Top B2B news stories from this week

There are more than a few sore heads in the B2B Marketing offices this Friday after a tremendous night on Thursday at our annual B2B Awards. But after some bacon sandwiches, some strong coffee and some Alka-Seltzer, we’re feeling just about human enough to bring you our round-up of the week’s top B2B stories. 

Do enjoy them. We’re off to lie down in the dark. 

B2B Awards a night to remember

Hundreds of marketers were treated a fantastic night of delicious food, chaotic dodgems, and hilarious comedy from the fantastic Katherine Ryan at B2B Marketing’s annual awards event.

The big winners included April Six, who scooped ‘B2B marketing communications agency of the year’, Catherine Howard, who took ‘Marketer of the year’, and OgilvyOne, who won the coveted Grand Prix prize for campaign of the year.

Check out the full list of winners, runners-up and highly commended entrants here.

Top storytelling brands of 2015 revealed

Apple has claimed the title of top storytelling brand of 2015 in Aesop’s annual report.

The global tech giant retained its top spot from last year, edging out Macmillan Cancer Support and the National Trust, who finished in second and third place respectively.

The highest-ranking brands with B2B arms were Google – a new entry – in ninth, Facebook a place behind in 10th, and Virgin Atlantic in 17th, rising an impressive 46 places from last year.

Hootsuite integrates with Microsoft to extend reach of social

Hootsuite, the most widely used platform for managing social media, has integrated with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Yammer.

The integration will also have impact on internal comms, allowing enterprises to use social media content across teams to better collaborate in impactful ways, whether resolving customer issues or sharing information.

50% decrease in overdrafts available for SMEs

There has been an almost 50 per cent decline in overdraft facilities available to British SMEs, according to research from the Bank of England.

The amount borrowed by SMEs has also plummeted, with the aggregate balance of overdrafts dropping from £21 billion in April 2011, to under £13 billion by August 2015.

The decline in SME overdrafts is expected to be permanent, with small businesses facing a real challenge to bounce back to pre-financial crisis levels.

Events revealed as most effective method for engaging c-suite

Events marketing has been revealed as the most effective channel for targeting c-suite decision-makers, according to a study from CWO.

A staggering 97 per cent of respondents listed events as either ‘successful’ or ‘very successful’ at engaging high-level marketing decision-makers.

The least successful methods were online advertising and telemarketing, with 62 per cent and 50 per cent of respondents respectively stating these were ‘not successful’.

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