RIM’s Marketing Strategy, tempted?

RIM’s new tablet, BlackBerry PlayBook, has been highly expected by consumers all over the world. However, RIM failed to deliver. Rushing to try getting a tablet out, the PlayBook lacked vital softwares such as email and calendar. RIM overestimated its popularity and had planned to ship over 4 million in the fiscal year 2011. However, tens or hundreds of thousands of the new PlayBook are left unsold and stored.

Just over a week ago RIM planned to clear the stock by lowering the price of the PlayBook. And just 2 days ago RIM announced its new price reduction on the BlackBerry Playbook; and it was mind blasting. In Staples, Best Buy and Future Shop, the BlackBerry PlayBook were being sold for $200 less than its original price. That is 40% off before tax. Moreover, Walmart is offering the PlayBook for even less than Staples, Best Buy and Future Shop. At 50% off, the BlackBerry PlayBook is being sold at $250 at Walmart. So, was this a good marketing strategy?

It seems RIM has made a fatal error by trying to rush its BlackBerry PlayBook back in April to try competing with the iPad. It faced immediate criticism for its lack of use. However, the major cut in prices seems like a good marketing strategy for RIM. Constant updates in the systems software and the increase in the number of third party applications is continuously attracting new consumers of the PlayBook. Moreover, 50% discount on the PlayBook makes the tablet one of the most affordable and value for money tablets in the market.

But, as we await the arrival of the PlayBook 2.0 in October, it has been announced that all these features along with Android App Player and more improvements to the software will be made to the current PlayBook.