Today (Sep. 30th 2013) the Top 100 brands were ranked by brand name value by Interbrand Corp. In 2011 Blackberry ranked 54th, today they were not on the list.

Lately Blackberry has received a lot of negative publicity for their lack of demand for their smartphones while their rival smartphone companies Apple and Google now rank respectively one and two in the world. Blackberry was forced to lay off 45% of their staff worldwide, and their losses are approaching one billion US dollars.

The ranking is based on three aspects that make up a brand’s overall value: financial performance of their branded products or service, the role the brand plays in influencing consumer choices, and the strength the brand has to command a price premium or secure earnings for the company, Interbrand says. So with this definition its not hard to see why Blackberry is falling on the list.

Looking at the potential opportunities that arise (considering a SWOT analysis approach to the problem) instead of the external weaknesses and the threats by continuously advancing competition, Blackberry’s market share has fallen so much the lately they have received a takeover bid. Being bought up by a larger private company could give them the time they need out of the media attention to rebrand them selves, and figure out first how to “fix” their lagging points of parity, and then define their points of differentiation to increase demand.

Source:  Ligaya, Armina. “BlackBerry Ltd Falls off Top 100 Global Brands List as Apple Takes Top spot.” Financial Post. N.p., 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://business.financialpost.com/2013/09/30/blackberry-ltd-falls-off-top-100-global-brands-list-as-apple-takes-top-spot/?__lsa=a1a4-72af>.