RIM CMO says BlackBerry comeback could be the greatest in tech history

Boulben: “To me, participating in what could be the greatest comeback in tech history is very appealing.” It’s been six months since Frank Boulben took the job of Chief Marketing Officer at RIM.

While some might have treated a position with the RIM of mid-2012 with more than a little trepidation, Boulben is clearly relishing the opportunity.

Boulben came to RIM from Lightsquared and prior to that was with UK-based telecommunications giants Vodafone, Orange and Vivendi Universal, where he built a reputation as a go to guy on the customer side of mobile.

He recently sat down with Forbes Jennifer Rooney to talk about how RIM has changed during his brief tenure.

The RIM CMO says the BlackBerry-maker’s marketing prior to his arrival was fragmented, with pockets of talent that were not coordinated with others. He says RIM’s marketing team now has one budget and one set of processes, rather than regional tiers.

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Boulben says the hardcore BlackBerry users, those who use their device primarily to be productive -the “tools not toys” – crowd represents about one-third of the market for RIM, and the company wanted to be sure that BlackBerry remains their device of choice.

He says the Blackberry 10 user experience will be the focus of bringing those non-hardcore BlackBerry people back to the brand, or to it for the first time. He points to the “hub and flow” interface, improved virtual keyboard, and BlackBerry balance, which separates work and personal spaces.

Bouldben told Rooney he took the job precisely because of the challenge.

“To me, participating in what could be the greatest comeback in tech history is very appealing.”

Here’s the full interview.

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