Good evening, are you enjoying the weekend?
It was announced today that the United Arab Emirates will be banning Blackberry email, instant messaging, and web surfing due to a “threat” to national security. The core issue is that their government will not be able to control information transported back and forth as much as they would like to.
The U.A.E. ban is set to start October 11th, which is just in time for winter recruiting season. The good news is that as of right now the U.A.E. does not plan on banning smart phones by Nokia and Apple.
The question we need to ask here is, will this affect international student recruiting? My feeling is absolutely it will. On a side note, there is also interest from China, Kuwait, and India to have the Blackberries banned as well.
The explosion of mobile marketing and mobile applications is very interesting to look at with this because now as a marketer, do you shy away from U.A.E students? It is a very rich nation with students (and consumers) who are willing to pay. You might have to consider when you get a student that inquires with you to ask them what mobile device they are using. It could turn out that the student (or consumer) who owns the Blackberry might be less likely to attend, or buy your product.
In the short term, it will probably not affect your marketing efforts that much, however beyond October, it very well could!
enjoy the evening,
marketmpb
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