Obama's $50 million BlackBerry 'endorsement'

President-elect Obama seems quite attached to his BlackBerry. This hand-held communications device made by Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) has received what looks to me like the most valuable free publicity any product could hope for. Not only would Obama's BlackBerry love be worth millions to RIMM, the fact that it's free makes it all the more valuable.

How has Obama expressed his love for the BlackBerry? He told CNBC's John Harwood, "I'm still clinging to my BlackBerry. They're going to pry it out of my hands." (I wish he would say the same thing about my new book.) But just how much is this free publicity worth? Doug Shabelman, the president of a firm that arranges deals between celebrities and companies is among the marketing experts who estimate that Obama's BlackBerry addiction could be worth between $25 million and $50 million.

How so? Obama is the ideal endorser -- he's popular, constantly in the news and clearly attached to the product. Since he is a talented communicator and knows important people around the world, Obama's endorsement could help boost BlackBerry's global sales. And that global element is what leads Shabelman to put a $50 million price tag on the value of Obama's "endorsement."

No doubt, the pain of giving up that BlackBerry -- because of presidential security and legal concerns -- will be difficult for Obama and RIMM.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in Research in Motion securities.