BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) has been experiencing phenomenal success with BBM in the Middle East. The company claims that the Middle East is one of its strongest and competitive markets.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the most active BBM markets in the Middle East. The two countries occupy 80% of the BBM market in the Middle East. It is in the interest of Blackberry to create more value for its customers in the region by including more local content and subscriptions. The company expects the constant demand and preference for Blackberry services to continue.
The firm recently stated that it has a large market base in the region and will continue to push for further growth. Blackberry is already well established in the region, but it expects more registration from first timers in the region thanks to the network effect.
Blackberry also reported that some of the other markets in the Middle East have started to show more growth. Some of them include Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain whose rapid growth has been thanks to the presence of BBM on both iOS Android OS. BBM was installed more than 1 million times in the Middle East within the month of October. This is a testament of the rapid growth rate that the company has been experiencing in the region. The mobile applications have played a major role in pushing this growth. It is also the result of the support from engaged users who attract their family and friends.
The BBM Shop has also been experiencing a lot of traffic from users in the Middle East. More than 150 million stickers are exchanged, and the average number of monthly visits to the BBM shop is 30 million. The portfolio of BBM services also happens to be very popular. One example is the Custom Pin Subscription that allows users to select their own pin. The tight security and privacy control measures provided by BBM have also become a darling to many users.
Blackberry’s advertising strategy has newly opened opportunities thanks to Dubai’s recent shift into programmatic ad buying and digital advertising. Though it is currently not as advanced as in the US and the UK, the company still believes that the advertising is a growing wave that will soon rival other markets.
