Business-to-business (B2B) marketers in Asia Pacific (APAC) are shifting towards creativity-driven brand campaigns to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
According to a recent LinkedIn survey, 90% of senior B2B marketing leaders in the region said they are increasingly prioritising “creative confidence” over performance marketing and lead generation. They are paying more attention to brand campaigns that harness storytelling and emotion to increase brand stickiness and reach relevant audiences.
This is because B2B branding is crucial in APAC, where purchasing decisions are emotionally-driven.
More than eight in ten (82%) of local marketers agreed that B2B purchases are as emotionally driven as B2C ones. As such, 95% of them recognise that brand building is just as important to driving long-term revenue growth in B2B as it is in consumer marketing.
B2B marketing leaders in APAC also identified innovation, problem-solving, and data analytics as the top skills that will underpin the push toward B2B creativity today.
More than half (54%) say fostering a strong creative output largely relies on the diverse experience within a team.
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When selecting agency partners, diversity of industry experience (53%) is regarded as the most crucial factor in producing a strong creative output. This is followed by a diversity of experience within a team, a variety of skills, and a diversity of personal and professional networks.
The survey also reveals that 67% of marketing leaders struggle to attract creative talent. This is especially so for B2B, as 87% of the respondents share that the best talents in the industry tend to be drawn to working in consumer marketing.
“A strong brand is a force multiplier for any business and is the key to pricing power, which is more important than ever in a high-inflation economy. This is true for all businesses, whether they are B2B or B2C, so it’s great to see B2B marketers starting to define their promise and brand story,” says Jann Schwarz, global head of the B2B Institute at LinkedIn.
He adds: “Our consultancy programme B2B Edge works with the biggest B2B brands in the world to demonstrate that brand-building cuts the cost of performance advertising and puts businesses on a stronger footing for the long-term.”
