Source: “Expert Advice” – Best Buy
Best Buy says ‘relax, we’ve got you’
Best Buy has released two new commercials as part of a new branding campaign to show customers that the retailer is there for them, where and when needed.
The new spots are firmly focused on the retailer’s customers and how they can turn to Best Buy’s army of blue shirts and Geeks to make the most of the technological tools it sells. The commercials aren’t about momentous achievements but small everyday wins that make good lives even better.
“This next phase of our brand campaign puts the spotlight on our customers and helps to remind them how they can become the everyday hero in their own story,” said Molly Kinsella, vice president of creative at Best Buy, in a statement. “Technology helps make a positive impact in so many of our lives and it’s those little but meaningful moments that we often overlook that really do have a strong impact. Those are the moments we wanted to celebrate.”
The commercials are directed by Darius Marder, who won two Oscars for directing “Sound of Metal,” a film nominated in six categories at this year’s Academy Awards show.
Best Buy’s first “Expert Advice” spot shows one of its blue shirt store associates helping an anxious male customer to prepare a “foolproof” special meal using an immersion cooker for an important date. The meal comes off so spectacularly that the young woman questions whether or not it was actually prepared at home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCm2tlkmAw0
The second spot appeals directly to the millions of Americans working at home who want to create the ideal environment for achieving what they never would be comfortable enough to try in a corporate setting, like an in-office espresso machine. The customer, who clearly already has a great working relationship with Best Buy, asks the blue shirt associate what she thinks about “teching out the lower level.” You can see where it goes from there.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you think Best Buy’s new branding centered around its expert advice and bonding with customers will resonate in a substantial way with American consumers? Is the retailer living up to its brand promise with the products and services it offers?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Liza Amlani
Principal and Founder, Retail Strategy Group
DeAnn Campbell
Head of Retail Insights, AAG Consulting Group
The new Best Buy brand campaign is a great way to emphasize customer service in a fun and humorous way. I have experienced some very good customer service at Best Buy recently and it truly makes a difference. The key for Best Buy is to ensure that all stores and all employees deliver on the promise.
This is simply excellent marketing on the part of Best Buy. They know that competitors sell many of the same items, but usually with no (or terrible) service. The customer buying many of the more sophisticated items at Best Buy can have a significant degree of anxiety – so this messaging gets those people to pay a premium for reduced anxiety.
The commercials and the branding may be new, but the service has been there for a while now. I have purchased several appliances, phones and laptops from Best Buy and the knowledge and service levels across all these departments have always been superb. And then there is the Geek Squad. Beyond helpful before and during the pandemic. Best Buy establishes and executes on their brand promise in an exemplary manner — consistently. These new commercials bring a little fun and personality to the equation.
Best Buy’s new branding is not only customer-centric, but a showcase of go-to product experts to help take the pressure off the shopping journey.
They may have taken a page out of Apple’s book and I say go for it. Any strategy that is targeted to help the customer with the best service along with product knowledge is exactly what retailers should be doing. It will translate into full price sales AND loyalty. A win/win.
When we think of Apple, we think of the Genius Bar. When we think of Best Buy, we can now think of the product expert in the blue shirt.
Customer support is a real thing people care about, particularly with regards to complex electronics. There’s an aging population and, to most people, the ability to get sound advice is table stakes for a retailer standing behind its products.
I can’t tell you how many friends buy Apple products simply because of that Genius Bar — even if you have to stand in line for an hour, you know that when you get to the front someone is going to help you or, if not, replace your device.
Best Buy has two secret weapons: the blue shirts (which they’ve always focused on) and Geek Squad. It’s a lesson for all retailers in my opinion. Stress training for your associates, especially at store level (a differentiator) and figure out how to get into people’s homes and solve problems. I can’t think of anyone that does both (why doesn’t Apple have an “Appleseed” Squad?).
I absolutely loved the movie Sound of Metal and was secretly hoping the director would go on to make Best Buy commercials. Seriously though, focusing on the customer journey is always the key to success, and Best Buy is spot on with this branding play. Hiring superior storytelling is also a brilliant move, and their technology isn’t bad either. I’m not sure how real-time their inventory is, but my recent BOPIS purchase went off without a hitch, and it really was in stock.
I think the trick to making this message work will be to have the expected coverage and service levels in the stores. And let’s not forget the virtual stores Best Buy will be running this holiday season, where blue-shirted staff will be helping customers out in real time. This should all tie together for the customer.
Any time that a retailer can engage emotionally with a customer, it is a win/win situation. This is especially true when the product category is a low-margin commodity.
Great commercials. Do you really think that is the person you’d be connecting to? Seriously. Yes we want drama, wonder, and engagement but real-life situations are probably much more mundane. I’m not sure how many want a relationship with a faceless call center person in reality.
I love the ads. I love the idea that Best Buy is the place to go for advice about technology, and apparently cooking tips. I think they’ve come a long way from the early days of the Geek Squad when the company was trying to monetize even simple support interactions. I sincerely hope this works for them. At the same time, there is an acute labor shortage in retail. Providing the level of support that Best Buy is touting requires well-trained and highly dedicated team members to deliver consistently. That’s going to be a difficult hurdle to jump I expect. I do hope they are able to get there, the company deserves a lot of credit.
Love the feel-good engagement with associates, not sure how well it translates to reality, but the commercials are fun!
Positioning themselves as a customer service Mecca is a smart move by Best Buy. Offering an environment where customers can get hands on experience with the products they see online is the future for pure play retailers and the highest and best use for brick-and-mortar.
Love this latest marketing move by Best Buy. When a brand can highlight the unique value, utility and differentiation to customers in authentic ways, it’s typically going to be received well. With these spots, Best Buy is focused on two key factors — first, it’s reinforcing its talented associates who possess expert knowledge above and beyond the average consumer and, second, a focus on customers who want to be engaged, who want to learn how to get the most out of a specific product/service. This is a powerful combination that has many commercial legs to it. With the right creativity, I can see this campaign running for many years.
It’s all about the customer. Everyone knows what Best Buy sells. Why keep saying we have TVs, cameras, computers, refrigerators, etc.? The public knows it. So throwing in some promotion that spotlights benefit to the customer is a good move. It’s more than electronics at good prices. It’s about making customers’ lives better.
Let’s face it — customers want exciting new technologies that they may not understand. There is certainly a place for trusted experts who can put these technologies into context and help customers realize their value. Best Buy is that logical partner; they have the presence, the reach, and the vision.
These commercials do a great job of showcasing the ultimate goal of a successful retail sales associate. Instead of simply being there to answer questions about products, they partner with the customer to proactively recommend solutions that will help them achieve their unique goals.
By forecasting a personalized shopping experience, this campaign is also likely to get customers more open to those add-on recommendations.