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Page history last edited by anjaliramachandran@... 11 years, 1 month ago

Branded Utilities: Introduction

 

Over the last couple of years, I have heard one thought being mentioned repeatedly in different forms within the media/advertising industry, and it is an idea that a lot of people think is where the future of brands lie, myself included. 

 

The idea is Branded Utility

 

Johnny Vulkan (Anomaly) and Benjamin Palmer (The Barbarian Group) are credited with being the earliest to use the phrase to describe the ways in which brands are, or can be, useful to people. Other interesting resources to read are here.

 

Simply put, think long-term not short-term - I would if I was a brand.

 

I’ve put together this wiki so that I can document examples of brands that have illustrated ways in which they have been or are useful. I would like to keep branded utility distinct from things like rewards programmes (which most well-known brands have in any case, like most airlines or credit card companies) - they are useful to super-users but not to the general public or non-users. I've also categorised them by whether they are can be accessed by mobile phone, physically, or virtually (online). 

 

Johnny Vulkan also mentioned something else to me which I think is important to remember: a brand that is useful in general and therefore cultivates an image reflecting its inherent 'goodness' has got its marketing automatically done for itself and doesn't really need one-off initiatives. Neil Perkin and Faris Yakob have also discussed brands being good, generous or nice and those qualities pretty much equal useful. It makes sense to list those as well - those that do exist for now anyway. I sincerely hope the list will grow in time.

 

The 'branded utilities' list can be sorted by ascending or descending alphabetical order - just click on the relevant column titles to sort.

 

If you know of any examples of branded utility or useful brands that should be added to the lists below, please contact me at anjali@madebymany.co.uk. Thanks. 

 

Anjali Ramachandran

PHD UK

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Useful Brands:

 

Innocent Drinks

Method Home

Interface Flor

 

 

Branded Utilities:

 

Brand

Utility          Type

Orange

GlastoNav    

Mobile

Guinness

Moments of Greatness

Mobile

Charmin

Sit or Squat

Mobile

Charmin

NYC Restrooms

Physical

Las Vegas Tourism

My Vegas

Online

Johnson & Johnson

Babycenter

Online

Uniqlo

Uniqlock

Online

Bugaboo

Bugaboo Daytrips 

Online

Plum

Plum Vision

Online

Bank of America

Keep The Change

Online

Nike

Nike Plus

Online/Physical

Adidas

MiCoach

Online/Physical

Halifax

Share Price Alert

Online

Howies 

Tap in Carnaby Street store, London 

Physical 

Michelin

Driving Guides

Online/Physical

Clear Channel AdShel

Citybikes

Physical

Ikea

SXSWi Lounge

Physical

Ikea

BoKlok

Physical

Sears

Sears Houses

Physical

Starbucks

Music Kiosks

Physical

Fiat

Road Safety for Children

Physical

American Express  American Express Live at the Open  Physical 
British Airways Metrotwin Online
Visa Go Explore Online
American Express Open Forum Online
Fiat EcoDrive Online
Sonos  Sonos Controller iPhone app  Mobile 
Hewlett-Packard HP iPrint iPhone app Mobile
CLIFBar Save our Snow iPhone app Mobile
Surfline Surf Report iPhone app Mobile
Target Christmas Gift Finder iPhone app Mobile
Lucky Magazine Lucky At Your Service iPhone app Mobile
Nike Nike Goal iPhone app Mobile
Nike Women Nike Training Club iPhone app Mobile
Chanel Chanel iPhone app Mobile
VW Polo VW Polo iPhone app Mobile
Zippo Zippo Lighter iPhone app Mobile
Pedigree Dog Food Shake & Bark iPhone app Mobile
Coca-Cola Magic Coke Bottle iPhone app Mobile
MINI Road Assist iPhone app Mobile
Timberland Earthkeepers Virtual Forest Online
OKCupid OKTrends Online
Starbucks Starbucks Digital Network Online

 

 

 

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