• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, September 29, 2021

Making homemade pasta to impress a date? Adding naptime lighting to your home office? Best Buy’s new ad campaign highlights those little lifestyle victories in a campaign that acknowledges the store is about much more than a new computer or TV.

The ads also highlight the depth of the customer-associate relationship, with blue-shirted Best Buy workers acting as much like life coaches as sales clerks.

The company says the new effort is the latest evolution in the “Let’s talk about what’s possible” campaign introduced in 2018.

“This time around, we’re reminding them that it doesn’t always have to show up in the form of a complicated issue we helped you solve,” says Katie Huggins, a spokesperson for the Minneapolis-based retailer.

“We want to showcase that anyone can be the hero in their own story,” she tells Marketing Daily in an email. “Sometimes, all it takes is a little help from technology and the experts who know it best, and can help you make it all work together.”

Best Buy’s in-house agency created the spots, directed by Darius (“The Sound of Metal”) Marder. And for the first time, the company tested the creative concepts using IPSOS and a one-day “idea lab.”

The spot is aimed primarily at its core audience, a group it calls the “high-touch tech fans,” but it hopes to connect with the general population, as well.

The focus on the connection between customers and its Blue Shirts emerged as key in Best Buy’s ongoing battle with Amazon and other pure ecommerce companies.

“It’s about so much more than just going out and buying the hottest tech,” Huggins says. “We want our customers to feel confident that Best Buy won’t just sell them the tech they need, that we’re the friend that will help them set the product up in their own unique space and make it work for them -- exactly how they want it to work.”

The company, which announced record quarterly results last month, continues to generate buzz around the upcoming launch of its new loyalty program. Currently in beta testing, the Best Buy Total Tech membership is set to roll out next month. Priced at $200 a year, it offers full support for many products, discounts and other perks.

While many have been bullish on the potential impact of the new program, Peter Keith, an analyst who follows Best Buy for Piper Sandler, is calling it a potential game-changer. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Keith says he expects the company to gain about 6 million members, lifting overall sales for the electronics giant by as much as 3%.