It's time to pull, not push, and become what our audience is interested in. So how can digital marketing successfully lead the way for advertising in general?

At the recent iMedia Agency Summit in the U.K., I heard two ideas that I think are now among the most powerful in marketing. One, attributed to Simon Andrews of media planners Mindshare was the concept of 'Branded Utility'. This means providing a service or content to our target market without asking anything directly in return as a way of positioning the brand in the minds of the audience.

The second was the famous quote from Axel Chaldecott at the agency JWT: 'We've got to stop INTERRUPTING what people are interested in and BE what people are interested in!'

Now that time-shifting is killing interruptive TV ads, too much time is spent finding new ways to get in my face through cleverer and cleverer creatives which simply get in my way when web viewing. These two concepts point the way to a much better world.

In summary, what they say is this: if we really understand our target market -- I mean really understand our target market -- then we should know what is useful and interesting to them. If that is the case, then digital channels allow us to develop content and services to serve these needs in a way which clearly positions our brand as a provider of real service and differentiates it from others who do not.

Of course this is not new. We all know soap operas were so named because of who created them. But the power of interruptive ads became far too great and too tempting.

In the digital world, much more is possible and some B2C marketing has embraced this idea wholeheartedly. Carling provides me with a great music site with free video content from gigs and bands I like. They hope I'll like them more as a result. (They also monetise this by selling me tickets but that's a development rather than a core part of the concept.) Who can forget the brilliant BMW short feature films directed by top names and only made available online? There are many other examples from the best and biggest consumer brands.

B2B, as so often, is behind the curve. Yet in this area there is even more opportunity in the digital era to embrace the concept of what I call 'marketing as service' because it provides the possibility of developing highly targeted niche content which is only for a specific group of prospects or customers. The PepsiChartShow costs a fortune but is worth it because it engages millions. If my target is hundreds or tens of thousands, or even a few hundred very high value individuals, until now such an investment has been out of proportion.

TV on the web, to take one example, changes the dynamics of this discussion. Suddenly it's economically feasible to develop a branded utility for this target audience and this audience alone. Indeed, its very worth comes from the fact that it's not for everybody. If you are a builder and I provide building supplies, the fact that I develop content only for builders demonstrates that I really don't want to serve anyone else.

In my view, though, unlike in B2C, B2B brands should stay on home turf. In other words, the branded utility is tied directly to the brand's core expertise and flows from its value proposition. Here's an example: for four years we have produced web TV programming for BT Business aimed at SMEs. This addresses real business issues on the minds of SME decision makers, but entirely from the perspective of how technology can help tackle these issues. We're not claiming BT can provide banking advice or property services, although we do produce programming which shows how technologies can help financially and make property usage more efficient.

The level of engagement with the programming among the target group and the improvement of their perception of BT are high and monitored. Nothing is sold through the programming, though it all does link to relevant areas on bt.com where you can go on a sales journey.

Marketing as service. Branded utility. Pull, not push. Becoming what our audience is interested in. This is the new paradigm of digital marketing and one that I think our audience will force us to embrace.

Let me finish with one more idea I picked up from the Summit, attributed to comedian Bill Bailey. When asked how he writes jokes he said: 'I start with the laugh and work backwards.' Brilliant. If you start with the desired outcome and work backwards, would you really be planning that interruption to my life?

Stuart Maister is managing director, BroadView.