Today, brands need to respond to market dynamics swiftly. And though they rarely have the luxury of lengthy planning and strategy phases, most marketing teams still aren’t built for speed — in decision-making or execution. So, how can teams infuse more agility into the marketing process?
1. Start streamlining at the C-suite level…
In today’s data-driven world, marketers are increasingly focused on measuring the impact of their efforts. The rise of marketing technology, or “martech,” has further enabled this emphasis on metrics — with the industry spending roughly $100 billion in 2018, according to the marketing intelligence firm WARC. From Hootsuite to Hubspot, Mailchimp to Moz, the…
There has been much hand-wringing among marketers over the European Union’s recently implemented data privacy rules. Yes, they have important implications for marketers doing business in Europe. And it’s true that failure to comply can result in significant penalties.
But seen in the right perspective, the European Union’s General Data Protection…
A thoughtfully developed tagline can be a concise expression of a brand, an effective way to quickly communicate its unique value proposition. Too often, though, B2B taglines are formulaic and predictable.
Case in point: Shopify created an online tool called the “Free Slogan Maker.” It asks you to “simply enter a term that describes your…
In the past, B2B and B2C marketing existed on opposite ends of a spectrum. Where B2C communications were casual and colloquial, B2B materials were formal and professional. Where B2C ads built a friendly rapport with their customers, B2B campaigns often adopted a more serious tone.
But today a shift is underway. More frequently, B2B brands…
A few years ago, the CEO of a Europe-based technology startup came to us with a dilemma. His company had a great, first-of-its-kind product – an interactive presentation system that combined dazzling graphics, great flexibility and centralized control. But after some initial success among global pharmaceutical companies, the company hit a wall…
Humans have always responded viscerally to visual communication, from the earliest cave paintings to Instagram. But there’s evidence that visual learning is actually more effective than written language, especially in how it’s retained.
Recent research at MIT has revealed a much greater ability for visual recall than previously thought. Which isn’t surprising…
Mission, vision, values: if you’re of a certain age, when you hear these terms you might feel transported back to the 80s or 90s, to the height of the “planning school” and corporate jargon. In 1984, one influential business writer proclaimed, “everyone agrees they are necessary” — and the stats back this up. In 1991…
As a CMO, you’ll likely work with a variety of agencies — from brand and advertising to public relations and digital. Each of these relationships has the potential to be a true partnership that strengthens your work and business. But even with this understanding, these partnerships can still experience their fair share of challenges — often…
Forrester researchers published a report about a new customer-centric era in business. As part of DeSantis Breindel’s ongoing relationship with Forrester, we’ve reviewed the report to summarize key findings for our readers — and offered our own analysis about what this change means for B2B brands.
Customer experience is king
Over the past…
We recently visited the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s exhibition, “Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color.” The exhibition covers the development of color theory, and traces its application from antiquity to modern times through more than 190 objects. The director of the museum, Caroline Baumann, emphasizes that the exhibit “advances our understanding of…
Companies with strong brands are setting the pace in the B2B marketplace. Their success is driven, in part, because they focus less on the prospect and more on the customer. Instead of positioning their brands in the minds of their customers, they position their brands in the lives of their customers. In a recent Forbes…
DeSantis Breindel recently met with Forrester as part of Huddle — an intimate community of B2B marketing leaders who come together to connect, collaborate, and learn from each other and from outside experts. Forrester researchers and branding experts shared some of their latest CMO research about human-centered branding and B2B customer obsession. Here are key…
When two companies come together, whether through a merger or an acquisition, they almost invariably rebrand to reflect the combined strengths, value proposition and vision of the new entity. But a merger or acquisition is typically a process that can last months or even a year or more. During this period, a company’s customers…
What’s a talk trigger, and how can a company use one to strengthen its brand and drive business? Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin, co-authors and marketing experts, tackle this phenomenon in their aptly-titled book Talk Triggers, which demonstrates the importance of word-of-mouth marketing through a diverse collection of case studies…
We bring you the latest trending and newsworthy articles in B2B branding and marketing.
This month, making sense of the flood of B2B data and an insightful survey of global executives.
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Before institutional investors turn over millions — and sometimes billions — of dollars to an asset manager, they want to know how their money is going to be invested. It’s not a question of which equities or bonds or alternatives the manager prefers. That’s easy enough to determine by looking at their current portfolios. What…
In the second post of our archetype series, we looked at how a brand team can successfully identify which archetype their brand is and why. Once they’ve aligned around the role the brand plays in its customers’ lives, that information will serve as a guide as they develop brand strategy and express it through…