Bold Brave Brands at B.Inspired

This third instalment of B. Inspired, Broadsword’s quarterly thought leadership event series, was inspired by the statistic that 78% of B2B campaigns are dull — defined by being factual and rational rather than emotive. We know B2B can be anything but boring, but sticking to safe, dull campaigns drives lower impact on audiences, and hence, less value for money. Instead bold and brave campaigns are thriving — birthing the term Business To Human characterised by creative and authentic communications that appeal to the human side and build emotional connections.

So how can marketers, event professionals and agencies work in partnership to ensure that their campaigns are bold rather than bland and get the most engagement out of their audiences?

The event started with a presentation from Strategy Director, Matt Green who set the scene with a presentation on the Power of Brand. Touching on the origins of the word brand all the way through to brand value where, if you get to a certain level of market salience, your brand can permeate into people’s minds at a subconscious level. He also examined brand collaboration and the emergence of new and innovative brand experiences. 

Head of Commercial Development, Diane Carters then moderated a panel discussion dissecting what bold and brave campaigns look like in the B2B space. Our panel of experts included asset management firm M&G who are colouring outside of the lines when it comes to campaigns in a highly regulated industry, EY who are creating successful events measured by human connections and conversions, as well as Illusion Design and Construct who produce immersive experiences to engage audiences — from Glastonbury sets to Secret Cinema. Also on the panel was Broadsword’s Creative Lead, to share how the space for bravery and creativity can be created internally.

Brave Marketing in a B2B Sector: Balancing creativity with constraints

M&G’s Global Marketing Director Laura Brown spoke about the bold launch of their Ampersand Magazine on social media. Doing things differently in this campaign resulted in over 200% more engagement on this campaign compared to previous work and fostered a new perspective of the brand.

In a highly regulated sector, where creativity must be balanced with constraints, being bold doesn’t mean changing the fundamental message of content, no matter how heavy. But presenting this in a different format and making small changes (which might not be necessarily bold themselves) can make a big impact.

Doing something that feels out of the usual for your business can be the key to achieving goals, such as reaching a wider audience more effectively, in a digital world. Remember your audience, even if they’re mostly corporate, are people too and most likely enjoy the same content formats as you. The launch of Ampersand reached and connected with more people because it elicits an emotional response and leans into a more human, humorous element.

Audience Engagement: Is there a greater opportunity to push boundaries at a live events?

EY’s Associate Director, Global Strategic Events and Experiences, Kate Humphrey described events as a ​‘moment in time with a captive audience’ who have invested their time to experience a unique offering. We discussed EY’s flagship World Entrepreneur of the Year event and how success can be measured through repeat attendance and valuable conversations that come from the event. Human connection is integral to this success and, as an event is only live once, planners must ensure every element is in line with this purpose.

Making audience members feel special by personalising the experience, creating standout moments, and investing in takeaways for attendees should be balanced with the objectives and purpose of the event, which ties all of these moments together.

Small ideas can be really creative and drive value for money — panellists highlighted impactful ideas such as using branded stencils for drinks or food as an example of a low-cost item that can create moments of surprise and delight. These small yet different ways of doing things can help to balance creativity with stakeholder constraints.

Creating wow factor: producing immersive experiences

Illusion Design and Construct’s Owner, Dan Hughes dived into the future trends for immersive events and how technology can elevate audience experiences. It often starts with those hero moments, those wow moments which often involve integrating digital with physical elements. We discussed Illusion’s work on a Green Planet exhibition experience for BBC Studios where attendees could step inside the series with the use of AR to give each attendee a personal guide and individual experience of the event.

There is increasing demand to tailor events to individuals and this is an emerging trend we are seeing across the B2B sector. Perhaps VR will transition into another tool for event planners that becomes as commonplace as lighting at events. 

Coming up with creative ideas: Can creativity exist without bravery?

Broadsword’s Creative Lead Aisha Kareem spoke about how Broadsword, as an events agency, comes up with and presents brave ideas. Navigating this internally often means creating a space where every voice is heard and diverse thinking contributes to impactful ideas.

Brand is extremely important as it is how an audience recognises you. Therefore the need to protect the integrity and essence of your brand must be balanced with the need to push boundaries, and challenge perceptions. Stepping outside of your comfort zone when it comes to Brand innovation is always going to come with an element of risk. If it doesn’t feel uncomfortable, there is a sense that you might not have gone far enough. 

A brand is what a brand does. Should B2B define you?

The panel rounded up with some key takeaways and advice for attendees. In conclusion, there is an assumption that B2B advertising has a responsibility to inform and not entertain, but in order to shift this perspective, brands should embrace riskier strategies and colour outside the lines. Bravery in a B2B world often lies in leaning into the power of emotion and appealing to human drives such as humour and personalisation.

Being clear on the purpose is key as this ties every element of an event or a campaign together, and helps to meet stakeholder constraints and ROI. Things shouldn’t be there for the sake of it especially when cultural differences come into play.

Putting bold and brave ideas into practice can mean giving it a go and committing to ideas openly while listening to your gut and others around you (both teams and opposing viewpoints).

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