There are just two basic strategies in digital innovation in marketing – ‘help me‘ or ‘entertain me‘.
Unfortunately, most digital marketing still falls somewhere else entirely, into a futile ‘interrupt me’ bucket…
So here are 4o ‘help me’ examples of ‘marketing as a service’ (aka brand utility – mostly digital) for your delight and delectation courtesy of Brieuc Saffré and Marwann Al Saadi, and their rather useful blog, brand-utility.com…
Some of these brand utility examples are a little long in the tooth (and skewed a little French), but they are good creative stimulus nonetheless for those of us wishing to move marketing beyond the ‘marketing as interruption’ quagmire;
- Stiegl Beer – Free public transportation ticket on beer bottles
- Vodafone – Pocket Power – clothes that charge smartphone
- Scrabble – Scrabble sponsored gamified (solve word puzzle) free WiFi
- IBM Smart outdoor advertising (curved billboards/poster doubles as seat, ramp, awning)
- Brazilian Blood Bank “Donor Cable” donates smartphone battery charge to a friend
- Audi Start-Stop app – uses the same start-stop energy saving principle in Audi cars to save battery life
- KLM Your Must-See Map – personalised travel map with friends tips
- Babolat Play & Connect – a connected racquet that tracks technique and performance
- Nike Golf 360 – Nike+ for golfters, score rounds, track stats, compete with friends
- Getty Images Watermark Projects – not just the logo on previews, but useful image information
- Ray Ban – Bright Light (Concept) – geo- app to find sunny spots in your city
- Starbucks Early Bird (concept) alarm app that rewards early risers with coffee discounts
- Adidas Runbase – branded showers and lockers near Tokyo subways stations
- KLM Meet and Seat – stalk people on Facebook and grab a seat next to them on a flight (perhaps not)
- Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap – app that produces paint palettes based on photos (Adobe Kuler for interior design)
- Clorox Glad – Trash Smart – app from trash bag brand that locates nearest recycling centres
- Kodak Picture Spot – real world signs showing photo opportunities (could an AR version of this have saved Kodak?)
- Betty Crocker TV – YouTube recipe channel
- Delta Bag Tracker – Fedex style tracking of your luggage
- Kalles Kaviar Egg Timer app – scan egg for info (provenance, metrics) and perfect cooking instructions…
- Adidas miCoach – personal training app from Adidas
- Asics Marathoner app – pesonalised messages from supporters on billboards throughout course – triggered by RFID
- IKEA pop-up nap station – sleep pods for weary drivers on the autoroute- featuring IKEA beds
- Jimmy Fairly – French glasses brand take on TOM’s (buy one, give one)
- AT&T phone charging lockerbox
- Google wedding planner – uses Google tools to plan, budget, share a wedding
- Google person finder – used after Japan quake in 2011, helps people reconnect with friends and loved ones in the aftermath of natural and humanitarian disasters
- Nestlé Dessert – chocolate recipe idea app
- Maruti Suzuki – Indian Suzuki car brand hosts second-hand buy/sell/exchange site
- MUJI productivity apps – branded calendar, notebook and travel apps
- Google Teach Parents Tech – helping children tech-educate parents
- Broke Bike Alley – bike shop metal business card that works as a bike spanner
- Diageo – cocktail recipe site featuring Diageo brands
- Nike+ – iOS running app, track performance and compete with friends
- Toms – buy-one-give-one pioneer – shoes and glasses
- Virgin Atlantic taxi2 – app links up people to share cab from an airport
- Nestlé – Devenir maman – pregnancy guide app
- Puma – clever little bag, replacing bulky shoe boxes with bags
- Mini – roadside assistance app for Mini owners
- Kodak share button – didn’t save it from bankruptcy, but the share button cameras was smart
Love the new site! Thanks for everything, Paul! I owe much of my career success to you and your blogging. True inspiration.