Taking a dry, humorless service and turning it into a memorable, active, personality brand is no small feat. Making a computer repair service have punch is a double whammy. Started in 1994, Geek Squad made its quirky "geek" presence known from its very beginning as its founder Robert Stephens traveled around Minnesota from job to job, first on a bicycle, and then in a retro 1958 Simca Aronde Elysee car. Not many months later, the first employee was hired and "Chief Inspector Stephens" was making a name for the Squad by offering computer advice on Minnesota Public Radio. The fleet of retro cars brandishing the Geek Squad logo grew to a handful.

The ever-present homage to law enforcement is both the running joke and the unifying branding theme of the company. The precocious geeks working for Geek Squad are dubbed with titles like "Special Agent" and "Covert Operator" (depending on duties) and are dressed, head to toe, to fit the part. A white starched, short-sleeve dress shirt with black clip-on tie and horizontal tie clip, belted black trousers, white socks, shiny black shoes, and a police-inspired Geek Squad badge hanging from the waist is the daily, mandatory uniform. (The uniform is now a part of the permanent collection at the Minnesota Historical Society.)

The last of the retro cars bought by the company were painted black and white to resemble 1950s police cars. Since 2000, Geek Squad's official "geek mobile" of choice has been the new Volkswagen Beetle, also in black and white and featuring the funky orange company logo.

The use of black and white with the one infusion of orange into the company logo is an especially bold and memorable visual device. From the uniforms to the cars, to the website and the in-store displays, the brand colors play on both nostalgia and the futuristic aspects of technology to deliver a memorable brand image.

These days the company offers on-site and remote services (at flat versus per-hour rates) that range from setting up an iPod to resurrecting a hard drive. Its mission is to "alleviate the world's computer problems, educate people to fearlessly embrace technology and practice the art of human interaction."

Since its acquisition by electronic and entertainment retail chain Best Buy in 2002, the company has gone from a Minnesota-based service company with smaller presences in San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles, to ten stand-alone locations, a branded presence in nearly every Best Buy retail store, and over 10,000 agents.

In addition to computer troubleshooting duties, the Geeks are responsible for in-home electronic set-ups and even programming remote controls. With service prices starting at just under the US$ 80 mark, Geek Squad is taking advantage of the "do it for me" trend among consumers and its estimated multi-billion-dollar service industry. CBS News in November 2004 reported that Geek Squad expects 2005 revenue to be US$ 650 million. Not bad for a bunch of geeks.

Alycia de Mesa is a brand identity consultant and writer with over 10 years experience from Fortune 100 to start-up companies. She is author of Before The Brand, the definitive brand identity handbook, published by McGraw-Hill (under the name Alycia Perry).