B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with Ilaria Pasquinelli to discuss all things regarding the Creative B2B Lions.

B2B isn’t really known for being all that creative, at least historically, and the industry as a whole doesn’t fully understand its value. However, the advent of the Creative B2B Lions is signalling not only that creativity in B2B should be uplifted and celebrated, but also that there is a shift toward a more creative industry overall. But will the Creative B2B Lions be enough motivation to propel B2B towards a brighter, creative future?

Ilaria Pasquinelli is the VP of Marketing at LIONS, the team behind the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and she is an experienced senior marketer with experience in driving growth through brand in both the B2B and B2C industries. 

LIONS is the home of creativity, and they have been championing excellence in creativity for over 65 years. They are the team behind the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, a yearly celebration across industries that aims to establish the standard for progressive creativity.

You can find Ilaria Pasquinelli on Linkedin.

You can find out more about the Creative B2B Lions here.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

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In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with Faith Wheller about employee retention, coaching, and what the pandemic means for the future of working in marketing.

It’s no secret that the working world is forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost two years of working from home has changed the way employees want to work, how they collaborate with their teams, and what expectations they have of their employers. Businesses are required to reconsider their past protocols as well as establish initiatives to hire, train, and retain the best employees. So what does this mean for the marketing teams of the future?

Faith Wheller has recently joined TeamViewer as their VP of Brand, Sponsorship, and Campaigns, and she has 20+ years of marketing experience. Prior to joining TeamViewer, she served as Senior Director of Marketing for Intuit as well as several senior marketing roles at Cisco including Senior Director Global Marketing and Marketing Director - EMEA. She has also held roles at BT and Westcon-Comstor. She has a proven track record of building data driven marketing plans and leading high-performing teams.

You can find Faith Wheller on Linkedin and Twitter.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

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In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict talks to Melton Littlepage about how the B2B buying journey is evolving, and how businesses can adapt to a new era.

Buyers have more control over the process than ever before, and they could possibly go through the whole process without ever interfacing with the seller. Because of this and the buyer journey in B2B is so much more complicated than in B2C, marketers are discouraged from taking risks. But a new era is already here. So how can marketers recognise the new era of the B2B buyer journey, and how does the role of the B2B marketer need to change?

Melton Littlepage is the CMO at Outreach, and he has over 20 years of experience with a proven track record of generating growth in SaaS businesses and leading teams around the world. Prior to joining Outreach, Melton served as the Senior VP of Marketing at Tenable and New Relic, Inc. as well as the CMO at Schoology. He has also held several positions at SAP Concur, including VP Global Marketing.

You can find Melton Littlepage on Linkedin.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

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In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with Adam Morgan, Executive Creative Director at Adobe, to talk about why the future of B2B is creative.

In B2B, it’s already difficult enough to prove to businesses that creativity is a better long-term investment despite having ample well-researched studies stating exactly that. Then there’s the additional hurdle of companies not truly understanding what it means to be creative. Is there a traditional point of view that’s preventing a more creative, emotional approach from becoming more commonplace? Or are marketers finally embracing a proven method to make real connections with clients?

Adam Morgan is the Executive Creative Director and Brand Leader at Adobe, and he has a proven track record of creating brand value for Adobe’s B2B business. Prior to joining Adobe, Adam has worked as Executive Creative Director at ThomasArts, Creative Director at McCann Erickson, and more. In addition, Adam is the host of the Real Creative Leadership podcast, which provides insight and guidance for creative leaders, and the author of Sorry Spock, Emotions Drive Business: Proving the Value of Creative Ideas with Science, which provides thorough research as to why emotional ideas are better for business.

You can find Adam Morgan on Linkedin and on his website.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

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In this special edition of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with the team at alan. to discuss their new report, ‘The Power of Provocation’.

In 2017, business decision-makers fired a warning shot when 71% voiced their discontent. Five years, on the mob is angry. This year, 82% chastised B2B marketing as boring, predictable, repetitive. Frustration is boiling over.

Through research conducted by alan, we argue for marketers to make B2B electrifying, deeply moving, and we show what needs to be done in our report ‘The Power of Provocation’. The mandate for change is clear. A bolder B2B is there for the taking. You just need to decide if you’re up for the fight.

Our panel for this special episode includes Josh Cohen, alan’s Senior Research & Intelligence Manager, Daniele Pulega, alan’s Creative Director, and Chris Illman, alan’s Head of Strategy.

Find the full report HERE.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

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In this final episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth of the year, Benedict and our lovely guests will bring us the thrilling conclusion to our provocative breakdown of B2B Marketing in 2022.

With the world being so unpredictable, it is hard to truly know what’s coming next. But it’s important to think about the possibilities that come with the new year as it might have a bigger impact on marketers than initially thought. To conclude 2022, we reflect on what has and hasn’t stuck with us over the past year, and we determine what will be important to look out for in 2023.

