Research In Motion (RIM) has announced today that it will now be known simply as BlackBerry, after it unveiled a rebranding that leans upon the “simple and elegant” commercial name associated with its various mobile phones, tablets and services.
“We have reinvented the company, and we want to represent this in our brand,” Thorsten Heins, CEO of RIM said. “One brand. One promise. Our customers use a BlackBerry, our employees work for BlackBerry, and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry.”
The announcement has been made to coincide with the launch of the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone and BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system at a launch event held simultaneously across four continents; New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Dubai, Johannesburg, Jakarta and Delhi.
As a result of the new branding, the Canadian smartphone manufacturer has changed its stock symbol so that it is now listed as ‘BBRY’ under the NASDAQ and ‘BB’ under the TSX.
The <3 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
You can find out more about the name change in the video below, which has been uploaded by RIM in the last few minutes:
“We have a fantasitc brand. BlackBerry,” Frank Boulben, CMO of RIM said. “And we are known as such pretty much all over the world except in North America. So we want to take full advantage of that global iconic brand.”
He added: “And what we want to do is become a branded house. That the BlackBerry name is central. So whether you are an employee, you work for BlackBerry. If you are a customer, you own a BlackBerry. If you are a shareholder, you have BlackBerry shares. So that BlackBerry brand, which is a global, iconic brand becomes really a central branded house.”
It’s a significant decision for RIM, which has held the Research In Motion name since its inception in 1984. However, given that most of the public now knows and refers to RIM simply as BlackBerry, it makes sense to consolidate its company identity and image moving forward.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.