Since its Blackberry Boys advertising campaign in September 2010, Vodafone claims a 100 per cent increase in Blackberry users on its network. The company also claims a 50 per cent increase in market share on Blackberry since then, based on its own research.
Little wonder then, that a month-long campaign marking the return of the Blackberry Boys has kicked off on television this week.
Speaking to
Vodafone's growth in BlackBerry subscribers has been aided by its entry-level plans. A daily plan which the company claims is exclusive to Vodafone, for instance, comes with a charge of Rs 5 per day.
“There's a clear path that we see customers taking as they get used to BlackBerry. A significant portion of users move from daily usage to monthly plans. We also see them moving from only e-mail and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to data usage with a full BlackBerry plan,” she added.
360-degree campaign
The current Blackberry Boys television blast will be followed by a 360-degree campaign through to point-of-sale. The campaign backs a BBM-only plan launched in January. The timing of the campaign also ties in with a key target group (youth) moving from school to college.
Mr Krishnadeep Baruah, Director – Marketing, India, for Research In Motion (BlackBerry), noted that BlackBerry's target audience is spread across the 14 to 45 years age group. With affordable prepaid plans, BlackBerry adoption among youth has increased significantly, he explained.
“Our daily, weekly plans are extremely popular with college-going teens as it offers them the flexibility to manage their communication needs,” added Mr Baruah.