3 Ideas for B2B Marketers: July 2022

Storytelling is the name of the game this month. 

Join us as we dive into the importance of leveraging campaign data to prove the value of marketing, the need for engaging stories within content, and B2B’s exciting entrée into The Cannes Lion ​​International Festival of Creativity.

How to Align Brand and Demand in Both Measurement and Campaign Analysis

Digital B2B marketing measurement is often complex, given long sales cycles and multiple touches across multiple platforms from both sales and marketing. Recently, some interesting articles looked at two key trends in measurement and analysis:

• Measuring "Fast and Slow": This recent article from LinkedIn looked at different trends in measurement, including how to measure both retrospectively and interventionally. This article dives into leveraging early indicators as critical tools in the journey to the ultimate destination—ROI. 
• Analysis of "The Missing Middle": A recent Deloitte study found that 58.7% of CMOs report that their CEOs demand proof of the value of marketing. To provide this proof while balancing the need for brand awareness, Ad Age suggests that brands analyze the customer data that is between the Top Funnel and Bottom Funnel campaigns they traditionally run. This data is part of the "missing middle" that can indicate whether buyers are increasing their familiarity with the brand or signaling a greater intent to purchase. 

Application

Take a hard look at your data to identify “fast and slow” categories to help inform both reactionary and long-term choices, as well as metrics that may not be hard-hitters on their own but contribute to the comprehensive scope of your brand success.

Storytelling is the Vital Link Among All B2B Content Marketing

The need for compelling and entertaining assets in B2B content has driven an evolution in content marketing from static white papers to case studies or reports utilizing an array of content types and mediums.

A recent ThinkWithGoogle article leverages data-driven content with a visually engaging experience to drive home key points, including that 94% of viewers say good content tells a story. 

Application

Explore ways to enhance storytelling in your content, both through traditional written content and incorporating animation or video for an engaging experience. 

Cannes Lions Shine a Light on the Best B2B Marketing Creative

The Cannes Lions is famous for awarding creativity, but never creativity within the B2B space. Until this year, that is. Showing how far B2B Creative Campaigns have come recently, the Creative B2B Lions showed key emerging themes including: 

• Delightful storytelling 
• Focus on customer experience 
• Bringing data to life

These themes align with similar themes found in LinkedIn trends from key thought leaders: supercharging your message focused on the customer experience and the hidden benefits of your brand, including key resources, training, and community. 

The winner of the inaugural prize was the "Speaking in Color" by Sherwin Williams whose campaign focused on architects and visionaries. 

Application

Take inspiration from this new acknowledgement of B2B creativity and start to focus on the key themes of storytelling, CX, and "bringing data to life" in upcoming video, creative assets, and campaigns. 

Want to learn about these trends and more? Get in touch with us.