We’ll let the headline and opening sentence of this article speak for itself: “BlackBerry loves U2. But U2 doesn’t love BlackBerry, nor give a shit about them”.The piece, on respected mobile tech blog Boy Genius Report, is a review of the first US date on the band’s BlackBerry-sponsored tour. It goes on: “What’s so unsettling is how disconnected RIM was from the event. Sure, there were a couple banners strewn about Soldier Field, but no one noticed. And the folks that did notice didn’t care. Instead of using this opportunity to push their brand forward, it almost seems like just a second thought to throw some quick marketing dollars to try act like your company is doing something in the consumer and “cool” department.”It’s one of the first pieces to question the value of RIM’s sponsorship of the U2 tour, although it has been the subject of music biz gossip for a while.With mobile operators having largely abandoned their strategies of flinging money at festivals and big-name bands in favour of more niche sponsorships, RIM’s deal with U2 seemed to buck the trend. But does the band simply see them as a cash cow?In fairness, the deal isn’t just about banners and stage presence (or about RIM’s top bods getting to hang out with Bono). The company has just launched the U2 Mobile Album app on its BlackBerry App World store, which besides promoting U2’s latest album, has some innovative social networking and location-based features.
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Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…