Best Buy Launches Social Networking Site For Teens
The Minneapolis-based retailer created the site for teens to share ideas, post their concerns and have a platform to meet their peers. And, hey, if it helps them build its brand with that customer set and attract more business, that's cool too.
As retailers brace for the upcoming holiday season amid a sluggish economy, they're looking for innovative ways to reach out to customers through new marketing programs and services.
"You are obviously key to the success of our stores. How would your parents know what to buy without you? You know us. You are important to us, but we also see that you are important to our communities, to our society, to our world," Best Buy writes in a statement on the Web site, www.at15.org.
Best Buy also plans to conduct quarter opinion polls through the site. The first survey conducted last month, finds that 80 percent of teens feel that they "aren't heard by adults in general" and 70 percent are pessimistic about the future. Teens also said they fear that the recent Wall Street bailout will impact them long after they are in the workplace.
"Today's teens are compassionate, caring and concerned about the same things that face all Americans, especially the direction of our country," said Brian Dunn, president and COO of Best Buy. "That's why we're tapping our employees, our technology, and our social media expertise, to bring forward the voices of teens nationwide for a conversation about key issues that impact them and their future."
Best Buy also plans to launch the @15 Fund, which will empower teens to direct Best Buy resources toward teen-led projects, according to the company.