Exclusive | We have 40,000 app developers based out of India: Blackberry's Verghese Thomas

With the smartphones market heating up and coming of age in India, this industry segment is witnessing a blitzkrieg of innovation. The growth has been nothing less than exponential over the last 5 years. There are a lot of players in the market now and it is imperative that these companies are taken seriously. Customers have options galore when they want to purchase a new smartphone and they look for the best value for money deal. BlackBerry has always been identified as a smartphone brand for the more sophisticated and evolved user, it has continued with this positioning and has no intention of chasing the red herring of low price smartphones. It believes that its customers associate a high degree of aspiration with the brand BlackBerry and there is no need to change that. Blackberry intends to offer devices in the price range of Rs 9,500 to Rs 40,000 and above.

In its top premium category, Blackberry has just launched it premium smartphone,  Z10 at an MRP of Rs 43,490. Running on its most advanced BlackBerry 10 mobile computing platform, the phone is targeting the high end enterprise customers and consumers segment whose requirement and usability orientation regarding a smartphone involves an acute focus on productivity and utility. Speaking exclusively to Adgully, Verghese Thomas, Director, Corporate Communications, India & Greater China Region says, “We have started the age of mobile computing and taken the paradigm of innovation in smartphone technology to the next level with BlackBerry 10.”

Comprising of innovative features like the unique BlackBerry Balance technology that can segregate the personal and professional data in well-defined silos, BlackBerry Hub which helps in consolidation of all essential notifications at one umbrella location, Peek-and-Flow operation that allows a seamless and hassle free user experience; all of this and many more have gone into BlackBerry 10 to provide utmost productivity benefits to the users. The security of data and operations is almost impregnable owing to the rugged core of QNX on which BlackBerry 10 has been built.

The Indian market is driven by the hunger for innovative products by the users across the enterprise and customer segment. BlackBerry Z10 will be capitalizing on this particular characteristic of the market. Says Thomas, “We have been cognizant of the market pulse and have ensured that we are always strongly focused on keeping track with the changing dynamics of the smartphone industry. BlackBerry Z10 running on BlackBerry 10 is our most powerful product till date and we expect a huge traction in the Indian market for this device.”

On asked about the key success factors in this market, Thomas said, “they are all interrelated to each other. We start with listening to our customer’s needs and expectations, which leads us to undertake relevant innovation to come up with better products. When we are ready for the market with our latest products, the next important step is to ensure that we reach out to our potential customers at every possible location. Presence of efficient distribution network along with strong visibility in the market as an aspirational brand ensures enthusiasm and excitement that leads to a healthy acceptance in the target market.”

The company feels that BlackBerry Z10 has significant competitive edge in terms of productivity, utility and security owing to the innovative features that have been incorporated in BlackBerry 10. The device has been getting rave reviews from various technology experts who have been resonating in unison regarding the fact that BlackBerry 10 is a complete mobile computing platform with almost no lacunas at the fundamental or advanced level of operation. “Considering that BlackBerry Z10 is the sole mobile computing device available in the market, we believe that it will become a strong proposition in the medium as well as long term period and provide a strong boost to our position in the Indian market,” says Thomas.

The Indian smartphone market is taking quantum leaps in terms of innovation and the customer segment is maturing at the same rate. It will not be wrong to say that, rather, the demands and expectations of users are driving the innovation in smartphone technology. A smartphone manufacturer has to take into consideration crucial parameters like relevant pricing, superior product quality, cutting edge technology and highly interconnected and proliferated network of distribution. All of these parameters have to be amalgamated to forge an optimum mix resulting in a consolidated offering of device and service plans to build a strong traction in the market by winning the confidence and faith of the customers. BlackBerry Z10 is a carefully calculated combination of all these parameters built into one single device. On top of all this, the fact that BlackBerry devices are associated with a high degree of aspiration by the BlackBerry customers is an additional differentiator which strongly complements the brand value and aids to the overall business prospective.

On marketing and promotional strategy, Thomas says, “we are implementing a multi-pronged strategy to promote BlackBerry Z10 by driving maximum visibility and rolling out lucrative marketing initiatives to attract existing and potential customers.”

Blackberry planned a whole new ad campaign to promote BlackBerry Z10. The campaign actually broke about four months ago and it was launched in five phases. Through the first phase it generated a lot of excitement and intrigue in the market. Here, the company showed the phone to bloggers and celebs that use social media to promote the phone which resulted in a lot of buzz about the phone. The second phase that began in December, was about educating the consumers. Ample usage of the digital medium was made to talk about the phone. As a part of this strategy, the phone was given to a few journalists and BlackBerry jam sessions organised to showcase some interesting features of the Z10. The third phase began in January which was the ‘inspire’ phase. Blackberry brought in American filmmaker Roberto Rodriguez, singer Alicia Keys, and author Neil Gaiman to build a project. They crafted a story, song and film using the Z10. The fourth phase was rolled out on the day of launch in India which is the ‘amplification’ phase. Here, it has worked with Vodafone for the pre-bookings of the phone prior to the launch. The company recently conducted a marketing initiative in Chennai and Bangalore where it organized special experiences for the early bird customers of BlackBerry Z10 who had pre-ordered for the device. Also, it organized the formation of human chains in strategically selected locations in both the cities to promote the launch of BlackBerry Z10 in the Indian market. Once, the phone is available by the first week of March, the campaign will go on air which has been planned, contemplated and executed by BBDO, the creative agency. The fifth and final phase will follow up soon which is the ‘integration’ phase. It's the point at which the Z10 will be shown at activations where people can experience, touch and feel the device.

On Blackberry's long-term plans, Thomas says, “We have been on a steady growth path over the past nine years of our business in India. The primary reason has been the fact that we have always listened to our target customers, regarding their needs and expectations from BlackBerry smartphones. Quantum leaps in innovation, availability of devices across a wide range of price spectrum, expansion of channels and distribution network spanning across the length and breadth of the geography will be something on which we will continue our focus.”

The company presently has more than 40,000 app developers based out of India who have developed over 9,000 apps out of the 70,000 apps available in the BlackBerry World. “Our aim is to provide not just a mobile device or solutions or applications separately but also a complete mobile ecosystem which is a consolidated offering of everything,” avers Thomas.

As a part of its ‘Go-to-Market’ strategy, Blackberry is focused on building and fortifying new and existing relationship with its channel and distribution partners. Says Thomas, “Having developed our strong presence in top 80 cities we are looking at expanding our reach to 250 cities and towns, as these cities will drive the next phase of growth for the country. Today, we are available in 250 cities through 5000 outlets across the country.”

Since the Indian smartphone market is largely driven by retail channels, it becomes important to enhance the retail experience to target consumers. A unique initiative that has been undertaken is to set up BlackBerry Experience Zones which are based on the store-in-store concept. “Currently we have 700 BlackBerry Experience Zones across the country and 6 exclusive BlackBerry Premium Stores. And to further strengthen our servicing infrastructure in the country we have recently opened 100 new walk-in repair centers (in partnership with HCL Infosystems & Redington) across the 80 cities of our presence to address consumer queries and complaints within 24 hours,” Thomas concluded.