In reference to AOL’s content strategy, Rex Sorgatz has this to say and I wholeheartedly agree.

there is no focus on actual quality, which is really the way that your brand is going to survive the latest SEO game and social media fustercluck

Moral of the story? Brands must be focused on quality first a foremost.

Recently I made a list of dream clients and partners. I won’t share the list at this point (I may), but it’s filled with people and companies that I admire, have an idea for or respect the hell out of.

As I took a closer look at this list this morning it dawned on me that a few of these companies are masters of brand utility. There are a number of examples — and I’ll share a few – but let me get my optinions out of the way first:

1. In these (digital) days brands have to accept the fact that they need to constantly explore new offerings, secondary products and complementary services — even if it doesn’t offer an immediate profit — to compete.
2. All brands should have a way to share their “lifestyle” to their audience; this could be a blog, twitter, or print.

Two of the companies I really admire are Ace Hotel and Monocle. Both do an excellent job of brand utility by co-branding products, rethinking “traditional” business models and creating new distribution paths.

The Ace has worked with a number of clothing brands (i.e. Baron Wells, another company on the list) to create staff uniforms — also offered for general public purchase — as well as rooftop honey.

Monocle has also done similar things, by co-branding product offerings and branching off to TV and radio/podcasts. And, in my opinion, the most important “movement”: brand-fueled content.

And finally, my last example, which ties in brand-fueled content. The latest comes in the form of a magazine from The French Laundry. This is a great example (along with Reed Pages) of how a business can leverage its partners, clients and other to create brand utility.

The theme of the 64-page first issue is history, so Keller and co. have collected stories — and the expected gorgeous photography — all about the Laundry and every aspect of the restaurant: longtime staffers, former cooks, journalists.

Ruth Reichl and Michael Ruhlman pen articles. Chefs of all kinds make cameos. But it’s more than that — the magazine also highlights lesser known, yet essential parts of the French Laundry machine, like the wine producer who partners with the restaurant to create the Cuvee French Laundry.

Too often I think an approach to defining strategy is all-inclusive. Usually it takes a definition of strategy and then people/systems to follow. As I was reading this article on Jurgen Klinsmann and his brief flirtation with the US Soccer team, I was struck by his thoughts on defining the US Soccer brand of play.

You just have to go ahead and define it and say: ‘This is what we are going to build. Do you buy into it?’ You won’t get everybody being on board. You will lose probably 20 or 30 percent on the way. And then you have to tell players or even staff people: ‘You have to move on. I have to get other people on board who believe in this system, who believe in this style of play.’

I believe this mentality to branding/strategy is one of the smarter approaches, but is used less frequently as there’s a large (and, many times, wasteful) effort to “gather consensus.”

Monocle magazine is the pioneer of the brand-fueled content. They have reconsidered the advertiser-publisher relationship and created engaging branded content throughout their magazine and into online media like podcasts. It works very well.

Brand-fueled content is content such as articles, videos and events where a brand’s values and briefs on a product where editorial control is given to the site owner (goal being a conversation started, natch). It seems to be the future. Let’s look toward the Old Spice campaign and “the Response Campaign”. Major success.

Beau Colburn captured my feelings on brand-fueled content (and the Old Spice campaign, more specifically) perfectly.

these video responses feel like a dramatic shift in “advertising.” Putting the word in quotes was intentional because I’m not really sure what this is. These responses aren’t ads. I suppose there’s a proper term like “brand extension” or the like for something like this, but this feels new.

Singapore Airlines offers a great example of the detail in which a company (or person for that matter) should go when branding itself.

Singapore airlines is the pinnacle of sensory branding and offers a full scale assault on our brains. Like any other airline, Singapore airlines employs common consistent visual themes. Unlike other airlines the company incorporates the same scent, Stefan Floridian Waters, in the perfume worn by flight attendants, in their hot towels, and other elements of their service. Flight attendants must be physically attractive and wear uniforms made from fine silk which incorporates elements of the cabin decor. The airline strives to make every customer interaction both appealing, and, equally important, consistent from encounter to encounter. It’s no wonder the airline is perennially at the top of travelers’ preference rankings.

the best bottle shape in beer drinking

I’ve uttered the same words many times as a I take a swig. I don’t really care what they do with the branding of High Life, just don’t change the bottle shape…or the price point.

Brand utility is, essentially, a brand creating *something* useful that is closely aligned with its product that brings an added value to the consumer. For further information, I recommend this great resource for understanding brand utility.

One of the examples mentioned in the above presentation is the Domino’s Pizza Tracker (created by CP+B). In a recent interview, head of interactive production, strategy and business development at CP+B discusses productized marketing (which I consider to be brand utility).

I’m excited to see more brands recognize that their most powerful brand marketing asset is the product – not the marketing message. Because of this shift in strategy, we’re beginning to see more agencies move into the product design and development space. Agencies are no longer confined to crafting the message but also empowered to create both standalone products and enhancements to existing product lines. Since digital is both media and product, it’s an ideal platform to facilitate “productized” marketing. And this means that we’re spending a larger percentage of our days creating tools rather than the ads. I get excited by the idea that I can actually now ‘use’ the marketing we make, not just watch or read it.

Since I’ve been (re)thinking of different ways to do the more formal stuff for currentblend, I thought I should mention that our Annual Report will (hopefully) be a breath of fresh air. I’d like to do something similar to Feltron, but the recent Finnair Report is something to be inspired by.

I agree with The Scout and (also)

wonder if Winkreative is behind this initiative – dressing up the pages with colorful illustrations, articles written in the form of Q&As, and a fashion review on past Finnair uniforms. Tyler Brule even makes an appearance, contributing a column of his own.

Nice interview with Andy Spade over on A Continuous Lean. Best parts to me were his point about why it’s okay to not brand everything.

It’s important to acknowledge and share.  It’s odd that people think they have to brand everything with their own name to be successful.  Certain companies are experts at certain things.  I love brands that show humility and don’t try to be all things to all people.  How many brands that got bigger got better?  I love brands that have a soul and follow their own intuition.  If each store has its own personality and soul centered around core beliefs of the brand it will connect within more people emotionally and spiritually.