RIM’s PR company sent over some interesting facts regarding BlackBerry Messenger during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Over the past month, RIM saw a huge jump in traffic during significant events during the World Cup as fans shared their moments over BBM.
For example, during a thrilling World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain on Sunday at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, Spanish International and FC Barcelona Midfielder Andrés Iniesta scored the winning goal only three minutes before the end of extra-time, which as the lone goal of the match crowned Spain Champions of the tournament. At the time of this exciting goal, that was viewed around the world, BlackBerry Messenger traffic increased immediately by 280% as virtual communities of fans shared their reactions through BBM.
Throughout the World Cup, there were several other notable moments that correlated with BBM traffic. Some of the most significant included:
- USA v England, June 12th (Match Day 2): traffic spiked 35% globally at the time of the first goal, scored by England.
- Netherlands v Brazil, July 2nd (Match Day 20): traffic jumped by 122% globally at the time of the second goal, scored by the Netherlands.
- Argentina v Germany, July 3rd (Match Day 21): traffic rose by 178% globally at the time of the 3rd German goal.
RIM is increasingly focusing on BlackBerry Messenger as they know it’s the number one customer retention tool for the device. Over all other smartphones, users are choosing BlackBerry because BBM acts as a smartphone/friend exclusive network. More than 25 million people are using BBM and this is a key competitive advantage for the company.
