Since we launched our “True Stories” communication platform in November, it has become my custom to post the “rough cut” TV execution options prior to us making the final decision. In prior posts, we have gotten excellent feedback – comments that have made our messaging clearer as well as input in helping us choose the actual spots to run. So in keeping with this new way (for me) in getting feedback, the following are TV rough cut executions we are considering for the Back To School. These ads are indeed rough – we have not included the music or background images as we do not have clearance yet for these pieces. I learned this lesson the hard way in November (see November posts). Thus, please react primarily to the story and the story teller as the music and the images will make the ads significantaly more interesting.
As you all know, the internet continues to profoundly change how people connect and engage with the world. Recent years have seen the rise of many types of “personal” user-generated content, from videos (YouTube) to photos (Flickr) to status updates (Facebook and Twitter). At the same time, these innovations are causing profound disruption to traditional media outlets like Television and Newspapers.
While no one “killer” model has yet emerged for how brands and businesses show up in the new media environment, we cannot sit still. I am proud of the innovation we are leading at Best Buy, from employees on Twitter to company blogs, forums, and more. Only through constant experimentation and innovation will we ensure we lead the change, rather than merely follow.
As we continue to explore new ways to make our customers happy, Best Buy is moving into the used games market. This week, several of our Dallas and Austin stores will test a kiosk-based model that allows customers to insert their used games into a kiosk that will scan it for functionality, and immediately issue a voucher that is instantly redeemable for a Best Buy gift card. It’s a pretty slick system and one of the few trade-in programs to provide instant gratification; you get the gift card on the spot and can redeem it on anything in the store – not just another game. We’ll also be testing the sale of used games in those stores, and some of the kiosks will even rent games and movies. We’re excited about this test, especially because we know how deeply passionate our customers and our employees are about gaming, movies and entertainment overall. And the trade-in and used value propositions will give those passionate customers even more choice and value at Best Buy.
Today Best Buy reported its first quarter earnings. Despite the general softness in demand that our industry is seeing, we have achieved very strong results that every Best Buy employee can be proud of. It’s especially exciting to see that we continued to grow our market share. In fact, we had a gain of 200 basis points from February to April, and we are seeing that share gain continue.
Brand marketers can feel like fish out of water in Retail. I came from the Packaged Goods world and I can attest very well to this feeling. Positioning a Brand whose “product” is based upon people, experience and price is very different than Gatorade where I cut my teeth. When I first got to Best Buy, I was often told after what I thought was a riveting customer analysis, “That’s nice but how do I make it actionable in the store or “What does a store employee do, now that you have told me this.” So for me, its been a journey on how to make our Brand Positioning work matter in the customer experience.
Last month I talked about MOFILM. It’s inspiring to see what great interpretations of our brand are out there when we invite our customers in. Participation is the way to go. Come back later this week to check out the short list selection and tell me what you think.
Here’s a link to my original post on MOFILM.
Every time I think I’ve heard the best story yet about how one of our people helped a customer, I hear an even better one. Today I’m posting a new “True Stories” TV ad that is just that kind of story. It shows that you never know where the next Best Buy customer might come from, and that price parity is just the starting point in a consumer’s definition of value.
Robert Stephens, the founder of Geek Squad, once told me “the easier you make it for customers to complain, the better your product will become.” Those words have really stuck with me. I would add that you also have to be “open” to really hear what people are saying and then the “will” to do something about it. This is hard even in our personal lives. I call this being accessible and I think being great at “accessibility,” could be a powerful differentiator, at least for Best Buy.
Clearly, we are in the midst of exciting and challenging change all around us. Lately, I have been doing a lot of thinking about the Best Buy Brand and how we best compete in this economic time. In addition, I know that the ways in which to understand consumer behavior and how consumers learn about Brands is much different today than it was even a year ago. As evidence of how fast this change is coming I can make it personal. I had never even heard of Twitter and a blog was the furthest thing from my mind, trust me. Anyway, as a means to collect my thoughts and communicate them primarily to my team, earlier this week, Chris Barry (Tremendously talented Yellow Tag producer) and I had a video conversation about my take on the future of Best Buy marketing. The 4 minute video follows this piece and I would very much like you to share your feedback. Thanks for the time if you do.
Here at Best Buy, we encourage open and transparent engagement with our employees, customers and business partners. We call it our Open Principles. It essentially means that great ideas can come from anywhere and that if you listen to your customers intently and engage with them in what is meaningful, then you can create greater mutual benefit for both you and your customers.