Today’s announcement by BlackBerry (which included changing its name from RIM to BlackBerry) was expected to be a simple announcement of its new phones and a rundown of all the features of the new BlackBerry 10 OS. It was all of that, but CEO Thorsten Heins channeled Steve Jobs by saving one last big announcement for the end of the presentation.
Heins announced that the position of “Global Createive Director” has been created at BlackBerry, and that singer/songwriter Alicia Keys will be filling the role. It seems that Keys and BlackBerry will be reaching out to creative people in an effort to brand BlackBerry 10 as more than a secure business platform.
Judging from some of the new ads BlackBerry has uploaded to its YouTube account, Keys is effectively the new face of BlackBerry. Joining Heins on stage, she pitched for BlackBerry 10 and stated she will be working app designers and content creators.
Keys will also be heading-up the “Keep Moving Project,” which is working with artists on “a series of unique projects.” The video below, which was shown during the BlackBerry presentation, shows that both director Robert Rodriguez and author Neil Gaiman are a part of the project. Rodriguez will be “collaborating with BlackBerry and people from all around the world on a very unique filmmaking project.” Gaiman states he will use his project to “connect people from all over the world and, together, to tell some amazing stories, and to make some fantastic art.”