MINNEAPOLIS: Best Buy is putting its PR and marketing groups in the same department for the first time as part of an effort to help the electronics retailer better connect with customers.
Best Buy veteran John Walden has assumed the role of EVP of the newly created customer-business group, which will include marketing, advertising, customer call centers, store design, and communications. Walden had been EVP of human capital and leadership before the December 6 reorganization.
The PR group had reported to the CEO in the past, but the change doesn't reflect a drop in the department's importance, said Susan Busch, corporate PR director. "We have a very flat organization," she said. "Titles are not a big thing here."
Although the marketing and communications groups have collaborated in the past, the new structure will be "the galvanizing factor" for more integrated efforts, Busch said.
Best Buy has no AOR, working with a variety of firms, Busch said. The organizational change won't impact that, she added.
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