Marc Van Norden

I like BestBuy. I don’t like shopping (food, clothing etc.) but I love going into BestBuy. I equate it to the HomeDepot experience but for the geek in me. When I walk in I feel like there are limitless possibilities on the things I could buy that would improve my life/productivity/entertainment. Sometimes when I am just having a bad day, I like to wander around and see what marked down movies are on the racks (like Delta Force 2 for $5.99!). And I am okay with the fact that they seamed to have crushed most of their competitors, because I REALLY like BestBuy.

So about 8 months ago when they sent me an invite to their new Premier Silver program I was excited. The fact I earned an invite due to amount of money I spent in a 12 month period did nothing to dull the moment. They had a new program, that was more exclusive than their regular one, and I was in! Some of the benefits include being able to buy stuff earlier than other people! I was also able to buy ColdPlay tickets before they went on sale once that was a nice benefit. Pretty, pretty, exclusive stuff! Sometimes when I am checking out at the counter I just like to find a reason to bring up the fact that I am a Premier Silver member. It is more or less my status symbol, my Amex Black Card.

Every so often I get something in the mail. Not like what you get, because I am Premier Silver. Whereas your mailer has product shots and prices, my mailer has lifestyle shots and calls to action!

BestBuy has worked hard to create a program that is somewhat aspirational to my demographic (non married males, ages 25-35) and it works. It seems like they have put a lot of effort into their messaging and  have certainly worked to design the marketing materials to match. There is just one problem. They went through this entire process to setup a new membership/rewards plan, but right here on the cover they lose me:

To me it is saying, “To Marc Van Norden our valued customer, or anyone else.”. You expect anything labeled “Current Resident” you expect to be coming from the city, or grocery store. For me it hollows the relationship. If I take the time to give you my information so you can talk to me that is something every business wants. I don’t think there is any reason to add the “Or” in addressing me. It is something small, but sometimes those are the things that are overlooked and can have an impact on the customer/company relationship.

I just thought they liked me better than everyone else……I guess not…….(sniff, sniff)

What do you think?

UPDATED (6/1/09)

I sent my post to Barry Judge, the  CMO over at BestBuy via twitter (his handle is @BestBuyCMO). He was very responsive and receptive to my thoughts. Mr. Judge asked  me to log the idea to BestBuy’s idea exchange website: http://bestbuyideax.com/ for consideration/review.

Earlier today Barry sent me a tweet. He said, “Dug into issue & has to do w/postal regs/costs. Still we should take cost hit to make a more personal impression w/ this group”. Even as I was writing the post I assumed it had something to do with Direct Mail pricing etc. I think this would be a smart spend. Instead of putting out another type of campaign, fix the one they have. We will see.

You know those companies who are to busy to pay any attention to their customers? The CMO at BestBuy is not one of them. His responsiveness and and follow-up go a long way in my book! (Thanks Barry!) I will post an update if I hear anything else, but for right now they are going to look into it, despite the cost to them. Smart move.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

A friend of mine sent me this commercial about cyclist awareness. How many times does the white team pass the ball….The campaign is hails from the UK, and can be found here. This is the best of them in my opinion.

The Obama Campaign was successful in using social media to inform, gain, and mobilize voters. Awhile back I collected a bunch of the ongoing discussions on my delicious. All of it culminating in President Obama being selected “Marketer of the Year” by Ad Age. Well the Obama Campaign Administration has built on that with the new website whitehouse.gov. Here are some ways that the President is using technology unlike any other president before him.

Weekly Radio Address:

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s gave what are known as the “Fireside Chats” in the 1930′s  during the height of the Great Depression. Every president since has taken part in the custom in some form. For the first time, you will be able to access them on YouTube. Much like FDR in the 30′s, President Obama will be using them to discuss his policy decisions during these tough times. I have embedded the first official weekly address. You can visit the Whitehouse YouTube channel here.

The Briefing Room:

The title paragraph reads, “The White House provides timely and accurate information about the President’s latest events and public statements.  Here you’ll find photos, video, and blogs, as well as proclamations, executive orders, and press releases.” – whitehouse.gov

In an effort to to create transparency, the President of The United States will post his Executive Orders (five in two days!) and Presidential Memoranda (five in 3 days!) in an easily accessible format. And you can get it in an RSS feed…The Briefing Room and whitehouse.gov

Presidential Inauguration Committee 2009:

“The Presidential Inaugural Committee, at the direction of President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden, will organize an inclusive and accessible inauguration that reflects the new Administration’s commitment to leadership that sets aside partisanship and unites the nation around our shared values and ideals.” – pic2009.org

The PIC (Presidential Inauguration Committee) utilized the site to discuss upcoming events (Neighborhood Ball), stream content from the events, and gather donations (to pay for Inauguration activities instead of just taxpayer dollars). The site also posted live feeds of the Youth Ball and the National Prayer Service. They provided text message updates leading up to and during the events. The PIC also has  Flickr, Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube accounts.

USA Service:

“President Obama believes that we, as Americans, have a responsibility to help our communities and fellow citizens. In summoning a new spirit of service, he is calling on us to make an enduring commitment to our neighborhoods. Sign up today and let’s renew America together.” – usaservice.org

Want to volunteer but don’t know how? You can sign up to find out about volunteer opportunities and events. Visit the site to find out more information, you can find resources, events, and service opportunities. You can also join USAservice.org on facebook.

Transparency and Participation:

“President Obama started his career as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he saw firsthand what people can do when they come together for a common cause. Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.” – whitehouse.gov

I think this is something extraordinary but I am curious to see how it works. No matter how dry and unreadable ( I am not a lawyer) I am going to try and sink my teeth into at least one of these a week. The tech side of me wonders how the comments are going to combed and moderated. In any case I think the presentation of information like this is vital to making people feel they have a hand in government.

Personally, I think all of this is incredible. Independent of political views, these and other initiatives are a step towards transparency, information organization, and participation. I think that some of these links should be staples on every school computer if not shipped as bookmarks in IE (why does it all have to be product based?).

What do you think about the usage of social media and the web? What do you think about the content, and the organization of content? I will continue to add additional resources/information/programs that I come across or as they are sent to me.