Branded Utility: PSFK At Columbia

There’s some light posting today as some of the team are at the Future Trends conference in Miami. If you’re not going to see us here, why don’t you come up to Columbia next week to see me talk about the theory of Branded Utility.

Don’t know what Branded Utility is all about? Don’t worry, I don’t know too much either. This week, I’m going to do some homework about the concept and publish the findings on this site.

Basically it’s a theory that suggests that in order for brands to remain relevant in our lives they have to become useful. Check this blog post by Jack Cheng that quotes Benjamin Palmer of the Barbarian Group on the subject.

Details of the talk at Columbia University, NYC on November 13th from the press office:

This year’s theme for the Organization & Management Seminar is managing in times of unprecedented change. Our next speaker is someone on intimate terms with that unprecedented change.

We are pleased to have Piers Fawkes, a widely recognized expert in spotting trends, as our speaker on November 13th. Piers is the publisher of five web sites (PSFK, IF!, Marktd, ECO, fashion.psfk) aimed at introducing ideas and insights to an international audience.

He founded PSFK.com, one of the most influential advertising and marketing sites on the web, in 2003; in less than 18 months, its unique approach to open, collaborative blogging made PSFK the world’s second leading trends site, as ranked by Technorati. In addition to publishing, Piers is a highly sought after consultant and speaker on society’s latest trends. He has worked with a wide range of clients, including MTV, Corona Beer, BBDO, Philips Electronics, Samsung, Intercos Italia, Radio Shack, Smirnoff, Anheuser Busch, Microsoft, Diageo and CocaCola.

His topic for the November seminar will be “Brand As Utility.”

Everyone is welcome. You must contact Doris to make a reservation (dec2126 AT columbia.edu) so they know how large a room to reserve. The times are:

* Meet in the lobby for cocktails at 5:30
* Dinner in the Faculty Dining Room from 6:00 – 7:00
* Seminar, in a meeting room to be posted, from 7:00 – 8:00