HES Buying Group Helps Dealers Launch TV Ads

There are a lot of TV commercials about how Best Buy and Wal-Mart offer top-of-the-line electronics and expertise.

Buying group Home Entertainment Specialists (HES) is helping its 500 small- to medium-sized custom electronics dealer members get their own messages on the air waves.

HES, a division of prominent appliance buying group Brand Source, is trying to even the playing field by using Brand Source Marketing, a third-party agency that works exclusively with Brand Source.

Even with Brand Source's budget and resources, HES isn’t able to offer its dealers campaigns as far-reaching as those of big-box retailers.

HES dealers can, however, have Brand Source Marketing produce professional-looking commercials.

Professional-Looking Commercials for $500

Though they might have better products, superior expertise, professional installation teams and competitive prices, small custom dealers don't have advertising budgets to compete with big-box chains.

Bob & Ron's, an HES member, now has TV ads produced by Brand Source Marketing. Company owner Bob Cole says they are a huge improvement from the "crappy local TV ads that seem unprofessional" that most dealers can afford independent of buying group assistance.

He adds that it would cost him $25,000 to $50,000 to produce a commercial that looks amateurish. The cost for the Brand Source Marketing-produced commercials starts around $500, according to Andy Orozco, HES director of communications. Dealers can make certain customizations for an additional price.

Brand Source's electronics commercials are broken into categories:

• Building a dream home
• Remodeling

Brand Source uses graphics and voiceovers to target the commercials to specific dealers.

The dealer is responsible for paying their local TV stations for air time, which can be expensive depending on the market. Bob & Ron's chose to buy a Monday Night Football advertising package that Cole says cost about $30,000. "Philadelphia isn't cheap."

Cole adds, however, that there are some HES dealer that can "own the market" for $30,000 of TV time.

"Not Philly. As it is, I have to limit myself to very specific zip codes."

Campaign Shift

About 12 HES dealers are currently using Brand Source Marketing-produced TV commercials, according to Orozco. He says several more are moving in that direction.

HES executive director Jim Ristow says a more aggressive TV campaign is in the works. The new campaign's goal is to drive consumers to HES' new Web site, which Ristow expects to launch in March 2009.

The new campaign will be different than the current ones because it will promote the HES dealer network as opposed to individual dealers.

The goal of the Web site is to create an "experience that looks and feels like a national Web site," Ristow says. "Let's call it box store-esque, but driving business for installation and services to the local [HES] member."

The new campaign will still be a "very targeted" approach, aimed at likely candidates for specialty electronics as opposed to a mainstream audience, according to Ristow.

"If one looks at major networks and national TV time, the demographic is very broad and the costs are extremely high," Ristow says.

"If one targets the A/V spectrum, which is probably home improvement [programming], sporting channels and possibly some luxury cable channels, it's more cost effective and a greater ROI."

Check out the Brand Source-produced commercial below.


This is the current HES TV campaign.