The concept of a useful brand, also known as brand utility in marketing, has two distinct meanings. On the one hand, it refers to a brand content approach aimed at providing a product or content that benefits the consumer. On the other hand, it can embody a strategy aimed at asserting a brand’s social utility. In the first case, the brand’s objective is to offer products, services, packaging, or applications that provide real added value to the consumer. This service offering can be one-off, integrated into a marketing campaign, or more long-term.
The service offered within the framework of a useful brand approach is often closely or loosely related to the brand’s core business. For example, Always, a company specializing in feminine hygiene products, launched a mobile application called “BackMeApp” to combat sexual assault. In this case, the two aspects of the useful brand mentioned above are combined. Similarly, a Samsung insurance subsidiary offers vases that double as fire extinguishers, providing tangible utility to its customers and prospects.
The primary objective of a useful branding approach is to strengthen brand image and foster consumer loyalty. When products or services are actually used, they can also serve as advertising mediums. For example, promotional keychains and pens are classic forms of useful branding that have been used for a long time. An excellent illustration of useful branding is provided by Lego, which designed slippers to prevent injuries from walking on its famous bricks.
From another perspective, the concept of useful branding can also refer to the practice of associating a brand with a social cause or mission. In this context, useful branding aims to demonstrate the brand’s social utility, sometimes as a replacement for or complement to its core purpose.
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