RIM Takes Over The New York Times Marketing BlackBerry 10
Well, Well. One writer of the New York Times may think that BlackBerry users are embarrassed
with their phones but the New York Times is certainly not embarrassed to team up with Research In Motion.
RIM is partnering with The New York Times for a three-pronged marketing campaign for its new BlackBerry 10 phones, running today.
In addition to being the founding sponsor of Opportunities for Tomorrow, the Times’ inaugural DealBook conference taking place at the Times Center on Wednesday, RIM is taking over the Times’ home page and running a print spadia wrap on a special print edition of DealBook.
This is the first time any advertiser has purchased these three channels simultaneously, said Andy Wright, VP-advertising at the Times.
The Times would not disclose the size of the deal, saying only that it was “substantial,” a word that a Times spokeswoman said the company does not use very often.
Opportunities for Tomorrow will include a BlackBerry 10 product demonstration conducted by RIM’s head of software, Vivek Bhardwaj, during lunch.
The entire conference will be available to website visitors via live stream, so long as they have a Times digital subscription or have not yet used their monthly allotment of 10 free articles.
Live events are particularly important for the BlackBerry 10 campaign as RIM wants to display its new technology to the most influential figures from Silicon Valley and Wall Street. RIM will certainly get that chance tomorrow as the list of speakers includes Marc Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Twitter CEO Dick Costolo among others.
RIM will also be sponsoring the Times’ Energy for Tomorrow conference on April 11.
The home-page takeover includes a sneak peek into the functionality of BlackBerry Hub, an integral feature of BlackBerry 10. In the home-page takeover, visitors can see how Hub — which aggregates a user’s emails, texts, BBMs, social feed notifications and calendar appointments into a single interface — could be used to discover New York Times content. Mr. Wright said RIM chose to advertise with DealBook, the Times’ financial news section, so it could reach professionals.
