Product placement at work: The BlackBerry Playbook is featured in Black Eyed Peas’s The Time (Dirty Bit) MTV. The strategy is straightforward. The Playbook wants to be associated with the Black Eyed Peas’s ‘cool and hip’ image.
In the MTV, a futuristic image of the Playbook is painted. The camera is the only feature showcased but it is enough to tell viewers that the Playbook is a fun gadget to have. Especially with all the “augmented reality looking characters” display on the screen. The gadget is featured 2:10 onwards.
There are over 14 million views on YouTube over the last three weeks. On top of that, the MTV is also featured across TV networks. The Playbook has certainly reached a wide audience with ‘fun’ and ‘cool’ heavily emphasized and communicated. Just one problem. It seems that the Playbook is neither professional nor casual.
When the Playbook was first introduced, CEO Mike Lazaridis’s first line was “Introducing the world’s first professional tablet”. It was further emphasized that the ‘Playbook is enterprise-ready for professionals’. Despite pressure from Apple, I was impressed by how RIM has kept close to their professional brand identity. The difference between RIM and its competitors is still distinct. However, this product placement strategy seems to suggest that the BlackBerry Playbook has gone out of its professional brand identity. RIM probably understands that the lucrative market for its tablet is in the laymen (cool and hip are important factors) and not the professionals. RIM should keep true to its professional brand image. It’s better to keep to one brand identity than have one that is middle-of-the-road.
What do you think?
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
