James Citron is CEO and Co-Founder of Mogreet, the worldʼs first mobile video marketing platform. The digital entrepreneur has more than a decade of experience in the mobile industry with a proven track record for introducing successful, cutting-edge technology into the global marketplace. Follow him at @jamescitron.
Five years ago, a Canadian handset company stormed onto the scene with the hottest “must have” mobile device. The RIM BlackBerry was around before the iPhone, when the Droid was still just science fiction.
Today, the seas have changed considerably. The mobile scene is now a two-horse race between Apple and Google. Where is RIM, the company that still commands so much of the smartphone market?
The days of the always-reliable BlackBerry may be numbered, save for a major re-focus of the company. BlackBerry will have to not only find its roots, but use them as a recipe to regain its thought leadership amongst mobile influencers and consumers. Here are four possible approaches.
1. Forget Apps – Leverage the New Mobile Web
If you haven’t visited m.youtube.com on your mobile device, go now. Far exceeding the capabilities of any YouTube App, the mobile YouTube Website boasts more features, higher quality video and better load times than the popular apps found on mobile devices. The mobile web will soon leapfrog the app marketplaces, which are mired in slow approval cycles and closed development environments.
BlackBerry should pour its development dollars into making the best mobile browser — one that supports Flash and HTML5. There, we may soon find a coolness factor that the app marketplaces can’t compete with. Mobile web browsing is already on par with current, device-specific apps.
2. Forget “Me Too” Innovation
Just because the App Store and iPad are hits with consumers doesn’t mean that BlackBerry should gear up and jump into the same ring. The iPad is an incredibly cool consumer device, but one that Apple has already invented. What would a BlackBerry tablet have to offer that Apple doesn’t already provide?
If RIM wants to stay relevant, BlackBerry products need to head in new directions, and not just mime innovations that are already doing well on the market.
3. Embrace and Market BBM
Three years ago, I was recording a video shoot with Sean Kingston when he had just ascended the charts with a Billboard #1 hit. After seeing him engrossed with his BlackBerry for four hours straight, I asked him what he was doing. “BBM,” he said with the air of confidence reserved for platinum artists under 20 years of age. “You don’t use BBM?” he asked this 30-year-old CEO of a mobile company.
Note to BlackBerry: BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) still has millions of loyal customers. They crave always-on messaging that is free and available in every corner of the globe. The Kardashians, the Lakers, the stars of Pretty Little Liars should be using BBM. “When your friends are on BBM,” one USC college student recently told me, “you can’t move to an iPhone.”
4. Open Mobile Marketing APIs
For marketers struggling to figure out which unique ad format to support or which mobile ad network to buy from, keep it simple: BlackBerry has 40% of the U.S. smartphone market and allows advertisers to use mobile web standards (not proprietary ad formats) to connect with your still affluent, hip audience. By embracing open standards, BlackBerry can win the love of advertisers who will create high-quality advertisements and not have to create one-off campaigns like the new iAds on Apple’s IOS4.
Good luck RIM. Despite what some say, you still can win the smartphone war — if you play it smart.
More Mobile Resources from Mashable:
- 5 Must-Have Free Social Apps for BlackBerry
- 10 Must-Have BlackBerry Apps for Small Business
- A Look Back at the Last 5 Years in Mobile
- Top 5 Mobile Commerce Trends for 2010
- 6 Brilliantly Designed Mobile Sites
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, leeser87
More About: android, App, app marketplace, apple, bbm, blackberry, droid, Google, iphone, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, mobile web, RIM
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