Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

BlackBerry set to launch ads on BBM

Trevor Mogg
By
blackberry wants use bbm to send money
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Note: This piece has an important update at the end.

In a bid to make some money from its popular messaging service, BlackBerry is gearing up to launch ads on BBM.

Recommended Videos

The revenue-making initiative is currently being tested with Beta Zone members running BBM on Android, with ads appearing in two forms within the app’s BBM Channels feature.

Related

According to Mobile Syrup, the trial involves sponsored invites where channel owners can issue an invitation to users to join their channel (these will show up in the invites tab of BBM), and clearly labeled sponsored posts which’ll appear in the updates tab. In an effort to give users some control over the ads, BlackBerry has designed it so that if they decline an invite, or block a sponsored post, they won’t hear from that channel again. 

Interestingly, it appears BlackBerry will introduce sponsored content only for non-BlackBerry devices running the app, at least initially. In other words, if you’re using BBM on iOS, Android, or Windows Phone, ads are likely to begin showing up in the near future.

Part of the testing procedure is likely to involve nailing the ads’ frequency and relevancy so they don’t prove too intrusive or annoying for users when they’re eventually rolled out on a wider scale.

WhatsApp ads?

Soon after Facebook acquired BBM rival WhatsApp last month for $19 billion, Mark Zuckerberg said that as far as he’s concerned, he doesn’t think ads are the right way to go about monetizing messaging, while WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum has always said that ads would be kept off the app, though this was, of course, before Facebook turned up.

Indeed, a Forbes report Tuesday suggested this no-ads policy may be discarded, with “insiders” telling the publication that WhatsApp “could start charging airlines or companies like Uber for the right to send messages to WhatsApp users with their permission.” Ads on an opt-in basis? Wonder how many users will go for that one.

Either way, BlackBerry’s clearly keen on pushing ahead with bringing ads to its messaging service. When John Chen took over at BlackBerry last November, he listed cross-platform messaging as one of the four key areas that the Canadian mobile company had to exploit in order to get the mobile maker back on track.

UPDATE: BBM’s head of product and brand marketing, Jeff Gadway, took to the Inside BlackBerry blog Tuesday to offer some details on its ad strategy. He said the company was taking “a very measured and deliberate approach to connecting BBM Channels users with content they might be interested in from BBM Channel owners, which will include brands and businesses,” at the same time reassuring BBM users that any promoted content on its messaging service “will be direct, relevant, friendly and will in no way impact the chat and sharing experience.”

He added that no promoted content would ever find its way into BBM chats, describing this part of its messaging service as “untouchable.”

To learn more about BlackBerry’s plans for ads on BBM, check out Gadway’s post here.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
BlackBerry is better off dead
BlackBerry Key2 LE Hands On

I haven't seen anyone use a BlackBerry since my freshman year of high school. In fact, I thought the BlackBerry had already died by the time everyone got their hands on the iPhone and/or an Android smartphone in 2011 and I was shocked to learn that the minuscule PDA-like device was still around last month when the company that shares its name decommissioned calling and messaging services for the classic models and rendered them useless. Its death was confirmed when OnwardMobility lost the rights to the BlackBerry name despite its attempts to resurrect the brand with the BlackBerry 5G, which suffered multiple delays in 2021.

Despite being one of the most popular mobile devices in the 2000s next to the T-Mobile-exclusive Sidekick, BlackBerry didn't survive the smartphone era, even though it triggered the advent of smartphones starting with the iPhone. Given its PDA-esque design, it wasn't suitable enough to be turned into a smartphone — or, at the very least, the culturally accepted definition of a smartphone: All touchscreen, no physical QWERTY keyboard. Because of its failure to adapt to the growing smartphone market dominated solely by touchscreens, not to mention the lack of updates for the newer, surviving models — like the BlackBerry Key2 — the BlackBerry as a device is better off dead for all intents and purposes.

Read more
The BlackBerry Key2 shows why software updates really matter
BlackBerry Key2 keyboard.

When BlackBerry shut down crucial services for its old operating system at the beginning of the year, I had a sudden nostalgic urge to take out the Android-based BlackBerry Key2 and see how it performs in 2022. After all, there isn’t much like it these days, and perhaps for all those coming from a now-dead BlackBerry Curve or a Q10 may be considering a jump over to one?

What I discovered is that although the phone may not have been affected by the Blackberry services shutdown, it’s hobbled by something far more insidious: A complete lack of Android updates.
Desirable hardware
The first hour or so with it reminded me what an utter delight the BlackBerry Key2 is, as a phone. It’s almost nothing like any other mainstream phone you can buy today due to the physical keyboard under the screen, which remains a marvel to use. However, it really needs a lot of getting used to. I spent time training myself to type at a sensible speed when the Key2 was released, but my finger muscles have forgotten all that, so I stiffly tapped out words at a snail’s pace for a start.

Read more
A new BlackBerry with a keyboard is still on the schedule for 2022
BlackBerry Key2 LE review

A new BlackBerry phone is still in the cards for 2022, according to hardware partner OnwardMobility. Following a breakup with TCL in 2020, BlackBerry partnered with the little-known Texas company OnwardMobility to launch a new phone in 2021. After missing that launch period, the Onward Mobility team shared an update this week, letting BlackBerry enthusiasts know that their phone was still coming.

"Everyone has eagerly awaited additional information following our last announcement, but 2021 was truly a challenging year to launch a new phone, much less one with the high expectations we set and the fact that we want to get it right!" the OnwardMobility team wrote, "While we encountered various delays that prevented us from shipping in 2021, we will be providing more regular updates starting this month that will clarify and answer many of your questions about the ultra-secure 5G enterprise smartphone (still with a keyboard!) we’re bringing to market."

Read more