The 'Work Phone' Meets the 'Bold Team'

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By: Kaitlin T. Gallucci

RIM's "bold" Twitter campaign — asking followers how they would be "bold" in 2012 — was fairly brand appropriate for a producer of the quintessential (though fading) "work phone." "Bold" seems like the type of word that Blackberry-using professionals would like to use to describe themselves. However, the campaign's resulting "Bold Team" was highly questionable (and criticized).

RIM shared an infographic depicting respondents' popular resolution categories: the "achievers," "adventurers," "advocates," and "authentics." All well and good, but they were respectively represented by four colorful, childish, cartoon superheroes (Gogo Girl, Max Stone, Justin Steele, and Trudy Foreal). In response to the resulting backlash, RIM has assured that this is not a new advertising campaign.

The Yankee Group's Vice President of Data Sciences Research Carl Howe explains that the infographic was likely "more about RIM trying to shed its stuffy corporate image and show that BlackBerry owners aren't all work and no play... also trying to show that [RIM] is plugged into social media, which is a theme they're stressing with their new products."

However, the issue was with the way the message was presented. Howe suggests that "this new, more playful approach [doesn't hit] the right notes for RIM's brand.... Today, BlackBerry really is a platform oriented more for work than for play. As such, I think many consumers will feel like the messaging here won't really help the brand."

What did you think of RIM's "Bold Team"? Was the approach misguided? Is there still hope for the brand's image, or a reimaging?

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About the Author

Kaitlin T. Gallucci is a marketing strategist, copywriter, and blogger located in New York. Get in touch by visiting her website or following her Twitter.

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