In my final post of takeaways from last week’s iMedia Brand Summit I wanted to give props to a competitor who I admire, Clark Kokich, Chairman of Razorfish. Clark got the second day of the conference started by asking the room to think less about digital tactics and more about marketing strategy. He shared a handful of examples of work that brands are doing that start with big, strategic ideas that happen to lead to some killer digital work. For example, the Nike Human Race 10k, and Fiat’s new tool that allows people to upload information about how their driving is impacting CO2 emissions. But my favorite example, and something I just had to share here, is that of Razorfish’s work with Best Buy in selling musical instruments. This story shows how getting into a new product category is a great way to launch with meaningful marketing at the center.

Business Challenge

Just a little more than a year ago Best Buy first announced it was getting into the musical instrument business after a successful pilot in a handful of stores. This seems like a no-brainer. After all, Best Buy has one of the largest selections of music and music equipment, and its vast stores certainly have enough room for some instruments. According to Kokich, “They could have just run ads telling people that Best Buy now sells instruments.” But the reality is that this is not a big market, and it is currently dominated by specialty retailers such as Guitar Center. So the challenge for Best Buy was: How can we stand out in an existing market that needs a lot more buyers?

Insight

Best Buy saw huge untapped potential among adults who always wanted to learn how to play an instrument. The rise of games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band showed the potential.  But the biggest barrier is that many people are afraid and intimidated. People who work at guitar stores are mostly “stoners… who resent you for being able to buy the instruments that they cannot afford.”  So many potential buyers hate even going into the leading instrument stores.

Solution

Best Buy’s strategy was to “become a partner in helping you rediscover your love for music.” And by starting with this overall, customer-focused strategy, it was clear that just running a 30-second ad wouldn’t work.  The company started with the purchase point, and created a “store within a store” with trained musical instrument specialists. Each store also offers group and individual lessons. In terms of marketing support, digital has a leading position. Barry Judge, Best Buy’s CMO said this about the company’s approach:

“Our musical instruments department (in about 100 stores nationwide) is all about experience. Everything is plugged in and ready to play. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and approachable. We carry professional-grade gear from brands like Fender, Marshall, Roland, Yamaha, and Drum Workshop. We are working on building awareness of our musical instruments department, but more importantly, building credibility and authenticity. We hope to inspire people.

Digital allows us to connect with our customers in new and exciting ways, and our digital experience is meant to tap into that potential. Later this summer, we want our customers to create “dream rigs” from our inventory and share them with their friends on the social platforms they use.  We will be using the power of digital to let our employees, musicians from communities around the country, and our customers share their passion for music and their insights. Instead of just telling people that we have these great instruments, we want to show them, and help them experience them in the digital space in unique ways that go beyond catalogs of products.”

Kokich described how his team is inspired by the call to “become a partner in helping people rediscover their love for music.”  One example is a unique advertising effort with Pandora. Again, instead of just skinning Pandora with big ads for Best Buy, the company created a unique ad (above) that actually shows what instruments are being played in each song. (On a side note, I can’t find that tool anywhere at Pandora–what a lost opportunity!) He shared some glimpses of work in progress including Facebook tools to help people form a band and ways for people to build an interactive wish list. This should be an exciting space to watch in the months ahead.

Results/Conclusion

It is too early to call this a success, as Best Buy has only just begun supporting this effort in earnest. Of course, I welcome any comments from Barry Judge (@bestbuycmo). But the real lesson here is that a new marketing strategy is a great opportunity to rethink your approach to marketing–and make it meaningful from day 1.

BONUS: Kokich on Client Organizations

One of the biggest challenge of shifting to a meaningful marketing model is the existing organizational behavior of clients. As our boss, Sir Martin Sorrell said at the P&G Global Alumni Reunion back in June, “The amount of time we see our clients wasting on bureaucracy and infighting is appalling.” Kokich also drew attention to this key issue in his presentation. He made the point that “digital” can be sales, CRM, advertising, research, and customer service.  But clients have kept each of these functions in separate silos (”and they all hate each other”) for so long that it is difficult to take advantage of the opportunities.