The thing about human expectations is that they are never bound by category. Amazon
sets the bar for digital customer experience. Netflix sets the bar for
entertainment. Apple sets the bar for intuitive technology. Every
other business is judged accordingly. Humans don’t make
compassionate allowance for sectors or verticals in the endless battle for their
time, attention and memory space.
The chances of you remembering any marketing message at the end of each day are
slight. If you do, it’s probably one that engaged your brain in an emotionally
positive, unexpected but relevant way. The chances are
it was from a B2C brand that understood both the value exchange for your attention
and the right time, right place for the messaging.
Back in 2014 Bryan Kramer coined the term Human to Human (H2H), focusing on the
fundamental parallels between B2B and B2C audiences – their brains.
It would appear that even with a business hat on the human brain remains
neurologically the same, displaying textbook behavioural economics; busting
the myth that B2B is a more logical sell.
Even the most logical human can’t suppress the emotional shortcuts built by the
brain to generate feelings and priorities towards subjects. Without these initial
feelings, there would be no subsequent logical consideration
process, however long the buying cycle. Humans remember not what you said but how
you made them feel.
Further to this, our brains do not magically rewire during B2B committee-based
decision making. Emotion still leads. Perhaps even more so as committee members
compete for their own differing agendas within a business, post-rationalising
with logic where convenient.
This isn’t creative conjecture, it’s neurology. FMRI scanning along the
human brain’s action pathways, has revealed how emotion is translated into
action, proving we use emotion as both an appraisal tool
and a guide for behaviour.
If a message doesn’t make us feel something, we are unlikely to act
on it. That’s not good business in any language.
The H2H declaration was my passport to cross codes from two decades of creative B2C
advertising into the world of B2B technology marketing at April Six. Filling funnels
might have been new terminology, but fuelling feelings
was second nature in a career working with nearly a hundred B2C brands.
Over the past two years at April Six, forward-thinking tech brands like Symantec,
Lenovo and SAS have embraced a more creative H2H approach, allowing character
creation (a B2C stalwart) to drive award-winning engagement
across multiple channels. There’s lots to be said for having
engaging brand spokespeople, especially if what you’re selling is
hardcore technology.
Great casting and B2C standard scripts will get you engaging, enduring, economical
assets.
Film is undoubtedly the flagship creative H2H medium. Nothing engages an
audience’s emotions like it. Volvo Truck’s Van Damme ‘Epic
Split’ is six years old but still remains fresh in the mind, because
of its imagination and human focus. Its H2H approach generated $170m in revenue from
a $3-4m B2B spend.
The ability to make film interactive or personalised at scale has only enhanced its
appeal to those with the vision to look beyond the next quarter’s
figures. Combining film with the interactivity and analytics in
platforms such as Vidyard turns the viewer into a participant, in a way that
can deliver valuable data insights back to your brand.
Many B2B Tech brands still confuse being the cleverest with the most popular.
Popularity is what gets you on consideration lists, because your brand is front of
mind and feels right. Humanising the brand creatively can
dramatically increase this popularity. Having the better product is not enough. Ask
Samsung.
Too many B2B Tech brands default to the brand-cuffs of a templated design language
applied to inane stock photography with generic copy lines. Sure it’s
consistent. Consistently missing the chance to engage your audience
with a level of respect for their intelligence and time. You’re contributing
to marketing pollution not your bottom line.
Creativity is a critical part of engaging humans in the most effective manner. Albert
Einstein remarked that 'Creativity is intelligence having fun'. The B2B
technology sector is full of intelligence that would benefit from having
more fun.
Note: This article is written by Alistair Ross, Creative Director at April Six UK, a
sister company of Splash.