Diving brief:
- Electronics retailer Best Buy launched an in-house media company called Best Buy Ads with the goal of connecting brands and consumers, according to a statement.
- In addition to consumer electronics brands, Best Buy Ads will serve agencies and non-endemic brands, and dedicated teams and capabilities have been assembled across the company as part of the offering, a carrier said. word of the brand at Marketing Dive.
- Best Buy interacts with its customers 3 billion times a year, according to the release, a base that underpins its data-driven advertising offerings across various channels, including internal and external. The offering comes as retail digital media advertising is expected to continue growing in 2022 and also includes a component that aims to address inclusion and diversity in advertising – another industry-wide priority. .
Overview of the dive:
Best Buy’s launch of an in-house media company sees the electronics retailer formalize its advertising offerings amid increased retail media advertising, which eMarketer predicts grow by 31.4% to reach $41.37 billion in 2022. The company says it has 3 billion customer interactions a year, giving it a wealth of data and insights that can be useful in connecting brands to consumers at different times and places as they shop. are adapting to increasingly tech-driven lives, Keith Bryan, Best Buy Ads president, media strategy and CRM, said in an emailed statement.
As part of the launch of the in-house media company, Best Buy Ads will also launch an advertising-focused Career Pathways program to help address inclusion and diversity in the advertising industry, which is 73% white, according to labor market data cited by the company. The program seeks to create opportunities and a pipeline for diverse candidates seeking careers in advertising through internships, mentoring, and paid experiences. Offer is part of larger Best Buy offer five year plan to address underrepresentation and technological inequalities.
Best Buy Ads includes paid search, sponsored product listings on BestBuy.com, onsite and offsite display, onsite and offsite video, Facebook and Instagram, in-store video, and proximity messaging to reach Best Buy app users, the Best Buy Ads website Remarks. The company is investing in its longstanding advertising business to help suppliers reach customers, CEO Corie Barry said during a earnings call in November 2021.
“Best Buy’s relevance, customer relationship and first-party data have grown along with customers’ technology needs and our ability to meet those needs. These are all great examples of the value we can provide to our supplier partners that many other retailers cannot,” said Barry. .
Best Buy is the latest retailer to invest in a retail media offering, a space that has been growing for years but has gained momentum amid growing digital media privacy concerns. Lowe’s unveiled a retail media network offering omnichannel advertising in October and has worked with CitrusAd and Criteo on the initiative. Similarly, advertisers can use Criteo’s platform for reaching shoppers on the Best Buy website in the United States and Canada.
