Utility vs. affinity: Four strategies for brands to strike the right balance

Gareth Kane

In the age of the customer, customers – and brands – expect brands to develop ever more end-to-end frictionless experiences that are more and more responsive to customer needs.

There is an ebb and flow to advertising and marketing which is driven by the interplay between brand action and customer reaction. Marketeers observe and measure customer needs, behaviours and expectations to identify problems and unearth opportunity. They develop ideologies, strategies and ideas to realise these opportunities, only for them to change customer behaviours and expectations – creating a whole new set of problems and opportunities.

The need for frictionless customer experiences has shaped marketing thinking over the past five years. But now comes the ebb.

The so-called ‘Amazon effect’ is changing customer expectations and this has turned traditional sector...

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