BlackBerry Seeks Revenue Boost From BBM App

By Trey Thoelcke Published Mar 25, 1:40PM EDT

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When BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) opened up its popular messaging application, BBM, to iOS and Android last year, it more than doubled the user base in the first two months. The company said in its most recent earnings call that it had 80 million active users, with 60% of them using BBM every day.

But like with Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR), both before its IPO last year and since, the question is whether there is any money in it.

BlackBerry is looking to advertising to generate revenue. Select companies will be able to connect with users who follow their brands through the BBM Channel platform. Businesses will pay for sponsored ads and other paid kinds of interaction. But BlackBerry assures users that sponsored posts will be clearly marked as such and they will be limited in frequency.

The next iteration of BBM is due to roll out next week. Besides sponsored posts, it reportedly also will include virtual stickers from the BBM Shop. In the United States, stickers are mainly of interest to younger users, but they are more popular in Asia. Down the road, the BBM Shop is expected to offer other virtual wares.

Clearly Mobile messaging services are hot these days. Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) recently paid $19 billion for WhatsApp. And Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba led a financing round of $280 million in messaging app Tango. Some are predicting that these apps eventually will go beyond their core chat functions and allow for other kinds of services. Could they become the next big thing, becoming indispensable to users? If so, that would be welcome news to BlackBerry.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.