Integrated Marketing Communications- The mix of all mixes.

There is one main goal of someone in business. I wish it’s changed, but it hasn’t. The main goal of any promotion is to get someone to buy a good or service. For the marketer, this means we must use all aspects of the promotion mix and integrate our marketing efforts. It is our ultimate job to communicate and get the product to the consumer.

Companies today want to show competitive advantage and that can become difficult when the audience is not tuning in. Our job – we have many of them- is to present the message through valuable mediums and channels and effectively enable our target audience to reach a – positive- decision about our product.

Promotion is pivotal to get product information to our core target audience. Promotion is a valuable and essential part of marketing and success.  Take the book required for this course, MRKTG edition 4. This book has to include personal selling and promotion both to the consumer and retailer. The publisher, most likely, went to schools, and then targeted the professors teaching this subject. This is where personal selling comes in. Why this book? What makes this book different than another one I used last year? These questions are answered by the personal sales representative. Lastly, the core consumers- students like me pulled into buying book after book- are targeted and offered promotions to obtain the book that they – the marketer- planned from the first.”Hello”. Welcome to Marketing Integration.

Personal Blogs have made companies go from bad to good and from good to bad. Fortunately, for Blackberry, the latter has not happened and blogs such as Crackberry.com have helped Blackberry generate and maintain customers for the company. The truth is, Crackberry is a mini-Blackberry corporation. Amazing really, how this blog started and became a staple for the millions of Blackberry users and skeptics.

Blackberry, perfectly balances the communication between its manufacturer, retailer, consumer and back to manufacturer. The main reason Blackberry has remained strong through the years is this communication. Blackberry has integrated with several platforms and increased its brand because of it. With every facet of the company integrated, Blackberry really is an IMC powerhouse.

Product Concepts. Wait. I have an idea !

          When we think of products, we think of tangible materials in which we, the consumer, can purchase or exchange something for.  Products are in our day-to-day lives and some we even depend on for use throughout. One product that has undoubtedly become a part of this class of products is the cellular phone. Cellar phones, when first introduced, we for business men and woman and people on the go. It was not a device for the everyday American. When, in the late 90’s and 00’s, phone’s started becoming “necessity” that is when Blackberry make some important Product decisions.

          Everything is important when it comes to product. First and foremost: the product itself. The product has to be able to perform and live up to the expectation of the consumer. An expectation made, of course, by none other than the marketer. Blackberry has done a good job at this and continues to develop new products; another facet of the company. 

          Product modification is important for several reasons. One, the product may in fact not be what research and development thought and fail connecting with customers. Second, the product may be great, but one or two features and functions may be outdated, required a modification. With Blackberry, most recently, this was done with the release and modification of the trackball.

          The trackball was the one feature about Blackberry that set it apart. No other device had the trackball and a user –or non-user- knew it was a Blackberry in their possession. The problem, however, is that the trackball feature to navigate on the phone was not durable and many customers complained. After quite some time, in early 2008, Blackberry released the TrackPad and revolutionized the Blackberry once again.

 

          Research in Motion has also extended their product line to include, besides mobile devices, the new Blackberry PlayBook tablet. Many technology professionals and industry insiders anticipate the release of the tablet and see if it says what is says it can do. We’ll see now won’t we? I think it’s a great feat to release the tablet in economic uncertain times, but also, in a market that has been lead by Apple (Ipad) and Barnes and Noble (Nook) since the craze started. This release will create a new product line, and new glimpse into the future at Blackberry. Thank you, Research in Motion.

Sales Promotion and Personal Selling- Would You Buy Me ?

           For Blackberry, selling products has been growing more and more difficult. With consumers evolving, manufacturers like RIM, have to meet those new customers’ needs and continue to have a good relationship with current customers. Through this process, Sales Promotions and Personal Selling definitely come into play here. As costs of Advertising and Marketing rise through high-traffic channels, companies like Blackberry are turning to a more cost effective way to market: Personal Selling.

Because of today’s Blackberry customer, who is more diverse and eclectic than in previous years, new initiatives and promotions must be outfitted differently; Different sales promotions for different buyers. Several programs are effective however; Blackberry only participates in a few. One use of Blackberry’s promotion strategy is their competitor customers approach. With new devices and manufacturers emerging, the company must be on their toes- constantly. The newest devices released were the Blackberry Torch and the new Curve from the series of the same name. A visible implementation of this strategy is seen with their release of the aforementioned models. As promotions were offered for the device, at comparable prices to similar mobile carriers, competitors were on the same level as Blackberry with regards to price-point.

Rebates are another sales promotion Blackberry and Research in Motion offers. Rebates are given after the initial purchase is made and the documents for the rebate, with a valid sales receipt (proof of purchase), is submitted to the rebates department. With these offers, customers can be comforted that their purchase of the device is a good one given the company’s reputation, quality and price.



Referrals are an important selling strategy that Blackberry and other companies rely on. Word-of-mouth marketing is valuable and caused companies like Facebook, and other businesses to gain national and in Facebook’s case, worldwide acclaim. 

Since a majority of Blackberries devices are sold through third party distributors or retailers, Blackberry’s follow-up is done through these parties. When a sale is made through T-mobile for instance, Blackberry may receive the data and information of the customer and the sale itself however, T-mobile deals direct to the customer and thus removing Blackberry or Research In Motion from its involvement in following up with the customer.

Maybe-just maybe- Blackberry get more involved in the selling process. I don’t think removing retailers who “push” their devices and produces should be eliminated, but as a Blackberry owner myself, it’d be nice to share my thoughts about issues or products should I feel inclined to do so. Remove the middle man from the customer service side of things and Blackberry could strengthen its efforts when creating sales promotions and engaging in personal selling. 

Developing A Global Vision: Global Marketing Strategy

     With newer markets holding untouched opportunity today, marketers are taking advantage of every possibility they can to reach every consumer. With technology comes the ease of reaching these markets faster, more efficiently, and in their native language with little effort. What about the current market? How do we retain their business and  loyalty: The internet.

     RIM and Blackberry have done their homework by creating the easiest platform to which marketers can reach their audience. The newest member of the strategy team is not a human and does not have a 401 K. The answer is found on the web with sites like Handango for Blackberry and other devices. Consumers now have the availability and option to update, customize, and add software and application onto their device like never before. This is a distribution effort that has been working for other mobile carriers in recent years and continues to show positive results each quarter. Blackberry has now developed its own application superstore, Blackberry App World, and it has been successful on its own since its release. 

     Blackberry continues to branch out in their marketing efforts; they even brought on a new advertising agency in June of 2010 called, The Next Door who would be responsible for their global campaign. This collaboration will enable the company to have access to large markets and the populations that are growing in them. 

     It seems as though Blackberry’s strongest market besides the United States is China and the Far East. China is excelling in technology development and creating software and products at a rate faster than any other on the planet. A majority of Blackberry’s exports go to places like China due to demand and dependability of the server. Blackberry, though many would think these days, manufacturers their devices mostly in Canada and has very few objectives bringing production and distribution away from Canada. I like to think of Blackberry as the Apple of Canada. 

     Blackberries, much like the fruit, are found across the globe due to development, outreach, and strong relationships being built in newer markets to establish the brand abroad. With competition strong, it is necessity to maintain the objectives and goals internally, while supplying the consumer with the good and service they expect with a name like Blackberry.