Marketing as a value-creation tool

We live in an era where ideas and creativity are becoming more important than technology. After all, we all know that, as far as consumers are concerned, there are not major differences between a Kyocera and a Nokia cell-phone. But anyone will tell you that an iPhone, oh, that may not even qualify as a justa phone.

Why is that? Well, a phone doesn’t have to just make phone calls, does it? We have such hi-tech capabilities these days that consumers expect much more out of their products. They expect products to not only deliver what they’re supposed to do, but to deliver a new, original experience (something different than products a, b and c sitting next to your product on the shelf).

Adrian Ho and Rob White, from Zeus Jones, said it best “marketing needs to move from a communication-orientation role to a value-creation tool.”

According to them, brands can no longer just try to meet consumers’ expectations these days; they need to surpass them by delivering a service, a new experience. That way, brands can continue to strengthen their equity, the emotional link they have with consumers and the ability to differentiate themselves in a ‘sea of sameness.’

Here are some examples of how some brands are providing that added-value and new experience to their consumers while leveraging their equity.

- Volkswagen’s Rabbit widget allows those who download this widget to find out about free events happening in their city (the “rabbit” is a cheap car and it targets young adults who don’t have a lot of extra cash around).
- Time.com has recently launched a quote of the day application that leverages Time Inc. imagery to provide an almost historical, yet updated component to facebook profiles.
-BMW recently announced that Google's local search will be available from their in-dash navigation.