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Blackberry, in hopes of reviving the company, has released their newest flagship smartphone-the Passport, which it claims as the revolutionary smartphone with innovative technological specifications, including prolonged battery life, 4.5 inch square screen with high resolution, stereo speakers, and a navigable keyboard with touch screen.
However, the marketing strategy that the company has set up is bewildering and  detrimental to the sales of the Passport, even putting the brand’s survival in jeopardy. Firstly, the phone is released at the end of the year, the time when the giant leading corporation in the electronic product industry- Apple, will be announcing its new product- iPhone 6. This means Blackberry will have to compete with Apple, which has established worldwide recognition and a large client base. Therefore, it is certain that the Passport would have an uphill battle competing against large numbers of iPhone users.

Blackberry CEO, John Chen, stated that the Passport only targets 30% of smartphone owners out there, which implies the company operates in the focus strategy(differentiation) in a narrow market segment. Yet, the smartphone markets are extremely competitive. While Blackberry is only focusing on 30% of the consumers (the actual buyers may be vastly less than the percentage), other brands are seeking to impress the broad market segment and increase the users worldwide. Thus, Blackberry’s focus on a narrow segment limits Blackberry’s potential sales as well as the possibility to gain influences and recognition internationally. The company has established numerous creative devices on the Passport, but some functions received mixed reviews from the user. For instance, the Blackberry has received complaints from Passport’s bizarre shape. In addition,the difficulty of holding the phone is another flaw that discourages smartphone consumers.

Instead of focusing on designing new features that seem unusual to the general customer segments, Blackberry should resolve the missteps its previous phones have had  such as the limited access to numerous widely used Apps.

Works Cited:

 Ian Austen “A New BlackBerry Phone, but Maybe Too Late”  September  18, 2013

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/a-new-blackberry-phone-but-maybe-too-late/