I thought it would be interesting to think up some instances of branded utility from before we knew what to call them. (My good friend, Johnny, has been developing the idea for years.)
- The Guinness Book of World Records. Originally published by Guinness to help settle heated, if trivial discussions in pubs where its beer is consumed, it's become a brand of its own.
- Michelin Guides. Arguably a service with greater utility than the tyres they were meant to promote, people depend on the Michelin guides for hotel, sightseeing, and especially star-system restaurant advice.
- Shell Defensive Driving Courses. For years, Shell has been giving out free pamphlets and holding free defensive driving courses for the public, because customers are more profitable when they don't die.
- Barnes and Noble Jr. Storytime. When Barnes and Noble replaced the public library as the platonic ideal of library in America (down to the oak paneling and classical columns) they also began to provide some of the services of the public library as well. One of these has been to have free story telling sessions for children in most of their 500-plus stores.
- The Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB). This is probably one of those resources that you use and don't even think about. It was bought by Amazon early during the boom, and remains a place where Amazon provides the technology, fans provide the data entry labour, and everyone else reaps the benefits of knowing every last detail of film trivia possible. Amazon gets a link from every movie or actor on the database back to a relevant DVD on sale.
I am sure there are plenty more of these examples of branded utility out there, so let's get going... please post more!
