Best Buy Elevates Retail Media Strategy With New Ad Offerings and Sports Partnerships
At its inaugural “We Got Next” event, Best Buy highlighted the evolution of its advertising business, Best Buy Ads, showcasing new tools and strategic partnerships to grow its presence in the retail media space. A key announcement was the launch of takeover packages, a new advertising solution designed for both endemic and non-endemic brand partners. These packages enable prominent brand placements inside and outside Best Buy stores, providing high-impact visibility to customers across multiple touchpoints, from window displays to TV walls. The showcase emphasized Best Buy’s commitment to leveraging its physical retail footprint for digital-style marketing at scale.
Best Buy Stores Chief Customer, Product, and Fulfillment Officer Jason Bonfig said, “Picture walking into a store and seeing your brand front and center — on the windows, at the entrance, and throughout the space. As you shop, your brand appears on our TV walls, PC monitor displays, and across numerous physical and digital touchpoints.”
The retailer also announced extended partnerships with major sports organizations, such as the NFL and the TGL golf league, aligning its ad strategy with the insight that Best Buy shoppers are 26% more likely to be sports fans than the average consumer. These sports-centric collaborations, including an ongoing content partnership with creators like Dude Perfect, are intended to offer brands more ways to connect with audiences during high-engagement moments throughout the year. These efforts support Best Buy's position as the NFL’s Official Home Entertainment Retailer, a relationship that will now span the entire year rather than just the playing season. Best Buy Ads, launched in 2022, offers brands greater scale, strategic partnerships, and innovative customer experiences. Lisa Valentino, who joined Best Buy in 2024 after a leadership role at Disney, emphasized the platform’s strength in customer data, noting that 93% of the company's transactional revenue can be tied to a unique customer ID. This data advantage positions Best Buy Ads as a strong player in the growing in-store retail media market, which analysts predict could surpass $1 billion by 2029.
Learn more about Best Buy Ads here.
Amazon Ads Introduces Agentic AI Tool to Enhance Personalization
Amazon Ads has introduced a new agentic AI tool within its Creative Studio, acting as a real-time creative partner for advertisers. Brands can brainstorm, generate stories, and produce high-quality video and display ads in a matter of hours within a conversational interface. The tool is free and leverages Amazon’s retail insights, combining shopper behavior with brand and product content to create ads tailored to specific audiences. Final outputs can include multi-scene videos with music, animation, and voiceovers, all powered by advanced models like Amazon Nova and Anthropic Claude.
The AI tool is part of Amazon’s broader push to automate and expand ad creation beyond its retail platform. Early users such as Nestlé Health Science and BTR Media praised its ability to uncover new insights and help mid-market advertisers scale. Amazon sees the move as a way to provide strategic creative support to all brands, not just those with big budgets.
AI is rapidly reshaping the advertising industry. Google, Comcast, and major luxury brands are also investing in in-house AI tools to streamline production and reduce dependency on agencies. With 43% of U.S. marketers already using AI for targeting and optimization, automation is now deeply embedded.
Learn more about Amazon Ads Creative Studio here.
Culver's Partners With Zero 60 For EV Charging Station
A Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Culver’s restaurant has taken a step toward sustainability by adding an electric vehicle (EV) charging station in collaboration with Zero 60. The new station, located at 620 W. Kemp Street, sits along a state-recognized Alternative Fuel Corridor and features four high-speed chargers, each capable of delivering up to 160 kilowatts at the same time. Funded in part by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation through the Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, the project marks a significant push to make EV charging more accessible in underserved regions of the state.
Wade Leipold, EVP of Zero 60 Parent Company Faith Technologies Incorporated, issued a statement saying, “Partnering with a well-known brand like Culver’s gives us a unique opportunity to combine Midwest hospitality with clean, convenient charging. We’re proud to support Wisconsin’s efforts to build a robust, future-ready charging network that serves communities and travelers alike.”
Zero 60 currently operates nine stations nationwide and plans to expand further, with existing charging sites at brands like In-N-Out Burger, Chipotle, and Starbucks. Culver’s is part of a growing trend among restaurant brands adapting to the rise in EV ownership. With electric vehicle sales projected to grow 21% over the next four years and exceed 10% of all vehicles on the road by 2030, chains like Taco Bell, Subway, Cracker Barrel, and Sonic have been integrating charging stations into their locations, while Bojangles has plans in the works to install EV charging stations to most of its locations over the next year.
Original Article Links:
Best Buy builds retail media chops with in-store takeovers, sports deals
Amazon unveils agentic AI to make ad creation faster and cheaper
Culver’s is the latest chain to add Electric Vehicle charging stations