Alicia Keys is now BlackBerry’s new Global Creative Director. The 14-time Grammy Award winning musician will be heading the creative division of the company, following an announcement from Thorsten Heins, its CEO. It looks like the struggling smartphone brand is thinking out of the box and is trying out celebrity endorsements as well, in its bid to regain lost ground.
Along with making the announcement regarding Keys, BlackBerry also announced the release of its Z10 touchscreen smartphone. The big news did not end there; Research InMotion, the company that manufactures the BlackBerry devices, has now changed its name to match its product. This move was made so as not to confuse the brand and the manufacturer, however it will be of little significance for the regular user.
The ‘Falling’ singer will be working with a host of personnel from BlackBerry in her new role, including content creators, app developers, retailers, as well as the entertainment industry. Heins said that Alicia has been taken on board as she shares the company’s philosophy that one has to keep moving and that people should be empowered through communication and mobile computing.
The CEO of BlackBerry made it clear that the company is looking forward to its new Global Creative Director opening up new avenues in the fields of social media, entertainment and business to help grow their business.