Battle Royale at B2B World Fest: Is brand mightier than demand?

The contenders enter the ring

Our ringmaster for the afternoon, The Drum’s own Richard Draycott, set the stage with a flair worthy of a Vegas prizefight. “Forget Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed,” he quipped. “We have four formidable B2B battlers heading your way!”

In the blue corner, championing the supremacy of brand, stood Cos ‘The Brand Boss’ Mingides, co-founder and head of effectiveness at B2B agency True, certainly a cagey debater with a flair for the dramatic, and Mimi Turner, head of marketplace innovation at LinkedIn, known to many as “The Truth” for her unflinching insights.

In the red corner, defending the might of demand generation, were Dennis ‘Demand’ Güth, executive account director at Wob AG, ready to ruffle feathers with German precision, and Dom ‘The Brandcrusher’ Burch, founder of Why Social, the pragmatic entrepreneur with a no-nonsense approach.

Round one: brand throws the first punch

Mingides didn’t pull any punches. “Demand gen likes to take all the credit,” he declared, comparing it to “the opportunistic striker standing on the goal line, tapping in the ball that brand building delivered from the halfway line.”

He emphasized the power of brand in getting into buyers’ minds long before they realize they need you. “When someone moves from out-of-market to in-market, the first place they look is their brain,” Mingides asserted. “They think of one, two, or three brands. Those brands win the sale in 90% of cases.”

He didn’t stop there. Citing empirical studies, Mingides noted, “Campaigns focused on awareness and fame outperform sales activation campaigns by 214%.” With a final flourish, he proclaimed, “Brand building is strategy; demand gen is tactics. Brand building is the real champion of B2B marketing.”

Round two: demand fires back

Dennis Güth was quick on the counterattack. “Your beautiful brand won’t satisfy stakeholders; your perfect palette won’t produce purchase orders; your snazzy slogan won’t sign enterprise contracts,” he retorted.

Drawing on real-world examples, Güth pointed out that giants like Salesforce and ServiceNow didn’t start with flashy brands. “They began by directly calling CTOs, proving their solutions worked better,” he said. “They focused on solving specific IT problems, not fancy marketing.”

He drove the point home with a dash of humor. “We’re living in a brand bubble,” Güth declared. “When was the last time someone said, ‘I love this brand’s tone of voice’ while reaching for their wallet?”

Round three: the truth unveiled

Stepping up with poise, Mimi ‘The Truth’ Turner brought the audience back to a classic B2B maxim: “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.”

“In B2B, buyers don’t want to gamble their budgets, reputations, or careers,” Turner explained. “They want a brand they’ve heard of - a brand they remember. If you’re not selling ‘not getting fired,’ you’re not selling the right thing.”

She highlighted the inherent risk aversion in B2B purchasing. “Buyers will sacrifice better products for current vendors that their colleagues are familiar with,” she noted. “In B2B, brand is the way to sell blame insurance.”

Round four: demand’s pragmatic uppercut

Dom Burch took the stage with the confidence of someone who’s walked the walk. “Brand is important, but demand pays the bills,” he stated plainly.

Sharing his entrepreneurial journey, Burch recounted how he launched his business with no budget. “I created my company with redundancy pay for the first six months,” he said. “Did I spend it on a new logo? No. I generated sales and demand.”

He stressed the importance of priorities. “The first objective of any company is to generate sales. Are you going to spend it on a new sales logo or generate some sales and demand? That is ultimately the question.”

The final bell: closing arguments

As the debate reached its crescendo, Mingides and Turner doubled down on their stance. Mingides challenged the audience, “Wouldn’t you rather be the one who built the room and decided where the chairs go? Brand building isn’t just about sales; it’s about power.”

LinkedIn’s Turner urged marketers to recognize buyer psychology. “If you want to sell blame insurance, if you want to sell the ability to keep your job, then sell brand,” she emphasized.

On the other side, Güth and Burch remained steadfast. “I’m not saying brand isn’t important,” Güth clarified. “But without generating demand, your brand is just expensive wallpaper.”

And always with the last word, Burch concluded: “There’s an awful lot of people out there that have to meet needs and create demand. You have to deliver repeatedly on that promise before focusing on brand.”

And the winner is…

As the dust settled, moderator Richard Draycott turned to the audience to gauge who had swayed their minds. The room buzzed with energy, marketers exchanging glances, perhaps rethinking their own strategies.

While the official tally remained a mystery – much like the secret herbs and spices in a famous fried chicken recipe – the real victory was the rich dialogue that left everyone with food for thought (and perhaps a renewed debate back at the office).

But the motion - “Brand is more important than demand in B2B” - was carried and hence Cos Mingides and Mimi Turner were crowned the winner of the debate.

A knockout event

The debate at B2B World Fest wasn’t just about brand versus demand; it was a microcosm of the challenges and decisions B2B marketers face daily. Whether you’re team brand or team demand, one thing’s for sure: both are crucial threads in the complex tapestry of marketing success.

As attendees spilled out of the venue, still animated from the clash of marketing titans, one thing was clear – B2B World Fest had delivered a main event worthy of the hype.

So, marketers, as you venture back into the fray, ask yourselves, in your next campaign, will you build the room or fight for the last chair? Perhaps the savviest among us will find a way to do both.