to Apple, it was really a flag of surrender. So what are the lessons here? What can we learn from the fact that BlackBerry failed? First off, BlackBerry was and always will be the founding father of the modern mobile phone. Some may argue that the addition of an operating system and the full panel touch screen with the iPhone is the true ancestor.
But here lies the first lesson:. In innovative industries, staying the course is a dangerous proposition. Consistency and stick-to-it-ness are great attributes of a brand. Often, these attributes make the difference between a brand that succeeds and a brand that fails. When your brand is based on innovation, you are always chasing the newest innovation and are doomed to fail.
BlackBerry needed a brand promise that was emotional in nature and not dependent on features. If you have the luxury of being first to a market, you must defend that position with all of the resources at your disposal. Though the situation looks more promising than it has for a long time, only time will tell whether BlackBerry will rise again.
Thank you for the post, very interesting! I totally agree with the reasons why Blackberry lost the smartphone war. I believe that this is a good way of staying in business. Only one new though on this space, should they still use the brand Blackberry for selling their services? Is this the best way to proceed in terms of marketing? You must be logged in to post a comment. Skip to content. The HBS Digital Initiative brings together perspectives across disciplines to help people understand how technology is transforming organizations and the greater world.
Want to learn more about technology and organizations? Email Password Remember Me Lost your password? BlackBerry Financial Reports. Com , January 15, Com , December 20, Dunn, Jeff.
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