Utility marketing certainly isn’t a new idea. In fact, André Michelin launched the first Michelin Guide in 1900, less then 10 years after the inflatable tire was patented. What began as a simple marketing ploy to get Parisians driving more (thus buying more Michelin tires) has grown into a global business, spanning more than a century.

But in the last couple of years branded utility has truly come of age. More and more, we see brands providing useful tools and services to forge connections with consumers. Additionally, the penetration of web enabled devices and the massive popularity of iPhone apps are playing substantial role in this new maturation – elegantly illustrating how branded utility can foster an ongoing relationship with people.

By providing frequent, helpful interactions with consumers, these applications can quickly become a meaningful part of their daily lives. This regular contact can be a supremely potent way to establish trust and build brand loyalty.

The mindshare these often small, simple utilities garner can offer a tremendous return on investment. This is not lost on deft marketers with increasingly tight budgets.

Building on Brand Equity

When taking on such an initiative, it’s important to find spaces where the brand has permission and credibility with consumers. You don’t want to test the elasticity of the brand with a utility – you want to support and strengthen its core.

Delivering on this requires thoughtful consideration of the intended constituents, uncovering their needs, than determining how the brand is uniquely positioned to fulfill those needs.In the end it has to be authentic, to both the brand and the audience.

Here are a few examples of utility marketing that do just that.

Walking the Walk

Traditionally, brands have expressed their core attributes via messaging: what they say and how they say it. In other words, talking the talk.

However, by employing utility, brands can effectively “walk the walk”. Manifesting their attributes through functions, interactions and behaviors. Transforming abstract concepts into tangible characteristics. Converting talk into action.

Fit in to get In

Building a utility flies in the face of a long-accepted marketing concept – “disruption.” That’s the idea that a brand must interrupt, even distract, consumers in order to break through.

In contrast utility marketing seeks to connect with the audience within the flow of their everyday life. Instead of the brand needing to be a loud, attention-starved pest, it can fit into people’s lives by being helpful practical, being there for them when it counts. Because, when it comes to building lasting relationships, it’s not about sticking out; it’s about fitting in.

A Shortened Path to Loyalty

Traditional marketing communications enters the customer lifecycle by using external messaging to generate awareness. It can be effective, but it takes time and multiple touch points to introduce, engage and convince a consumer to try something new.

However, utility marketing enters a consumer’s life via the condition of need. And need has its own magnetism. From this position a brand can deliver rewarding experiences, open a pathway to ongoing engagement and dramatically shorten the path to brand loyalty.

A Longer View is Required

While potentially more effective at building relationships with consumers, successful utility marketing takes a different mindset: one that is much more akin to product development then advertising.

Consumers assume that ad campaigns will come and go. But they expect that products and services to stick around for them – overtime. Beyond that, consumers expect them to evolve, adapt, and improve over time.

So, when marketing with utility requires an understanding of the commitment that’s inherent to providing it. Developing a great product requires a careful focus on the end-user and their unmet needs. It is a principal tenet and core to success. Additionally a thorough assessment of the effort needed to manage and maintain an ongoing concern will be critical.

Here a few things to keep in mind:

Good Utility = Good Marketing

Great products/utilities garner fans. Those fans become advocates, even evangelists. They generate buzz and awareness through word of mouth. They incite conversation and drive consideration. They even shorten the distance to conversion/purchase with direct recommendations from qualified and trusted sources.

Additionally, once adopted a utility establishes an open channel for two-way communication. A responsive platform from which the brand and the consumer can engage and exchange, thus deepening understanding and strengthening connections for both.

We’ve seen that it’s possible to design a utility so well that it becomes viable concern with it’s own revenue potential. And who could say no marketing initiative that directly contributes to the bottom line?

The Gold Standard

The Michelin Guides have set the gold standard for utility marketing. Since their introduction the Michelin Guides have proven to be tremendously effective in building the brand and establishing Michelin as a leader and authority in their industry. The guides are a viable concern in their own right: they’ve sold over 30 million copies in France alone and many more across Europe, the US and Japan.

Proof that that even a small utility has massive potential.

Utility Marketing Considerations

As you endeavor into the world of Utility Marketing here are some questions you should consider: