Q&A: Chris Weber hoping to create some bad days for Samsung and Apple in the weeks and months ahead

Quick heads up on this Q&A with Chris Weber that was held with Nokia Bloggers, thanks to the Nokia Connects team. Chris Weber will be one of the execs moving over with Mr Elop as Nokia’s devices and services transition to MS.

The talk of a unified brand across the devices in interesting. It seems they’re looking for a name that covers a lot of things, Nokia, Microsoft, Windows Phone, Lumia, Surface. One option was to have Lumia across smartphones AND tablets. Whatever is chosen, Chris says MS is gonna make that brand relevant.

Interesting mention on a Lumia tablet.

Cheers Paul!

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[16:04:18] Nokia Connects: Welcome to the Q&A everybody and thanks for coming!

[16:04:18] Sam Pullen: Hola 🙂

[16:04:25] Nirave: Hello 🙂

[16:04:27] Carla Eid: Hi guys and gals!

[16:04:32] Chris Weber: Good morning to worlds greatest bloggers:)

[16:04:44] Mark Guim: Good morning!

[16:04:49] varunkrish: Hello everyone!

[16:05:09] Carla Eid: Great to have you all, Chris is here to answer your questions, shoot! 🙂

[16:05:32] Jenifer Hanen: Good morning!

[16:06:30] Nokia Connects: Don’t be shy 😀

[16:06:39] Chris Weber: quiet group today:)

[16:06:42] Mark Guim: Hi Chris. On Nokia Conversations, you said “we’ll be seeking to create a unified brand across Lumia and other Windows based devices.” Can you be more specific?

[16:07:54] Chris Weber: I think today one of the issues we have is too many brands – Microsoft, Nokia, Windows Phone, Lumia, Surface, etc.  So one of the things MSFT has to do is create a unified brand that crosses “mobile” devices which I think of as Phones and Tablets

[16:08:18] Chris Weber: so one option as an example would be to use the Lumia brand across smartphones and tablets.

[16:08:39] Chris Weber: I think we confuse the customer today and spend way too much money collectively across all these brands

[16:08:43] Jenifer Hanen: Will that unified brand be using the licesnsed nokia Name or Lumia?  Or will MSFT be thinking up a whole new name, ala Xbox?

[16:09:14] Chris Weber: regardless what brand MSFT chooses I strongly believe we need to make that brand relevant, cool, hip, desirable to the younger consumer

[16:10:03] Mark Guim: Thanks!

[16:10:05] Sam Pullen: Hey Chris, what happens to services like Nokia music if the purchase goes through fully, with Xbox music being a big thing MS are big on does that mean Nokia Music just gets rolled into that or will remain separate and if so, will it continue with the Nokia branding.

[16:10:48] Nirave: Good morning Chris, I wanted to ask about the future of the bloggers outreach. Will Nokia Connects continue to be involved, albeit possibly under a new name or will this go in house at Microsoft?

[16:10:52] Chris Weber: for Mobile Phones MSFT has rights to use the Nokia brand for 10 years.  on smartphones (aka Lumia) they own the Lumia brand and have ability to use Nokia brand for 18 months following acquisition approval.  This will be a MSFT decision, with Nokia input, but believe they will look to create a unifying brand and what it is still needs to be decided.  having said that I think Lumia is a strong brand today that will be given serious consideration

[16:11:18] Chris Weber: regardless of what they choose I think most important again is appealing to younger consumer and making emotional connection with the brand

[16:12:26] Chris Weber: hi Nirave.  Absolutely Nokia Connects will be involved and my ambition is to make it bigger!  You are a huge part of what we do and how we do it so I see the MSFT acquisition as an opportunity to scale it bigger

[16:12:28] varunkrish: Hi Chris, will devices which have been introduced in the market already get rebranded?  or continue selling under the Nokia name like the Nokia Lumia 1020.

[16:12:58] Chris Weber: they have so many resources that today in some sense we are constrained so leveraging that I see the Nokia Connect with Bloggers being put on steroids!:)

[16:12:58] Jenifer Hanen: “most important again is appealing to younger consumer and making emotional connection with the brand”   And the young at heart, I hope…  🙂

[16:13:30] Nirave: Thanks Chris!

[16:13:31] Chris Weber: and personally I love this group and concept so promise you are coming over to the Microsoft world, will gets lots of love from us and definitely want to make even bigger

[16:13:45] Carla Eid: I second that 🙂

[16:13:52] Chris Weber: devices already launched won’t get rebranded

[16:14:12] Nokia Connects: :$

[16:14:14] Nirave: That’s great to hear 🙂

[16:14:30] Jenifer Hanen: Nokia’s blogger relations is unique both in its approach and the love that goes both ways. It would be sad to lose it.  (inlove)

[16:14:38] Chris Weber: Jenifer you are spot on about younger consumer, emotional connection with the brand.  I like to think about it as we need to market to the hearts and not just the minds:)

[16:15:21] Jenifer Hanen: Most of the folks that I know who are really excited about my Lumia 1020 when they see me use it are 40+.

