RIM Becomes BlackBerry; Names Alicia Keys to Global Creative Director

Research In Motion (RIM) has announced that it will now operate around the world under the iconic name BlackBerry, effective immediately. The company will adopt the name of its revolutionary BlackBerry smartphone to coincide with the launch of its new mobile computing platform, BlackBerry 10. The move aims to consolidate the company’s brand into a single cohesive global presence.

 

As part of the move, the company will now trade as “BB” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “BBRY” on the NASDAQ. The changes to the company’s ticker symbols will be effective at the start of trading on Monday, February 4, 2013. The company’s website (www.rim.com) has changed to www.blackberry.com and soon company email addresses will migrate to @blackberry.com suffix.

 

BlackBerry’s reinvigorated marketing efforts will now consistently represent the BlackBerry brand.

 

In addition, at the close of its BlackBerry 10 launch event on January 30, 2013, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins introduced 14-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and entrepreneur, Alicia Keys, as BlackBerry’s new Global Creative Director. As an official member of the BlackBerry team, Keys will lead an array of new business initiatives that will drive engagement with BlackBerry and perception of the brand.

 

In her new role, Keys will work closely with app developers, content creators, retailers, carriers and the entertainment community to further shape and enhance the BlackBerry 10 platform, and inspire creative use. From music to books, to film, to apps, Keys will lead the charge of enhancing entertainment consumption and distribution, through the power of BlackBerry 10.

 

“Staying connected has become a vital part of my creative process,” says Keys. “I have been using the BlackBerry 10 for a few weeks now, and I’m truly inspired by its innovation. It has entirely revolutionized the experience. I know the potential this platform has to help creative people be more productive, and help productive people be more creative. This is such an incredible age to be living in, with such profound advances in communications and technology. As Global Creative Director, my goal is to inspire creativity with this platform, and I’m so excited to jump right in.”

 

At this morning’s launch event, Keys revealed BlackBerry’s new “Keep Moving” Project, which engages BlackBerry users in experiences created by multi-faceted artists, writers, designers, filmmakers, musicians, and athletes. Renowned film director Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City), and author Neil Gaiman (Coraline, Stardust, The Sandman) will join Keys as the first three “BlackBerry Partners” leveraging the new platform to create content and special user engagements. The essence of these creative projects is that they are collaborations between the artist, BlackBerry and BlackBerry users around the world.