Doing business in such a hyper-converged and over-saturated world, it would be easy to say B2B marketers have their backs against the wall when it comes to doing their jobs effectively. Working against a backdrop of extreme political uncertainty – they’re frantically juggling controversies such as fake news, with the restrictions of GDPR, as several high-profile cases emerge in the UK and beyond.
Some might say it’s never been a tougher time to work in B2B marketing. But I think it’s never been as exciting. There’s encouraging news for the optimists, as research reveals that UK ad spend during Q1 of 2019 has increased for a 23rd consecutive quarter, with the outlook in Germany and France looking similarly positive. And even though the UK’s growth is slightly lower than first predicted, it’s a tangible sign of the industry’s resiliency, despite the difficult economic climate we’re operating in.
Marketers are a stubborn lot, especially in B2B, and this sustained growth encapsulates their willingness to adapt and roll with the punches when faced with uncertain times.
Balancing creativity and data in B2B marketing
What these ad spending figures show us, above all, is that it’s never been as important to perfect the relationship between the art of creativity and the science of data.
For inspiration, look no further than last year’s illustrious list of B2B Marketing Awards winners. These awards embody the very essence of not only stunning creative, but also the deep and complex data that serves as their foundation.
And there’s no better example than ‘Best use of digital techniques or technologies’ winner Dropbox. In an attempt to raise awareness for its Dropbox Business offering, the company tipped the traditional decision-maker targeting exercise on its head, electing to appeal to marketer over IT leaders.
The campaign’s assessment tool helped marketers understand the diverse personality traits within their teams, and offered personalised content in order to help senior marketers improve relationships within their teams.
It’s a campaign that perfectly demonstrates how product-centric companies need to be more creative than ever before. Dropbox successfully put together a reliable product analytics pipeline, used it to unearth priceless user behaviour understanding, which in turn drove a product marketing campaign that spoke directly to its target audience.
Have we lost sight of the bigger picture? Short-term wins versus long-term brand building in marketing
While B2B marketers are often criticised for falling behind their B2C cousins, there’s one area where B2B can teach B2C a valuable lesson: short-term versus long-termism.
Research from IPA reveals that creatively-awarded campaigns are no more effective than non-awarded campaigns in terms of IPA’s campaign ‘effectiveness’ rating.
Marketing Week goes as far as saying the ‘link between creativity and effectiveness is broken’. The article goes on to state that a ‘short-term’ mindset is largely to blame for this decline in effectiveness, as brands rush to generate as many quick sales as possible, losing sight of long-term growth.
In B2B, more emphasis is typically placed on long-term brand building, and B2B marketers must be aware not to fall into the trap of obsessing over the ‘quick wins’ that are beginning to permeate B2C awards.
Why analytics has become the great enabler for creative marketers
With all of this taken into account, the concern around the decline of creative effectiveness means that the value of data and analytics in marketing has never been more important.
After all, if data can be used to enhance everything from customer insight to creative development, and product pricing to long-term brand building, then the ‘short termism’ effect lamented earlier becomes less of an impending industry-ender, and more another obstacle to overcome.
Indeed, McKinsey research shows that marketers who are successfully combining data and creativity experience double the average revenue growth rate of S&P 500 companies. It goes to show that last quarter’s increase in ad spend doesn’t mean anything unless it’s generating returns, and creativity doesn’t necessarily equal a successful campaign in terms of sales, revenue, or other tangible business benefit.
We need to remember that a successful campaign can’t be measured on reach alone. There’s a balance that needs to be struck. Yes, money spent needs to deliver returns, but we need to also establish a balance between emotional storytelling and messages that will prompt people into action, one of the key areas that data helps inform.
B2B marketing is an innovative industry, quite possibly one of the most innovative. And the industry’s ad spend increase demonstrates its fierce pursuit of creating growth through considered investments – with data-informed creativity a key player. In this harsh political climate, marketers may well have their backs against the walls, but great things happen during times of adversity.
