BlackBerry's aim in 2009 was to build their share in the UK smartphone market, in which the i-phone had been dominating. BlackBerry wanted to target a specific, hard to reach audience of young, fun-loving, socially active users who are addicted to communicating with their friends. Blackberry also wanted to further cement their relationship with music through a trusted music brand. IPC Media offered Blackberry the opportunity to own the NME.com Festival Guide 2009

To target a specific, hard to reach audience of young, fun-loving, socially active users who are addicted to communicating with their friends.

BlackBerry sponsored the NME Festival Guide 2009, this comprised of: A bespoke channel was created for BlackBerry educating users on their handsets and directing users to learn more on the official BlackBerry website skinning the whole Festival section with Blackberry branding from June-August, including photos, videos and news stories. High impact display formats and takeovers ran on the homepage. Traffic drivers ran over Inspire Men's Music sites and selected IPC channels directing users to the Festival Guide.The NME Festival targeted 3.5 million of BlackBerry's audience

The research demonstrated that: Awareness & engagement 74% remember seeing the Blackberry ads on nme.com in addition they were also exposed to the Blackberry sponsorship features on the site and then engaged with the content. NME.com websites visitors reacted positively to the Blackberry partnership with NME. 7 in 10 agreed that it was great to see a brand like Blackberry associate themselves with music. The partnership has also improved their opinion of Blackberry. Increase in purchase intentions as a result of the NME.com, 1 in 3 are more likely to buy a Blackberry .

This sponsorship package provided an ideal vehicle for BlackBerry to associate themselves with a trusted authority in music.