BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is suffering from a major image crisis right now, but all hope is not lost, according to Allen Adamson, managing director of Landor Associates. Speaking on Bloomberg TV, he admitted that it will be difficult for the struggling Canadian company, but if they execute and remain focuses, they can stay alive.
Setting a strategy for BlackBerry
“The right strategy for most brands is to go back to the roots, as an expression, their fruits and their roots,” he told Bloomberg. “Find out what their authenticity is, where did it come from? BlackBerry came from traders down at Goldman who were wearing it on their belt and using it for business.”
According to Adamson, since BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is indeed returning to its roots and focusing on the enterprise sector, the company doesn’t need as much advertising. He also said that this strategy is particularly good for the struggling company because it needs to zig when everyone else is zagging. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) are all going after the consumer segment.
Fixing the BlackBerry brand
There’s no denying that the BlackBerry brand is damaged. “Tarnished” is one of the words they used in the Bloomberg interview, and Adamson was asked if the company will need to do “something radical” with it.
He admitted that changing how people view BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) products is going to be difficult because much of technology is fashion, or “badge brands,” as he called them. He noted that the kind of smartphone people use says a lot about them, and if people use a BlackBerry, they’re seen as stodgy. He also said it’s like continuing to use AOL for email today.
Microsoft also aims for a turnaround
[drizzle]He was also asked about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), another brand which some investors see as tarnished. Adamson said the company is now rethinking things and looking for the end benefit and how things can be bundled. He said consumers want to see software and hardware brought together and that that’s what Microsoft is doing.
In the consumer market, he pointed to the Xbox as being Microsoft’s one big success story, and he said the company needs to bring some of that “Xbox magic” to the rest of the business because it’s the only consumer device from Microsoft that has been successful. He notes that gamers say the Xbox is winning over other consoles because the company has the right games and the right delivery system for it.
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