[16:15:24] Chris Weber: Jenifer – I promise we won’t lose it and thus why I am doing this Skype call so you know the importance we see in this group and ultimately the ability to do bigger and bolder things with you

[16:15:26] Carla Eid: There is a question from] Sam Pullen: Hey Chris, what happens to services like Nokia music if the purchase goes through fully, with Xbox music being a big thing MS are big on does that mean Nokia Music just gets rolled into that or will remain separate and if so, will it continue with the Nokia branding.

[16:15:46] Sam Pullen: I feel hurt 😉

[16:15:50] *** Nokia Connects added Ali Al-Qudsi ***

[16:15:57] Carla Eid: I got your back Sam 🙂

[16:16:17] Jenifer Hanen: Sam, you just need to use more obnoxious emoticons…

[16:16:32] Sam Pullen: (emo)

[16:17:22] Chris Weber: we are just now working through lots of issues/questions such as Nokia Music but I see opportunities to combine the best of what MSFT has and the best of Nokia such as Music. Nokia Music has so many unique elements, broad global distribution, etc. that I thinking combining both services into one will make it the most compelling out there.  That is the goal overall with this partnership and that is combine best of Nokia (people, skills, culture, programs, etc.) with the best of MSFT and then we have some super special

[16:17:46] Ali Al-Qudsi: HI everyone!

[16:17:51] Jade Bryan Jardinico: Hi Chris, when are you going to start pre-installing msft svcs like skype to lumias and Asha?

[16:18:07] Chris Weber: Sam – I won’t ignore you anymore.  was typing so fast just missed the original question:)   (beer) for you

[16:18:33] Sam Pullen: (highfive) cheers Chris

[16:19:22] Carla Eid: Welcome Ali, last but by no means least :)  feel free to ask Chris questions/comments you have

[16:19:47] varunkrish: Chris , glad to hear blogger relations going to get bigger going forward  🙂 , the first phone i reviewed was from WOMWorld!  (y)  for that! Have a question about Asha devices considering they are so big here in India. Would they continue to sell under the Nokia Asha brand and will there be any impact to the Chennai factory which makes Asha phones.

[16:20:45] Chris Weber: Jade – those are ongoing discussions around MSFT services on Asha but think it can create a really compelling (and MORE) consistent experience across Asha and Lumia. Things like SkyDrive, Bing Apps, Skype, etc. could be unifying services across all devices.  Also using Skydrive as backup for customer data is a great opportunity to make sure we provide seamless experience across Asha and Lumia.  And although no decisions being made I think it would be interesting to think about “Metro” UI on Asha so now consumer as same look and feel.  Awesome opportunities to again create a more compelling experience for our customers by merging the best of both companies

[16:20:51] Sam Pullen: Quick one regarding the PureView technology, will that be owned by MS or still owned by Nokia and likened to MS (patents on the technology) or will the sale include all elements of the technology.

[16:21:13] Ali Al-Qudsi: Don

[16:21:32] Nirave: The Nokia Champions team play a big part in retail in the UK. After the acquisition, will Microsoft still have a retail sales and training presence?

[16:21:34] Ali Al-Qudsi: Don’t know if this has been mentioned, but what about the Nokia exclusive apps?

[16:21:36] Sam Pullen: Licensed*

[16:22:34] Chris Weber: I believe Asha devices will continued to be sold under the Nokia brand for many years to come.  Nokia has such a strong brand in many places around the world so both MSFT and Nokia want to make sure we leverage that.  And it is why MSFT negotiated to be able to use the Nokia brand for 10 years on Mobile Phones.  I also don’t anticipate any changes in the Chennai factory as that is critical to our business short and long term

[16:22:56] Jade Bryan Jardinico: That’s exciting. Thanks Chris.. I hope to meet you on future msft events :)  -gadjade

[16:24:31] Chris Weber: Nirave – I believe we will have a bigger retail sales and training presence than we do today when we combine what we and MSFT are doing.  The great part is we will now being doing things in a much more unified manner.  today you can go into a retail store and see a setup for Surface, Lumia, WP, Windows 8, etc.  Moving forward I would expect a much better unified representation of all things across PC, Tablet, Phone and even Xbox so consumers will see the true benefit across the ecosystem

[16:25:03] Chris Weber: Jade – you guys and gals are stuck with me as I am your biggest fans.  And you are the best to hang out with at parties:)

[16:25:30] Sam Pullen: This might sound controversial…. but if Nokia started to make phones again in 2016 ? I believe, how would MS Nokia branded Asha phones and lets say *Real* Nokia phones be branded, would that cause confusion with the consumer as to who actually is responsible for any warranty etc ?

Also let’s say that Nokia do not, will the consumer see MS product logos etc on Nokia Asha boxes along side the Nokia branding 🙂

[16:25:54] Chris Weber: but want you to take away from this we (I) are super committed to making sure we continue supporting what you do and ultimately looking at opportunities to make it bigger by tapping into all the resources MSFT has available

[16:26:03] Nirave: Chris thanks, it’s good to know. There’s been a lot of speculation regarding Nokia after the acquisition. Are Nokia allowed to make smartphones in the future?

