Recent research by YouGov shows that awareness of BlackBerry's advertising efforts in the U.S. have jumped from 6% in the middle of January to 21% by the end of February. 34% of existing BlackBerry owners that were looking to get a new handset in the next six months were going to stick with BlackBerry. 17% said they were going to switch to iPhone and 31% said they were going to switch to a Samsung device. By comparison, iPhone purchase intent had dropped from 14% to 7%, and ad awareness was down from 44% to 38% between January and March.

Though that may sound rough, at the same time last year, those figures were closer to 30% retention, 34% defection to iPhone, and 12% to Samsung. The data was collected by surveying Americans to see which manufacturer brands they've seen in advertisements recently, and which they would be most likely to purchase from.

BlackBerry ad awareness

Leading up to the U.S. launch of the BlackBerry Z10 next week, marketing is going to play a huge role in generating awareness. Sure, you fine, dedicated CrackBerry readers will know just about every nook and cranny of the device before it gets into your hands, but everyday consumers will likely hear about the Z10 first from a TV spot or a banner. The Keep Moving campaign is really nice and proactive, but even going about daily business in Canada, I'm spotting many more traditional print ads from BlackBerry than I've seen in a long time. 

What about you guys? Have you seen a lot of BlackBerry ads out in the wild? How do you think mainstream awareness is doing for the BlackBerry Z10?

 

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