Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Best Buy's Geek Squad Promises Home Theatre And Diversity



Geek Squad’s brand momentum continues to grow inside Best Buy, as it has become the home theater/consumer electronics installation arm for “big blue.”
If a customer goes to the Best Buy Web site or visits a brick-and-mortar store seeking home theater installation, he is directed to Geek Squad. Previously, Geek Squad installers only handled computer repair and other IT networking services for Best Buy.



I'm going to forego the obvious snipes at the often sneered-at Geek Squad, and instead focus on marketing.

Based on the images on the Geek Squad website I'm genuinely curious about what Best Buy’s marketing department wants to communicate about Geek Squad’s commitment to diversity in their employment practices. What percentage of Geek Squad’s installer force are serious, determined looking minority women (with great hair), like the one pictured? She's all over their website. Is she an actual Geek Squad team member, or a professional model?


This quandry is reminiscent of the famous "10 stock photography cliches" whose page is, sadly, defunct.


Regardless, despite Best Buy's public commitment to diversity, I bet you a bag of skittles that if you need a house call from the Geek Squad, your technician is going to resemble Dilbert more than Eva Perron.


I’m all for diversity, sure, but I have trouble reconciling the image they’re presenting with my perceptions about the Geek Squad.

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1 comment:

Unknown said...

It seems these days that corporations need to be diverse, equal-opportunity employers - not only as a matter of policy but also as a matter of image. I suspect that this stems from a very simple reason - If they do not make these efforts they get letters.

I'm gonna sound reactionary and curmudgeon-like here but there is an increasing segment of our society who feel it is their call to address perceived inequality in the virtual sphere of human interactions. I do realize that there are also marketing considerations for the decisions we see made in choosing images for advertising, but shame on us if those overtures carry the day when we make our consumer choices. Time for us to renew our subscriptions to "Adbusters" - or at least bookmark their homepage.

Remember, what they tell you is and what "really" is ain't the same thing. To paraphrase a friend of mine, "Advertising is for sissies. Real women and men check it out for themselves."