[16:26:39] Nokia Connects: We have just under 5 minutes left guys, so final questions please <3

[16:26:58] varunkrish: What happens to Nokia stores and retail presence which in markets where the Nokia brand is huge say India , Asia, Middle east  ?

[16:27:07] Carla Eid: Ali’s questions has not been answered:  Ali Al-Qudsi: Don’t know if this has been mentioned, but what about the Nokia exclusive apps?

[16:27:49] Chris Weber: Sam – I am not sure as that is so far out there.  I think that depends on 1) how well we collectively do creating this unified branding and connecting with younger consumers and 2) strength of Nokia brand in light of point #1.  But would say the mindset from Nokia and MSFT is to do the smart thing based on what the market and customers are telling us.  As long as Nokia brand remains strong I wouldn’t see that changing on Mobile Phones.

[16:29:18] Chris Weber: Sorry Ali.  I believe we will continue to make exclusive apps for our devices and actually when you combine MSFT assets we probably start to do even more.  Huge opportunities to look at things such as Bing, Skype, Xbox, SkyDrive, Office, etc. and figure out how to create new and compelling experiences for our customers.  If we do this right this is what allows us to accelerate our business

[16:30:23] Chris Weber: Nokia stores I believe will continue as most of where we have those stores (mostly franchised) is where we have strong Mobile Phone business.  so again I believe we will be very pragmatic and make sure we keep that presence and brand affinity

[16:30:55] Nokia Connects: We are about out of time now guys so final questions and then we have to let Chris get back to work! 🙂

[16:31:26] Nokia Connects: Thanks for coming – if you have any feedback on this session please drop me an email (paul@nokiaconnects.com) would love to hear your feedback!

[16:31:35] Jenifer Hanen: Thanks! [Time for more Skype emoticons]  (party)

[16:31:40] Chris Weber: Maybe no one has asked this overall but will say I am 100% committed to this acquisition and strongly believe it makes us so much stronger.  There are just natural friction points around technology, brand, sales, marketing, etc. that go away and allow us to bigger and better things

[16:31:59] Chris Weber: and if we combine the best of both companies we create a new company that will be really tough to beat.

[16:32:10] Carla Eid: Thank you all for joining this Skype chat, it is SO important to hear from you and for you to know that we are committed to the Nokia Connects program and will continue to do so, you are all VERY important to Nokia, our extended family.

[16:32:13] Ali Al-Qudsi: More of a request, PLEASE PLEASE don’t change the press relations teams (especially Nokiac onnects/1000 heads) these are the only people who can make someone buy a Microsoft/Nokia device

[16:32:35] Nirave: Ditto Ali, these guys are the best

[16:32:36] Ali Al-Qudsi: in terms of being the human side of Nokia that we love to interact with

[16:32:50] Chris Weber: now we have to make sure we still stay agile and flexible, pay attention to the customer, deliver fantastic value, etc. but if we can do this I am hoping we create some very bad days for Samsung and Apple in the weeks and months ahead:)

[16:33:04] Carla Eid: @Chris Here Here!

[16:33:08] Sam Pullen: Nokia are the ONLY company I enjoy talking with e.g Connects / 1000 Heads as they treat you like a person, not just a platform to promote with no passion

[16:33:45] Mark Guim: Thanks! Last question where is the October 22nd event being held? Hint? =)

[16:33:56] Sam Pullen: hehe 😉 nice one Mark 😛

[16:34:03] Jenifer Hanen: 😀

[16:34:08] Nirave: 😛

[16:34:18] Carla Eid: cheeky Mark

[16:34:27] Nokia Connects: These are not the droids you are looking for…

[16:34:31] Chris Weber: Please continue to engage and give us feedback.  My commitment is we are going to be that company that is human, does the right thing and in way that makes us all proud.  I am sure there will be bumps in the road so please tell us when we don’t do something right and I promise we will make it right.  as I said at the beginning you are an awesome group that we value a lot and I will use your feedback as a big measurement on whether we did this acquisition right:)

[16:34:38] Sam Pullen: Thanks for your time Chris, I hope to see that Follow button be pressed on Twitter soon 😉 (Mark started the cheekiness) (bandit)

[16:35:11] Chris Weber: Thanks so much for the time today and would love to see this dialogue continue.  and as we get more clarity on the decisions I will make sure to communicate them

[16:35:12] Jenifer Hanen: Chris, thank you.

[16:35:30] Ali Al-Qudsi: Thank you 🙂

[16:35:34] Chris Weber: Carla – perhaps we do this once a quarter as this is a highlight for me this week:)

[16:35:38] Varun Krish: I think myself and pretty much everyone in this chat are wishing the best devices to emerge from the Nokia Microsoft merger! All the best for that Chris and team! You have our support! (beer)

[16:35:48] Carla Eid: On the agenda Chris 🙂 Thanks for your time today

Category: Nokia