Report: Obama worth US$50 million to RIM

For all of your RIM shareholders, here is a great NYT piece on President Elect Obama, his BlackBerry, and his potential value to Research In Motion (RIM:TSX, RIMM:Q) as a pitchman:

What could the “BlackBerry president” charge for his plugs of the device if he were not a public servant? More than $25 million, marketing experts say, and maybe as much as $50 million.

“This would be almost the biggest endorsement deal in the history of endorsements,” said Doug Shabelman, the president of Burns Entertainment, which arranges deals between celebrities and companies. “He’s consistently seen using it and consistently in the news arguing — and arguing with issues of national security and global welfare — how he absolutely needs this to function on a daily basis.”

How long before we see it up here (see prior post “Obama, his BlackBerry and the spies” November 19-08)?

MRM
(disclosure – I own RIM)