“In my earlier post about Research in Motion’s bitter earnings miss, I speculated that before investors rush off to sell their Apple shares in sympathy — worried that iPhone sales might also be slow too — they may want to study RIM’s reasons for its shortfall,” Jim Goldman writes for CNBC. “And that appears to be good advice.”
“On RIM’s conference call, it admitted that an enormous marketing push to fend off the coming iPhone onslaught was a key factor in the earnings miss,” Goldman writes.
“More specifically, RIM spent nearly $380 million on marketing and advertising its BlackBerry. It’s an enormous figure no one was counting on,” Goldman writes. “We had an inkling that costs might be on the rise, but certainly not something like this.”
“Bottomline: RIM is taking steps to ward off Apple. That’s the good news. The bad news for RIM, and the good news for Apple: That RIM has to spend this kind of money to try to get that job done. And it still didn’t work. Which means it’ll have to spend more next quarter,” Goldman writes. “Ouch.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Joe Architect” for the heads up.]
Bain de sang.
So true, MDN, so true.
RIMM didn’t even see it coming. Or they did, and just considered Apple a “boutique company.”
That’s where having 21 billion in the bank helps: doesn’t have to come from earnings.
@JadisOne: Oh, I’m sure they saw it coming. Just nothing they could do to get off the tracks before that Apple train rolled over them!
Wow, what a difference design makes! The iPhone is not perfect, but it has had a very real effect on the market.
Just wait until recently purchased PA Semi and Apple bring out the “next” iphone(s).
Yeesh, I don’t suppose anyone might consider putting that money into better R&D;? nope, just make more ads trying to convince people that they really want the o;d technology.
There’s something wrong somewhere with a society where people can waste that much money on promoting stuff that isn’t good enough.
iPhone makes other smartphones look so 20th century
Combine that 380 million with the 300 million that Microsoft is reportedly spending on its “Vista doesn’t completely suck” campaign, and that’s nearing a $billion that companies are spending right now to try to keep their market share level.
And even still, Apple shares continue to head south. What gives?
Bain de sang – ROTFLMAO…
You should start a series – “Bloodbaths around the world”.
wutTTTTTT
mdn MW: expected, ’nuff said
“Bain de sang.”
That’s funny because I always say, “Bang de sane.”
Wow, $380m from RIM and $300m from Microsoft.
Be $1bn by then of the year and it still won’t have the slightest impact!
Go Apple.
and here’s my contribution to the “Bloodbaths around the world”:
Крвопролиће (that’s Serbian)
Just to re-phrase MidWest Mac, for greater clarity: Apple’s competitors are spending a combined total near $1 Billion for advertising in order to fight Apple!!!??
That is just remarkable! Imagine how much R&D a billion could buy…
Ball Silly “iPhone? what is an iPhone? never seen one, never heard of it”.
Now we know the truth Mr. Silly, what a silly thing to say at that time when the whole world was abuzz with the oncoming of the iPhone.
Enjoy your bath! make some Haggis with any spare blood you do not use up, you might have a chance to recoup your losses by selling it for consumption!!!!!
I’ve seen tons of those Blackberry, soccer mom, ads recently, with the “simulated screen” disclaimer that all the cellphone ads use, except for the iPhone. Anyway, those Blackberry ads need to get better if they want to gain traction.
And the cows on wall street sell off their Apple stock in sympathy, ignorant of the fact that RIM’s problem *IS* Apple, *NOT* a shrinking economy.