Who ?

Betty Crocker, one of the wellest-known brands created by General Mills, selling cake preparations and other baking ingredients.

What’s the utility ?

Introduced in 1921, Betty Crocker had quite a long history of trying to help people cook.

The first Betty Crocker’s cookbook was introduced in 1950, using charts, photography and extensive data to ensure a full understanding for people who would have liked to reproduce the recipes. Since then, many different editions have been printed, ensuring a large success to the brand.

Betty Crocker is now taking advantage of the digital medium to help people cook and get a bigger awareness of the brand. For this purpose, a mobile app was created, containing over 9,000 recipes:

The brand also proposes an iPad app, and a YouTube channel with more than 150 videos explaining how to cook different dishes using its product, with several categories for different purposes. The YouTube page has more than 14,000 followers and around 15,000,000 views.

Betty Crocker seems to be on the look for seamlessness, using an integrated strategy consistent with the brand’s core values, helping people use its products in the best way.

Who ?

BuyPacker, a groupon-like website dedicated to French students.

What’s the utility ?

BuyPacker has set up an online ticketing platform, available to student associations in the French schools and universities. Each and every organization can therefore create – for free – a customized online ticketing system.The aim for BuyPacker is to get people browse the website, looking at deals and offers.

“Content is not the end game here. The end game is giving the consumer value and utility. If the most value for the consumer would be derived from free shipping, or a new piece of software, or a better user experience, then doing a feature film integration isn’t the right answer.”

Jonah Bloom

What’s the utility ?
To give a better experience to its customers, Delta launched a mobile application which enables anyone to check the last information about a flight, to check-in or to choose your seat in your plane. The most useful function is the bag tracker, discover it in this video.

Kalles Kaviar, a swedish brand of fish roe spread

What’s the utility ?

Kalles created an app that helps people get their eggs done perfectly. People need to enter a code found on each egg, and get information about the egg itself, adding more transparency. Then, they can use the app as an egg timer, entering parameters from egg size, how you want the egg done, to even altitude !

The app then creates a playlist that matches the time needed for the egg to be done, with the music found on the iPhone.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Once again, do not hesitate to submit your projects and ideas to contribute to this change.

What’s the utility ?
It looks a lot like Nike+, however, this crazy application is for soccer lovers. You simply put your microship in one of your shoes. Go on the field and it will collect all your data like your total distance, your maximum speed, your number of sprints and so on… Then, you can share them with your social networks and you can even play with your avatar in a virtual game.
With this ambitious application, the brand gives an extraordinary football experience.

Just have a look to the video, if you’re a football lover, you’ll probably want to try.

via Helge Tenno.

He explains his idea of shared value which is very similar to what we consider as brand utility. 

In his article in the Harvard Business Review, he insists on the need to create shared value instead of simply creating economic profits. He gives interesting examples of companies who started to focus on shared value and is very optimistic on long term perspectives to create new opportunities not only for companies but for people and environment as well.

“It’s gonna be a fascinating period ahead us”.

“There’s a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff.

‘Re-Thinking Progress’ explores how through a change in perspective we can re-design the way our economy works – designing products that can be ‘made to be made again’ and powering the system with renewable energy. It questions whether with creativity and innovation we can build a restorative economy.”

via Minddd

Click here to view the embedded video.

I simply copy & paste the Invisible Ink Digital blog resume :

1. Be useful. The real value of a planner is problem solving and coming up with simple solutions. Cleverness is simply a means to an end.
2. Bring out the best in other people. Act as a catalyst for others by providing the conditions for informed creative thought.
3. Be a linchpin, not only between people but also between brands and the audience they connect with.
4. Have a deep understanding of human motivations and instincts.
5. Have an experience of real life. Get out of the office to experience the real world and understand the people you want to experience.
6. Create a working timetable both within and outside the office to best generate ideas and insights.
7. Whether analogue or digital, the main task of any planner is understanding basic human communication.