subject: How Blackberry Has Stayed Relevant [print this page] Once the top business phone on the market, the BlackBerry isnt what it used to be. In fact, its better. In an age where consumers both young and old use their smart phones for everything from connecting to sharing information to being entertained, smart phones have a lot to live up to.
No audience is tougher than a group of youth whose positive or negative opinions about a product, a brand or a trend can easily influence peers and cause businesses to grow or run to catch up or fail miserably trying. BlackBerry has the youth market on their side. Ten years ago it would have been hard to predict that a brand so strong among corporate business users would transform itself into a relevant technology company that is loved by teens and young adults across the globe. Today, BlackBerry can attribute their success to young super influencers who are much more influential than other age groups, and whose positive word of mouth have helped to keep the brand current and on-trend. In markets like Malaysia, BlackBerry has a strong 20-something female following, which has helped to propel demand for the devices across the country.
Five years ago, BlackBerrys proprietary messaging service BBM was made popular by a youth cult following. Today, this audience is consuming more content than ever before and is already looking forward to the next best thing, even before theyve mastered the current trends. Recently BlackBerry joined the tablet game and introduced its new BlackBerry PlayBook, a tablet PC whose main features are targeted at extreme multi-media users such as gamers and video devotees. The BlackBerry PlayBook specs include 2 1080p HD webcams, a battery life of up to 10 hours, plus the device can run multiple playbook apps at the same time, so it takes multi-tasking to a whole new level. Though these are features that any techie would love, its obvious that the tablet is geared toward the young and young at heart.
In a day and age where relevance is everything, BlackBerry has done a great job of staying in the limelight by introducing new features and products that fit the needs of its customers in a range of markets. Best of all, the cost of owning BlackBerry technology is completely feasible for many audiences, with the BlackBerry price in Malaysia and other Asian markets being extremely competitive, as well as here in the States. Plus, there are many different handset options to choose from, making the brand accessible for a range of users.
