Barry Judge // Updates from the CMO of Best Buy

I have posted final versions of the three “True Story,” ads that we have produced for February. Copy test results for this campaign have been very strong.  Our January TV ads (see January ad post to view them) were the highest scoring ads we have ever received on key metrics like “Persuasion,” and “Clutter Breakthrough” to name a few.  They also landed effectively landed our key message of our people as Best Buy’s competitive differentiator.

These February ads also scored very well in copy testing on these metrics. I am interested to hear what you think.

Web Version

Attached are our final TV January spots. For those who are interested you can see the impact music and backgrounds make by comparing the “rough cuts” in my most recent post titled “January and February Advertising.”

These run until Superbowl on TV and the web. Let me know what you think.

As is my new custom, the following are a range of rough cuts from close to final to more rough versions of TV spots planned to run in January and February. Our first spot actually began running yesterday as I saw it while watching Desperate Housewives.  This campaign is titled, “True Stories,” and began running in November as part of our holiday advertising campaign. The intent for our communication messaging is to convey three important ideas. One, you can trust us to always have your best interests in mind. Two, we have a unique take on how technology and entertainment can make your life better and finally, you can always expect to find great prices. Ultimately our expectation is that, you walk out of the store happier, than when you came in.  Read more...

We have finished the final three spots that will be running this Holiday season. These spots begin running and are intended to build from the first three that are running now.

As mentioned previously, this Holiday season the intent for our communication messaging is to convey three important ideas (at least we think they are important) .  One, you can trust us to always have your best interests in mind. Two, we have a unique take on how technology and entertainment can make your life better and finally, you can always expect to find great prices. Ultimately our expectation is that, you walk out of the store happier, than when you came in. The stories depicted really happened and are recounted by the people that were there, our Associates, Best Buy Blue Shirts or Geek Squad Agents and Installers. The clips are below and as always, I welcome your comments. I am learning a lot from what people have said in responses to other posts I have written.  Read more...

We have completed the shooting for our Holiday TV advertising campaign. It’s called “True Stories,” and captures stories of our front line employees when they have been at their best in service of our customers. The stories all really happened and were told to Errol Morris, our director on this shoot and a renowed documentary film maker (Thin Blue Line and Fog Of War are my favorites). I was at the first day of shooting and it was a thrill to see Errol at work. Brian Dunn, our COO went first and his interview went over five hours (Most of the employee interviews were an hour). Errol is a real artist and the conversations he had with the our people were fascinating. It will be equally interesting to see how he gets these hour long stories down to 30 seconds.  Read more...

We are in the process of repositioning how consumers think about the Best Buy brand. We know that low price and assortment what Best Buy has long been known for, is not very differentiating with the advent of Wal*Mart, Amazon and the rest of the web. We have been working on building a better experience through investing in the people that work in all of our channels (store, call center, phone) as well as building out much more extensive service capabilities like Geek Squad.  Read more...