How to deliver value

A few years ago, when I was at McCann Erickson, I became fascinated by Brand Utility. I developed a model to apply utility thinking and  eagerly presented it to various clients. But for some reason, Brand Utility didn’t catch on as a major marketing approach, neither amongst my clients nor elsewhere.

Nevertheless, the essence of Brand Utility lives. Brands are not what they say they are. They’re not what they say they do, either. Brands are what they DO, period. It’s important now more than ever before. And what brands should do is deliver VALUE. Value is a universal imperative for brands.

So here’s my model for how to deliver value.

A few caveats before you dive into the deck [warning: it’s pretty massive]:

1. I do not presume to list all the ways of delivering value. I did not include price, for example – obviously, when you lower the price the value equation changes for consumers. I didn’t include entertainment, either. Feel free to add your own if you use this.

2. Some examples fit into more than one type of value. More power to them.

3. The length of a section does not correlate with its potential value potential, if that makes sense.

4. Some examples are outdated, but I left them in as valid examples of value (e.g., Sparkbuy which was bought by Google).

5. Most screenshots and images have proper credits. Let me know if you identify the missing ones.

6. Thought and design inspiration came from Paul Isakson. Thank you Paul.