Thank you to all of our listeners for the past year! We look forward to bringing more of the podcast to you in 2023. Until then, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Komal Thadani is the Marketing Campaigns Director at ServiceNow, and her previous experience includes working as Marketing Director - Small & Medium Business, Cloud Platform, JAPAC and Marketing Head - Open Cloud Infrastructure, Asia Pacific & Japan at Oracle, and Portfolio Marketing Leader, ASEAN and Channel & Digital Marketing, ASEAN & India at IBM, as well as positions at Accenture Services and Lowe Lintas.

Barney O'Kelly is the Digital Marketing Director at AlixPartners, and his previous roles include Managing Director at Hagen Communications Ltd, Associate Contractor at Deloitte, Global Head of Communications at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Head of Communications, Strategic and Digital at BAE Systems.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

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In this special holiday edition of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict invites Barney O’Kelly and Komal Thadani to discuss and look back at the most provocative truths in B2B Marketing for 2022.

Looking back at B2B Marketing in 2022, it’s evident that we’ve made a lot of progress, but there’s still more to do. According to alan.’s research, 82% of business decision makers still think B2B is boring and predictable. However, we also know that the appetite for change is much greater than it has been in previous years. The same study found 88% of business decision makers want a bolder and contrarian approach to B2B marketing. So what can we learn from the previous year that will propel us into a bright new future?

Komal Thadani is the Marketing Campaigns Director at ServiceNow, and her previous experience includes working as Marketing Director - Small & Medium Business, Cloud Platform, JAPAC and Marketing Head - Open Cloud Infrastructure, Asia Pacific & Japan at Oracle, and Portfolio Marketing Leader, ASEAN and Channel & Digital Marketing, ASEAN & India at IBM, as well as positions at Accenture Services and Lowe Lintas.

Barney O'Kelly is the Digital Marketing Director at AlixPartners, and his previous roles include Managing Director at Hagen Communications Ltd, Associate Contractor at Deloitte, Global Head of Communications at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Head of Communications, Strategic and Digital at BAE Systems.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict talks to Simon Dodd about brand activation in companies that are both B2B and B2C.

All marketers understand the importance of brand activation. Having a strong brand is how your company is salient in the minds of current or potential clients. However, there is a balance that must be found if a company is both B2B and B2C. Each arm of the company may need its own brand or maybe is there a unified approach? Is it hard to shape the company’s identity? And how can marketers make sense of it all? 

Simon Dodd is Senior Marketing Manager at Coventry Building Society. He has held this position for over five years. Prior to joining Coventry Building Society, Simon has worked as Head of Marketing - Invoice Finance at Hitachi Capital (UK) and as Head of Marketing at Johnson Fleming Ltd. He also has previous experience at RWE npower, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and more.

You can find Simon Dodd on Linkedin.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

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In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with Nick Hughes to discuss building the value of purpose through a marketing lens.

Purpose is now a topic hotly discussed at board level, but many argue it is still not properly understood. No matter the size of the company, from a single individual to thousands, purpose is absolutely necessary. Having that reason to get out of bed and go to work is crucial not only to establishing a company’s identity but also to guide everyone to the path of success. But what does it mean for marketing to help develop purpose in a given business?

Nick Hughes is the Director of Marketing and Communications at SEGRO, and he has held this position for the last 9 years. Prior to joining SEGRO, Nick spent 2 years as the Global Head of Marketing & Communications at Knight Frank. He additionally worked as a consultant marketing director for a commissioned project, and as a Joint MD for Siren Design. Nick has served as a member of the Membership and Marketing Communications Committee for Real Estate Balance for the last 5 years.

You can find Nick Hughes on Linkedin.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

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In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with Will Brookes to discuss what marketers need to know about how their potential clients make decisions.

Marketers often focus on singular audiences: the very people who would benefit from what they’re selling. However, it seems as though they are quite naive in their understanding of how their prospective clients’ decisions are made. In B2B especially, it’s not as simple as targeting a specific individual; the buying process involves stakeholders, other business leaders, and so on. With the buyer journey being so much more complex, marketers need to really consider how other businesses make their decisions in order to market to them more effectively. 

Will Brookes is the CEO of Raconteur and has held this role for almost two years. As CEO, Will has overhauled the business by reducing Raconteur’s reliance on print and growing the company’s digital offerings. Over the last 11 years, Will has held other senior positions at Raconteur such as Managing Director and Head of Publishing, and during that time oversaw a great deal of growth for the company. Under Will’s leadership, Raconteur won the PPA’s Business Media Brand of the Year Award for 2022.

You can find Will Brookes on Linkedin.

You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.