B2B marketing has always been a tough puzzle…
The target audiences are smaller and difficult to reach, with job titles and functions instead of broad demographic profiles. Selling cycles are complex and long, with a multitude of approvers and influencers behind every purchase decision. For these reasons, surgically targeted demand gen/lead, gen-oriented media often take the spotlight and the go-to tools tend to be paid social with a focus on LinkedIn, content syndication, email marketing, trade-show booths, and sponsorships: and all too often that leads to a dearth of creativity. But things are changing. Marketers are starting to realise that brand has a powerful impact on the bottom line. ‘Brand to demand’ has become a common phrase in the media trades, in discussions on LinkedIn and at marketing events.
The world of media is changing, too. There are more strategies and tactics available to the B2B marketer than ever, more than many realise. Some are due to advances in targeting technology, while others have been there for decades, but are underutilised. The B2B marketers that are making the most of the tools and platforms available can give the impression that their brand is everywhere, even when their budget is minuscule. Here’s what those marketers are doing:
Harnessing ABM/ABX
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has become a key strategy for B2B over the last decade and is considered part of the demand-gen bucket. This makes sense because what ABM technologies excel at is identifying the right accounts to pursue based on intent data. And when paired with the larger martech stack, ABM is especially good at hyper-targeting key accounts. But don’t forget the impact ABM can have on brand — the hyper-targeting aspect of ABM is a powerful brand booster. Think about it: no audience is more important for a brand than an account it wants to do business with. By targeting key prospects through ABM, marketers blanket the entire buying coalition at an account, from the C-suite down to the user level, ensuring they have a connection to the seller’s brand identity. And just like that, demand-gen work becomes easier.
Using CTV to bring the power of TV to B2B
Some B2B brands, like IBM, SAP, UPS, FedEx, etc., can afford to leverage broadcast and cable TV to their fullest potential. But to most B2B advertisers with limited budgets, TV has been off the table — not just due to cost, but because of its inability to hyper-target key business decision-makers.
Now, with CTV, the democratic nature of television’s branding prowess has been extended to the B2B world. Marketers can finally cast both brand and demand-gen videos directly into the households of targeted prospects. And thanks to the efficiencies of programmatic media buying, B2B marketers can successfully blanket their targets through CTV as a part of an omni-channel brand-to-bottom-line media approach.
And the advances continue: Take a look at the announcements coming from LinkedIn, which allows markets to leverage their 1st-party data and hyper-targeting capabilities. The recent creation of LinkedIn CTV, along with LinkedIn Premiere’s new partnership with NBCUniversal, expands the B2B marketer’s tool chest and enables brands to be everywhere their audience is.
Make the most of traditional media
Speaking of hyper-targeting, don’t forget about the media of old. ‘Traditional’ media is still alive and well, and is another way to reach audiences in a very focused and efficient fashion.
Consider JCDecaux/DAVID Madrid’s winning entry in this year’s Cannes Grand Prix for Creative B2B awards that spotlighted the power of outdoor advertising. Using remnant media space, a mysterious logo and creative that appeared to showcase Instagram posts, the campaign turned into an earned-media monster. Social media discussions flooded the landscape.
In a similar vein, a more creative approach can be used to boost the impact of trade shows and events. Typically, a lot of attention is placed on efforts inside the show — booth layout and branding, sponsorships, breakout sessions, sales collateral. But the best opportunity comes before the target even enters that exhibition space, which too many marketers forget or neglect. For more than 20 years, Doremus has been hijacking the exterior of trade shows for our clients, surgically placing media in key locations to intercept our target audiences every step of their way to, around, and from the event. From airport advertising to highway bulletins to programmatic OOH to taxi tops and wraps — all of the tools of old, revived for use in today’s hyper-targeted age.
Marketing to businesses never will be the same as selling soft drinks to teenagers or clothing to fashion-loving consumers. B2B is unquestionably more complex and rarely involves impulse buying. All the more reason, then, why B2B strategy needs to ramp up the creativity and utilise all the tools available in today’s world.
Featured image: Steven Wong / Unsplash