Best Buy Pitches Itself as a Media Production Company With Studios and Influencers

On Wednesday afternoon at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, advertisers walked through front doors adorned with a comically large yellow tag for an upfront presentation from Best Buy's retail media business. The event was an example of how crucial advertising has become for major retailers. The presentation featured remarks from Best Buy's top executives—not just advertising heads—including incoming CEO Jason Bonfig, CRO Patrick McGinnis, and newly appointed CMO Marty Senn. Naturally, Lisa Valentino, chief ads and media officer, led the show. Like other retail media networks, Best Buy's customer base remains one of its most important assets, with purchase data from 220 million customers. Over the past year, Best Buy executives have positioned the retailer as more of a media business under the leadership of Valentino, a former Disney advertising executive who joined the company in 2024. “If you all closed your eyes … and I described 220 million customers, real purchase data, a growing CTV footprint, and decades of loyalty and trust—you'd assume I was describing a major media company, right?" I am," Valentino said. "It just happens to love wearing blue shirts.” Valentino and her team are now taking this one step further. Best Buy is now touting itself as a production company, not just a media company, to differentiate itself from the many other retailers vying for ad dollars. During the presentation, Best Buy leaders showed off its production facilities in Minneapolis as well as its Best Buy Creator network, both of which create short-form video and other creative for advertisers. Execs also highlighted its expanded connected TV reach via partnerships with Amazon, Roku, and LG, and its ability to create physical in-store activations with brand partners. The company is now referring to these assets as Best Buy Media, though the advertising business as a whole is still called Best Buy Ads. Valentino said Best Buy's media assets are where “tech culture comes to life—new formats, deeper experiences, sharper data, stronger performance, and a network built to help you meet your audience exactly where they're making decisions: online, in CTV, using an LLM, on social, and of course, in store.” Expanded creative offerings The same teams and studios that create marketing content for Best Buy—known as Best Buy Studios—are now able to create short-form product videos and other custom creative for brand partners, said Patrick Albano, Best Buy Ads chief revenue officer. This content can also include product photography, TV commercials, and long-form content. "When we say studios, we mean studios," Best Buy CMO Senn said. "Sometimes that word is thrown around a little bit; maybe it's a desk or a back room closet—we have a 70,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that brings all of this content to life." Additionally, brands can also tap into Best Buy's creator program for custom content from influencers such as Dude Perfect. Best Buy's creators also include a new army of Best Buy store employees, or "blue shirts," who can create vertical video in the stores showcasing their product knowledge. "Tech culture and short-form content go very well together," Albano said. "Consumers love tech, but sometimes they're intimidated by it." Advertisers can measure the creator content through multi-touch attribution down to sales, Albano said. “It gives you creator content that can fit any budget, any brand objective, or sales objective, and it brings that Christmas morning unboxing energy that really brings a tech brand to life,” Albano said. “It's not just matching your brand with a creator who can post about tech; it's pairing your brand with voices people already trust." Additionally, Best Buy has expanded its in-store store takeover ads to include placements such as on the Geek Squad scheduler and new front-of-store screens and audio. Best Buy is pitching in-store pop-ups, similar to one it did with Meta this year to promote AI-powered glasses. Last year, Ikea created its own stores within Best Buy. “If you are buying experiential or out-of-home marketing, we can offer you new ways to engage with consumers when they're at that buying moment," Albano said. "All of these Best Buy media products—CTV, Best Buy Studios, creators, and experiences—are designed to unlock the full-funnel marketing opportunities of the consumer electronics fan.”

Retail Media Networks

Best Buy Pitches Itself as a Media Production Company With Studios and Influencers

The retailer is creating short-form video and other assets for advertisers

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Mitchell Parton

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