Best Buy is the latest retailer to enter the advertising market with the launch of Best Buy Ads, an in-house media company designed to help shoppers explore the retailer’s products, services and offers. Best Buy Ads will partner with brands to guide their marketing efforts with relevant messages.
Best Buy Ads will be available for partner brands and services looking to reach customers both on Best Buy’s own channels and through external sites. The ad firm will utilize Best Buy’s internal customer data to recommend relevant methods of connecting with shoppers based on their habits.
“We interact with our customers three billion times a year — in our stores, in their homes and online. These relationships last longer and run deeper than most,” said Best Buy in a statement. “Knowing our customers on this level means we can help other brands cut through the clutter with advertising that won’t waste our customers’ time.”
Additionally, Best Buy Ads will put an emphasis on diversity and inclusion — part of Best Buy’s five-year plan to address underrepresentation and technology inequities, which includes dedicating nearly 10% of its annual media spend to BIPOC media by 2025.
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The retailer will work with its industry partners and the Best Buy Foundation to launch an advertising-focused Career Pathways program through Best Buy Teen Tech Center locations across the country. Teens in this program will have access to internships, mentorships with professionals and paid work-based experiences within the advertising industry.
Multiple retailers have launched internal advertising divisions to help connect brands with customers. Grocers including Kroger and Albertsons have had platforms for some time, and Walmart revamped its media division at the start of 2021 to emphasize omnichannel experiences. Other retailers that recently launched their own media and advertising offerings include:
- Tesco, which is harnessing the expertise of its dunnhumby data science company to power Tesco Media and Insight;
- AutoZone, which introduced the AutoZone Media Network, powered by Quotient, as demand for used cars grows; and
- Petco, which partnered with retail media platform CitrusAd to offer its vendors digital advertising opportunities across its ecommerce, desktop and mobile platforms.
