The anti-B2Boring club
I recently spent 10 hours reviewing B2B effectiveness case studies. This is where I’m sharing them. Each made to be digested in one minute or less.
The structure is simple. Business problem. Reframed problem. Solution. Results. It's designed to inspire your next creative brief. Nice and easy.
Why am I writing about this at all? Two reasons:
We talk a lot about reframing problems, but I don't see enough practical examples of this done well. That starts to change now.
B2B is often synonymous with boring. I want to be part of what we could call 'the anti-B2Boring club'. Hope you'll join me there.
Let’s get into them.
BT Enterprise
Business problem
Gradual loss of market share among UK SMEs
Due to low consideration despite high awareness
Driven by reputation as remote, disinterested and expensive
Reframed problem
If you can't compete on price, compete on value perception
When SME life is never boring and full of drama, SME owners don't need soft empathetic messages, but a reliable problem solver
Solution
Integrated campaign around the idea of 'All business. No drama.'
Used humour to acknowledge everyday SME difficulties
Product benefits all oriented around removing unnecessary drama
Results
Growth in product quality perceptions (+22 points), brand trust (+11 points) and brand consideration (+7 points)
Short-term £5.7m in margin, at a ROMI of £6.32 per £1 spent
Projected long-term £18.1m in margin, at a ROMI of £13.52 per £1
Dallas Regional Chamber
Business problem
Vaccination rates in Texas dropped to dangerously low levels
48% of Texans were not planning to get the COVID-19 vaccine
Messages from politicians, celebrities and scientists didn't work
Reframed problem
Texans were more worried about economic survival than health
Go beyond partisan messages and focus on maintaining livelihoods
Overcome hesitancy by focusing on practical business implications
Solution
The 'Take Care of Business' campaign, fronted by local business leaders as trusted messengers focused on economic recovery
Targeted messaging based on segments, from conservatives (focus on freedom), to Spanish-speaking segments ("Manos A La Obra") and business-focused communications (protect your paychecks)
Results
625k more North Texans vaccinated in under 100 days
QuickBooks
Business problem
Hispanic small business owners were hesitant to invest in tech
Many perceived their business was too small for advanced tools
QuickBooks had low baseline awareness among this group
Reframed problem
Demonstrate that size is not determined by initial scale
Shift self-perception from "small venture" to "potential enterprise"
Solution
The 'Think Ote' campaign, which challenged Hispanic small business owners to think "ote" (large) not just "ito" (small)
Fronted by global football star Chicharito (nickname meaning “little pea”), who achieved big things despite his little nickname
Targeted messaging in English, Spanish, and Spanglish
Results
Growth in brand awareness (+27 points), familiarity (+36 points) and consideration (+86 points)
Growth in new Hispanic users by 96% vs previous year
43% lower cost per acquisition
PERGRAPHICA®
Business problem
Significant market decline in Mondi's paper business
PERGRAPHICA® had 7% brand awareness despite growth
Need to win market share with small budget in a struggling sector
Reframed problem
Don't try to grow by getting competitors to switch intermediaries
Focus instead on targeting end users, like creatives and designers
Change how paper is chosen, not just which paper is chosen
Solution
The 'Catching Feels' campaign, which highlighted the sensory experience of physically touching paper
Partnered with Adobe to show how striking photography and illustration can leap off the page with the right premium paper
Created a lookbook with 300+ images from Adobe Stock, printed on 16 paper varieties, linking to behind-the-scenes maker videos
Results
Increased sales volume by 85%, despite price increases of 8%
Doubled market share from 13% to 25%, exceeding the 17% target
Sales enquiries grew 87% and project conversion rates grew 10%
Procell
Business problem
Procell needed to increase market share in the business battery space despite being 30% more expensive than competitors
Procurement departments preferred familiar brands at lower prices
Procell had low brand awareness (23%) vs Energizer (38%)
Reframed problem
Shift the value equation from 'cost to buy' to 'cost to replace'
Focus on the hidden labour costs of battery replacement, which tend to be 9x bigger than the battery cost itself
Make the invisible cost of cheap batteries visible and memorable
Solution
'The Battery Changers', a campaign featuring comedic characters who represented the wasteful labour costs of replacing batteries
A three-stage communication strategy to Disrupt (break through apathy), Demonstrate (show the extent of the problem) and Deliver (provide savings calculator)
Delivered physical 'Battery Changer Doll' mailers to businesses
Results
Improved 'longer lasting' perceptions by 6 points and reduced 'too expensive' perceptions by 15 points
Grew top of mind awareness by 7 points and unaided by 7 points
Grew revenue by 12% and year-on-year market share by 10%
Royal Mail
Business problem
The UK's Royal Mail produced half the CO2 per parcel versus competitors due to on-foot deliveries, but few knew about it
They needed to communicate this to business decision-makers
Reframed problem
Target 10 of the UK's most sustainability-focused retailers
Make the environmental advantage tangible and visible
Personalise their message to key decision makers
Solution
Personalised 'box within a box' direct mail campaign, where the larger box represented competitor CO2, and the smaller box represented Royal Mail's 50% lower emissions in comparison
Customised each box with the target brand's colours and imagery
Included QR codes linking to dedicated landing pages for easier sales follow-up
Results
Meaningful contact with 100% of targeted brands
60% of targeted brands visited the landing page via the QR codes
Growth in sales pipeline at a 300x ROI vs the cost of the campaign
Sage
Business problem
Sage invented the accounting software category but had become a fragmented business due to a long history of product acquisitions
They were now perceived as the old school option in the category
95% of marketing costs were spent on in-market customers
Reframed problem
Rather than focusing on B2B software benefits, Sage focused on how business audiences felt alone and unheard in the category
Targeted professionals who bring their whole humanity to work
Focused on the true human impact of finances and bookkeeping
Solution
Created the 'Voices of Business' platform, championing unscripted customer stories around vulnerable and messy truths in business
Paired human stories with a distinct and vibrant animated world
Executed full global rebrand across 8 markets and 1,000+ assets
Results
31% uplift in ad recall
Leading on 'empathy' scores, 6% higher than nearest competitor
9% growth in ARR with 101% customer renewal rates, meaning customers not only renewed, they increased spend per contract
Damn! Done for now. But also: damn, there's good work out there. Just gotta know where to spot it, and how to truly evaluate it. Sources for these: APG, DMA, Effies, IPA, Jay Chiat Awards, Marketing Society. Legit, trusted organisations. Curating good ideas, yes, but also real impact.
More to come next week. Maybe three. Maybe four. See how we feel. Sadly I can't share the paywalled papers publicly. But, er, email me. Or if you want access to my private strategy library, join the Salmon Crew.
