Best Buy's brand image is simple - their brand is the publics "innovative friend".
Their brand image is warm, friendly, smart, innovative and helpful. The companys brand image has all of these qualities because of the services they provide to their consumers as well as the products and quality of the products they sell to their consumers.
Best Buy's brand image comes across as innovative and smart because of the nature and quality of the products they sell. They sell products with the latest cutting edge technology, they are new and unique and appeal to their consumers. They are definitely high end purchase decisions.
Even though Best Buy sells many products that are advanced and that you may need to learn how to use, Best Buy does not have a stuffy, indifferent image towards their consumers. Their image is portrayed as friendly and helpful because of the services they provide. For one, they have the Geek Squad. This is a group of individuals at each store that help the consumer with any problems they have with their product. They also have a Geek Squad on the go, which is a car that you may have seen on the road! The Geek Squad will come to your home in case you need help with something like a desktop computer and you can't bring it to the store!
Best Buy does many PR campaigns that help convey their helpful and friendly corporate image. Best Buy employees represent the Best Buy brand when they give back to their communities. Best Buy employees serve meals to the homeless, build homes, clean parks and mentor children. In 2008, 50,000 Best Buy employees volunteered nearly 200,000 hours and, through the Best Buy Children's Foundation, donated more than $3 million to nonprofit organizations. Groups of Best Buy employees gather to raise much-needed funds at walks benefiting organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, March of Dimes and more.
When stakeholders see how Best Buy employee's give back to their community, it makes them want to be part of the Best Buy family. Best Buy also has "The Best Buy Children's Foundation" where they donate money to non-profits that help youth. This makes stakeholders feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and really does a great deal of good for Best Buy's brand image.
Best Buy's brand image can be described as the publics "innovative friend" because the products they sell are innovative and technological, the quality is high and most important Best Buy employees go out of their way to help you and be your friend. The products they sell are also products that you become close to, for example your cell phone or your ipod. These are products that can become like a friend to us on their own if we constantly use them.
Another way the Best Buy brand proves to be our innovative friend is through their "Twelpforce". This is their twitter page, that has Best Buy technology pros offering tech advice in Tweet form to their consumers. This pr campaign to use twitter in this way has worked out huge for Best Buy by adding to consumer satisfaction with the company itself. Another social media tool used to form the public image is their "share your ideas" forum. Here, Best Buy asks the consumers directly to share their ideas about the company. Is there a better way to be someone's friend than asking what they think? It shows stakeholders and the public alike that Best Buy values their opinion and wants to make things better for them.
Yes, Best Buy has many partners that help in their PR efforts like the Red Cross and the Boys and Girls Club of America. Best Buy's biggest PR campaign to enhance that they are your "innovative friend", is their @15 program. Best Buy created a website just for teens where teens can play games, interact and most importantly vote and decided what non-profits Best Buy donates money to. Best Buy wants your advice and they trust your advice! They use the internet to get this campaign across because let's face it, Best Buy is a technology company. They are a technology company that comes down to your level!
Best Buy is clearly engaging in all of the right public relations activities to connect with their consumers on a level that means they are their friend. That is so important for a company based on technology, because let's face it, sometimes we do not understand new technology and it needs to be explained. It is so important that Best Buy gives that warm, friendly feeling towards their stakeholders and consumers so that we feel comfortable buying and using Best Buy's products. Their community relations enhances their corporate image as the publics "innovative friend" and definitly makes me want to visit Best Buy!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
@15
I'd like to take the time to pay proper attention to Best Buys main success : @15.
Best Buy understands the saying that "children are our future". They get that and they want to start helping teens now. At https://www.at15.com/, Best Buy gives teens the power. Through the @15 program, teens get to decide where Best Buy donates their money. Best Buy created @15 to give teens a voice and a say in the world. Teens decide, not Best Buy!
So how does it work?
The @15 Points Program earns you points for everything on this site and then you get the chance to make a difference. Four times a year, you are able to give your points to your choice of charitable organizations and Best Buy donates the money.
Do you or your teen want to be a teen spokesperson? Right now, Best Buy is giving teens the unique chance to have their voice heard. @15 is giving teens the opportunity to speak at events around the country to tell the story of what it’s like to be a teen today and what we can all do to make sure teens are successful in life. To apply, teens have to prepare a short video on the role of teens in American society. To become a member of @15 is FREE and you get access to forums, games, contests and more!
One new game is a Taylor Swift trivia game, Taylor Swift is a new special teen advisor on the @15 advisory board. How old were you when you started driving? Were you 15, 16 or 17 depending on where you live? Best Buy knows this! If you want tips on how to drive or ride safer in a car, @15 has tips for you!
There are many different partners with Best Buy's @15 program, some of which are: Boys and Girls Club of America, Mouse Squad, Mercy Corps and Communities In Schools.
There are many events going on right now with @15. In June, 15 winning teens from at15.com are headed to South Africa to attend a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ soccer match. In May, 1,000 college bound students will be announced as scholarship winners through the @15 scholarship program.
Voting is open for teens to get their school the money they need! Over $1,500 in Best Buy gift cards will be awarded to schools every 15 days. According to Best Buy, sparks are talents, passions or gifts that give you energy, motivation, focus and joy. On the @15 website there is an interactive tool to help you explore and find your sparks.
Best Buy also uses social media to promote their @15 program. You can visit Best Buy on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook or Myspace. It's cool that they do this, because these are all sites that teens are always on. They are reaching teens on their level in their own terms. The @15 website also has its own blog. Here they blog about important issues and @15 members can write comments.
As you can see, Best Buy's main focus is on teens. And why wouldn't it be? Teens are their future consumers. Teens tell their parents now what technology to buy. Teens know technology now and they will know it later. So who better to give a voice to? Teens decide where Best Buy donates their money - and thanks to Best Buy that is exactly what teens get to do!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)