Blackberry looks to regain its crown with made-in-Indonesia Aurora : Page 2 of 2

Not an easy road

International Data Corporation (IDC) Indonesia believes that the Indonesian market will be a challenging ground for BlackBerry to re-enter simply because the market has changed considerably since its glory days, and the competition in various forms will critically hinder its growth in the local market, particularly in the smartphone space.

“The BlackBerry’s smartphones have decent specs, but they are priced to compete where the China-based vendors have already made their domain. These China-based vendors have successfully established themselves not only at the right price-point but also with socially popular features such selfie enhancing front cameras.

“This is where BlackBerry is challenged as just having decent specs would be insufficient for end-users to gain purchase interest,” IDC Indonesia’s associate market analyst for mobile phones Risky Febrian argues.

However, IDC believes BlackBerry’s attempt by switching to Android combined with its branding will make it more acceptable. Indonesia was one of BlackBerry’s largest markets globally a few years back. BlackBerry was the number one Indonesian smartphone in 2012.

“Along with the addiction to the QWERTY keypad, the BBM played a big role in getting the BlackBerry into the hands of smartphone users in those days. But BBM is available on other devices now, and device competition has changed too, especially with the presence of aggressive China-based vendors like Oppo,” he says.

 The TKDN regulation will be another barrier for entry as the Indonesian government has decreed that all 4G phones must comply with the 30% local content rule in 2017.

“Regardless of those challenges, BlackBerry should focus more on their marketing strategy in Indonesia, as the combination of aggressive below-the-line and above-the-line marketing proved to be successful in terms of driving the growth of smartphone sales in the market.” Risky concludes.

No longer unique

The excitement is not as great as it was before with middle-upper class consumers saying that BlackBerry phones have lost their appeal, especially with people now using WhatsApp and other social messaging services.

“I am not excited at all to hear about the launch of BlackBerry Aurora. First, nobody is using BBM anymore. Second, the build quality of BlackBerry is not as tough and good as other brands in the market,” Adriel Sumampouw, a bank’s business development and service quality improvement officer says.

Adriel says that it is hard to take BlackBerry’s handsets seriously now as it has lost the ‘spirit’, which was BBM in the first place.

“I used BlackBerry back in the days simply because everyone was using BBM, and in order to communicate with our friends and family we needed BBM. With the other social messaging apps available now, there is no uniqueness attached in BlackBerry devices anymore,” he adds.

Chitra Sari, an independent public relations consultant, concurred with Adriel, saying that can be used on any smartphone, regardless of the operating system, hence there is no unique selling proposition left for the brand.

“BlackBerry as a brand no longer exists. They have done nothing in the past few years to maintain the brand. As far as I am concerned, there is no reason for me to be excited about the new launch of its handset,” she says.

 She says that peer pressure is important and nobody in her circle is using a BlackBerry handset anymore.

“It also seems like the brand now is targeting a different market, more to middle low, so it is a whole different experience,” she adds.

Both Adriel and Chitra were BlackBerry users.

BlackBerry’s legacy

Different target audiences have different perceptions of the BlackBerry brand.

Fira Regina, a mall receptionist said that as a brand BlackBerry, has special place in her heart, and she is quite excited to try the new BlackBerry handset.

“BlackBerry was my first phone. Since I was still in high school, until today I still have the handset with me. It is useless but I am too attached to it to think of selling or get rid of it.”

She admits that knowing BlackBerry is now is made in the country increases its attraction even though it has no keyboard.

“I am very proud that Indonesia can make phones and it is BlackBerry. I am planning to look it up online and see the features. I probably will buy it if I can save up the money,” she adds, saying that the price point is quite standard for an Android phone.

For Suparno (goes by one name), a motorcycle taxi driver, he is excited to know BlackBerry is back with a handset made in Indonesia, and still thinks highly of the brand.

“Rather than using phones made in other countries, it is better for us to use BlackBerry, because it is made in Indonesia. I have heard of the new product launch, and was reading the news about it,” he tells DNA.

He says that the handset looks good and elegant, and he is considering buying the handset once it hits the stores.

“The price is quite average for an Android and touch screen phone. I remember the days when everyone had BlackBerry phones. I had to buy one from a second-hand market at a cheaper price. It was cool back then, and I still think it is cool,” he adds.

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