Best Buy Staffers Build Samsung Loyalty and Sales

Samsung and Best Buy this week break a joint promotion that pits basketball great Magic Johnson against Best Buy’s in-store staff, its Blue Shirts.

The Blue Shirts on Court promotion piggybacks Samsung’s ongoing Four Seasons of Hope program that taps retailers, athletes and musicians for periodic promos to raise funds for non-profits serving kids and community programs.

Blue Shirts on Court awards extra points to members of Best Buy’s Reward Zone loyalty program for each purchase of Samsung products. A portion of each Samsung sale is donated to the Magic Johnson Foundation.

Best Buy staffers compete against each other to boost incremental sales; the store with the highest Samsung sales wins a visit from Johnson to a local school. Teachers and school staff suit up and play with Johnson in a pick-up game against Best Buy and Samsung staffers. Students also get a one-hour clinic One-on-One with Magic Johnson.

“We’re motivating the Blue Shirts and using the properties that we have,” said Debbie Estes, Best Buy director of promotions and events. The promo runs March 13 through April 2; Best Buy handles in-house.

This is the third time Best Buy has teamed up with Samsung for Four Seasons of Hope. In the first year, shoppers who bought Samsung products using their Best Buy credit card were automatically entered in a sweeps to win a coaching session with Johnson for a school basketball team.

This is the fourth year Samsung has run Four Seasons of Hope; other partners are football star Boomer Esiason, baseball great Joe Torre, golf legend Arnold Palmer and rock star Jon Bon Jovi.