The intersection of business strategy and creative advertising is often seen as the realm of B2C marketers.

However, innovative B2B marketers also harness this intersection to deliver personalized, data-driven campaigns that address complex decision-making processes and longer sales cycles creatively.

With the inevitable Cookies deprecation, marketers across disciplines increasingly embrace customer-centric approaches to delight their customers.

We’ll examine how forward-thinking B2C brands (old and new) resonate with their audiences and derive insights into leveraging these strategies in the B2B landscape. In addition, we’ll discuss emerging priorities that professionals must address for powerful creativity, such as building an ICP, making the most of ABM, and better connecting with disparate audiences.

For When the Cookie Crumbles

Some B2B marketers find themselves overly prepared, while others are glad they can still leverage third-party data for targeting and engagement.

Whatever you’re feeling—it’s essential that you future-proof your demand with first-party data.

Direct engagement in the cookieless future means building personalized relationships with customers without relying on third-party cookies, a strategy B2C brands understand all too well.

Moreover, as privacy regulations tighten, transparent communication will foster trust, encouraging customers to share their information. That’s why you should focus on content, adopt omnichannel strategies, and listen to customer feedback to refine your marketing.

For B2B, this shift will emphasize Account-Based Marketing (ABM) for deeper interactions with key accounts. Ultimately, direct engagement will rely on meaningful, data-driven experiences that build lasting customer connections.

Making the most of ABM

Make sure your content speaks directly to the needs and challenges of each account, using what you’ve learned from direct interactions. Be clear about how you use data to build trust and encourage engagement. Also, reach decision-makers through multiple channels to ensure a smooth and consistent experience.

By aligning your efforts with each account’s specific goals, you’ll build stronger connections and achieve better results.

Tapping Into B2C’s Customer-Centric Advantage

B2B marketers can learn from their peers in B2C by focusing on personalization, customer experience, and emotional appeal. 

The latter are great at customizing experiences for people, and B2B marketers can use the same mindset and offer more personal interactions. Adding emotional elements to B2B marketing can help build stronger connections and make the brand stand out. Using multiple channels to reach target accounts is also important.

Investing in brand uniqueness and using data to improve strategies can help B2B marketers get better results. However, before embarking on your initiatives, consider the following imperatives.

Building an Ideal Customer Profile

The success behind the iconic “Got Milk?” campaign, first aired in 1993, was driven by the company’s well-established Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), enabling them to create ads that resonated with their audiences.

All videos in the campaign were masterfully filmed: in one minute, they set the scene, established sentiment, and revealed the hero (milk!) in a twist of events. More importantly, the ad spot’s humorous nature adds an element of relatability and engagement. 

We’ve all gasped at an empty milk carton at least once in our lives.

Nextiva—providing video and audio conferencing, multiple rooms for video meetings and easy one-on-one messaging for team members—followed suit and created a campaign that talks directly to the ICP.

Much like the Got Milk? campaign, the ad for NextivaONE is driven by humor, talks directly to the ICP, and engages the audience by mirroring their daily challenges in the workplace.

Watch the ad here: [VIDEO]

The Big Game Delivers Big Results

Super Bowl ads can significantly boost brand awareness and recognition. While the immediate return on investment may not be obvious, the long-term advantages can justify the expense.

Danone—maker of yogurt, plant-based beverages, and cold-brew coffee—has run ads for its Oikos brand at the Super Bowl for the last four years. While yogurt is not associated with football, it’s performed so well that the company has doubled its investment for 2024’s game.

This may be a shrewd investment for B2C brands, but can we say the same about B2B brands? 

Papaya Global thinks “Yes!”. 

With over 100 million viewers each year, the Super Bowl is more than just a sports event—it’s a cultural phenomenon. It gives brands a unique chance to show off their most creative, attention-grabbing, and sometimes controversial ads. 

Hila Perl (Director of Communications, Papaya Global) says:

“It’s not so we can sell more. Obviously yes, we want to see a very direct ROI, but we all understand this is a brand-building or a brand awareness play. It’s not a lead-generation play. In my mind, it is always a marathon more than a sprint. It does sometimes require those bigger investments to plan this ahead to see how the vision translates.”

Snoop Dogg vs. Matthew David McConaughey

Snoop Dogg, American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, media personality, and actor, was chosen by Solo Brands for their “Blunt Marketing” campaign.

In this ad, Solo Brands takes a direct, blunt approach. Snoop literally tells the viewers that they’re watching an ad for Solo Stove, and that they should buy it because he says so. The funny spot plays on Snoop’s affinity for marijuana (or blunts) and bluntly tells the audience to take action and buy a Solo Stove.

Given the singer’s playful attitude on social media and frequent public gags, he’s a perfect choice for a witty, funny, and engaging ad.

Although celebrity endorsements have been a staple in B2C, many B2B brands tapped into the power (and results) of this tactic.

Salesforce associated their brand with a renowned, charismatic, and widely loved celebrity.

They have collaborated with McConaughey, who serves as a brand advisor, since the beginning of 2022. In their latest venture, they sought to address companies’ fear of security problems driven by AI. Check out the latest ad: [VIDEO]

Conclusion

As we move away from cookies, focusing on direct customer interactions and using first-party data will be crucial.

B2B marketers can harness emotional appeal to make their campaigns more engaging, relevant, and personal. Mixing creativity with strong strategies will help your B2B brand connect better with your customers and make a bigger impact.