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RIM’s marketing chief to leave

by Sarah Griffiths on 7 March 2011, 14:24

Tags: RIM (TSE:RIM)

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Time is of the essence?

Research in Motion (RIM) has revealed that its chief marketing officer will leave his role just before the launch of its tablet.

Just ahead of RIM's highly anticipated PlayBook launch, The WSJ has reported that RIM's marketing man, Keith Pardy has decided to quit for personal reasons, but has agreed to a 6 month transition period sitting on the firm's board.

Apparently Pardy shared his plans with the company last month, but RIM has yet to announce his successor.

According to IT Pro Portal, Pardy started work at RIM in 2009 after working for one of the smartphone company's rivals, Nokia.

It could be argued that Pardy's departure is not coming at the best time for RIM, which is rumoured to launch its PlayBook tablet this month or in April.

Many commentators have pointed out the importance of the tablet to RIM, which is facing increased competition in the business smartphone market from numerous directions, most recently including Dell in the UK.

RIM will launch its tablet into a rapidly crowded market and will have to compete with recent launches such as Apple's iPad 2 and Motorola's Xoom Honeycomb offering.

RIM has been working hard to shake off its image as a firm that simply offers business solutions.  Its BlackBerry Torch handset and marketing campaign has stressed its multimedia credentials and enthusiasm.

According to Marketing Week, RIM's UK MD Stephen Bates has attributed the firm's success of being the UK's largest smartphone vendor with a 28 percent smartphone market share in January, to its transition from a business-focused brand to one aimed at a younger audience.



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