I’m bored of the question ‘Is B2B boring?’

They say there’s a Mad Men quote for every situation (actually, I’m not sure they do, but it tracks). Cue Betty Draper’s quip to her son Bobby: “Only boring people are bored.”

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While in reality, this is both an oversimplification and unintentional projection from Don Draper’s childlike wife, there’s a kernel of truth here when it comes to the debate at hand. Instinctively tarring B2B with ‘the boring brush’ demonstrates both a distinct lack of imagination and a glaring lack of sector experience.

Eye of the bored-holder

First, up - just to own it - does B2B have the propensity to be boring? Yep. The honest truth is that there will always be dreary B2B campaigns and experiences, in the same way, there will always be B2C work that just doesn’t cut the mustard (with research from Amplified Intelligence in 2022 highlighting that 85% of digital advertising failed to reach the ‘attention threshold’ for audiences).

The truth - and the trouble - for B2B marketing over B2C is that it often has radically different objectives, audiences, and basic rules. Yeah, sure, we’re just selling something to a different person, but the mindset and context are often poles apart (are you convincing someone to buy a new toothbrush or a multimillion-dollar CRM system for 10,000 sales staff?). The guardrails are more tightly defined. The stakes, in many ways, are higher.

And anyway, what do we really mean by ‘boring’? There’s a subjectivity in this label that needs to be unpicked - particularly if we’re aiming to productively re-engineer B2B marketing to deliver some necessary pizzazz.

The question is: for this audience, in this context, is this activation relevant and memorable? In the world of B2B experiences, the number of messages brands need to impart to audiences, old and new, versus the time, space, and budget available to do so means they don’t always have the luxury of ripping up the rulebook.

Still, that doesn’t mean they need to surrender to sameness.

Change the conversation

While I now work in B2B experiences, my background is in sports marketing, a space that represents, perhaps, the ultimate coming together of B2B and B2C. Objectives, audiences, or activations - the white-hot fervor of fandom (or the promise of free drinks plus footy) usually bonds people around a common cause.

For B2B experiences, getting under the skin of that common cause is critical in shedding mundanity, and it’s the reason why ’whole-self’ experience design - the ability to create interactions that play to business people as, well, people - is becoming so important.

When it comes to delivering on a ‘whole-self’ mentality, several practical parallels from sports sponsorship can be brought to bear in B2B experiences.

Firstly, bring the passion to build the connection. It’s hard to deny the importance of live sport to a committed fan, but harder still to fake an interest in it. In business experiences, there’s an art to understanding the common ground you share with your audience and demonstrating that this stuff matters as much to you as it does to them.

Secondly, make it feel special. Whether it’s the Conference League Final or the Annual Industry Conference, it’s important to acknowledge that these things don’t happen every day and that the moment together shouldn’t be taken for granted. No one wants to feel ordinary, as that’s where apathy can creep in for any experience, but B2B ones in particular.

Thirdly, build the buzz. The rituals of sport provide a natural opportunity to hype up the excitement in advance of a sporting event. With intent versus attendance drop-off a major issue for B2B events, we need to make sure we’re asking ourselves: What’s the hook for our experience? And, how can we better capture the build-up to a business experience beyond the basics of an agenda and networking invitation?

Fourthly, be less business-first. Whether it’s a handshake over a game of golf, a chat in the queue for a Guinness at Twickenham, or bonding over an ‘I was there’ on-field moment, business and sport have always made good bedfellows. Not the most subtle of Trojan Horses, I’ll grant you. But it offers the ability to bond over moments spent together, creating a shared unspoken understanding. This builds more trusting, authentic relationships from which the business will just come.

Be genuine

Not rocket science, perhaps, and when it comes to the typical perception of a ‘boring’ activation, does this thinking take the place of creativity? Of course not, but it is a vital reminder that finding common ground with a business audience is often more important than attempting to dazzle them with distractions.

For me, it’s not about making B2B less boring but more human. This means businesses harnessing passion, becoming more comfortable with occasional rawness, and demonstrating the humor and humanity to have more authentic and connected conversations with their audiences.

Our B2B focus week continues over at its dedicated hub.