Response to the blog written by Kevin Kreigbaum titled ““Can blackberry achieve relevance with it’s new Passport?” Which can be found at https://blogs.ubc.ca/kriegbaum/
In the latest lecture we discussed brand positioning in relation to a companies success within the market, and with the entry of its newest product, blackberry looks to find a foothold in the industry it once dominated. However after having fallen down the “ladder” in the eyes of mass-market consumers, blackberry has repositioned its brand to appeal to “power professionals”. Having at one point a third of the market share in the US alone, Blackberry’s shift to the niche market allows it to gain traction in an increasingly saturated market that demands constant innovation by producers. By rebranding itself as a phone for professionals, blackberry repositions and realigns itself with the core values that made the company successful in the first place. Branching off into a separate sector of mobile users offers the ability for blackberry to focus more heavily on the aspects that business professionals need as opposed to playing a balancing act in an attempt to please a wider consumer base.
Sources:
http://www.cnet.com/news/blackberry-hopes-love-it-or-hate-it-passport-earns-it-a-second-chance/
BlackBerry Unveils A Gigantic New Square Phone Called The BlackBerry Passport
https://blogs.ubc.ca/kriegbaum/
Image from: http://img.ibtimes.com/www/data/images/full/2014/06/30/448444-new-blackberry-passport-a-tablet-with-qwerty-keyboard-killer-specifica.jpg