In 2013, BlackBerry announced the first foray into Formula One (F1) racing with the Mercedes AMG Petronas partnership. The partnership was inked for 3 years and fast forward to now, the partnership is set to end. Rumours has it now that it has been at a cost of more than $45 million for these three years.
The Star has had a opportunity to speak with John Chen on this and here’s what he has to say:
Given the conditions we were in in the last three years it worked in some places.
It doesn’t work uniformly but a lot of that isn’t about Formula One, it’s about us because when we were very preoccupied with turning around the company… we really didn’t take advantage of the platform… The fact of the matter is we haven’t truly been in a position to take advantage of their platform and everything else.
It’s not only about people stealing your data or your address book or your preferences or your identity. It’s way beyond that. It’s physical harm.
In short, whilst it has given BlackBerry the exposure that it sorely needs, he is pretty much still considering whether or not to extend and continue this partnership whilst the company’s emphasis going forward will still be on security and privacy.
What do you guys think?
Ke Not Registered
Posted: June 4, 2015 at 7:53 AM EST from my BlackBerry Z10 | OS 10.3.1.2582
Absolutely. Gives them global name exposure. F1 attracts CEOs and executives around the world. Perfect place to advertise.
dana Not Registered
Posted: June 4, 2015 at 8:48 PM EST
It’s global exposure, it shows that blackberry is out there. Keep it going!