Can B2B be sexy?
I don’t always agree with the folks over at Gyro:HSR, but I just read a post by Milan Martin that makes some strong points. He takes awhile to get to it, but eventually does a nice job of making the case that B2B brands need to be built to resonate with people, not “businesses.” I’ve heard this argued time and again—I even wrote a post on it awhile back—but since many B2B companies’ marketing communications betray the fact that they (or their agencies) haven’t realized it yet, it’s still a point worth making.
Milan goes on to contrast the typical sales processes of B2B and B2C companies, and then wraps up with a few paragraphs that manage to be simultaneously whiny and self-congratulatory—complaining that more agency talent doesn’t gravitate toward B2B work and suggesting that those who do are the bravest among us. Well…no complaints with that implication, I guess.
The one thing absent from Milan’s post is an example (or more than one) of a “sexy” B2B brand. He claims B2B brands can transform “from that awkward 13-year-old girl into a head-turning knockout who, by the way, has got some really interesting stuff to say,” but leaves it to the reader to resolve that rather complex metaphor. So, have at it: what “sexy” B2B brands have you encountered?
[Also published on B2B Brand Debate]
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Best place to find B2B companies and brands with sexy names is to visit the web sites of venture capital firms, especially the ones that fund start-up stage, new media companies, then look on their portfolio page, to see the companies they are funding. Great way to see how these funded companies are doing their identities, their brands and their domain names.
Here are some links to get you started — leading venture capital investment firms in New York City:
1. Greycroft Partners, LC
http://www.greycroftpartners.com/portfolio.html
2. Insight Venture Partners
http://www.insightpartners.com/portfolio
3. Ascend Venture Group
http://www.ascendventures.com/ascend/portfolio_companies.html
4. DFJ Gotham Ventures
http://www.dfjgotham.com/portfolio.html
5. Union Square Ventures
http://www.unionsquareventures.com/portfolio.html
6. Milestone Venture Partners
http://www.milestonevp.com/portfolio.html
Yes! I have made this argument to clients more times than I care to recall over the last 15 years. I name companies and products, and 90 percent of b2b clients say, “this is not a consumer product, so the name needs to be serious”. In other words, useless. BTW, I modified the enema post, and I know how you enjoy anything enema. Enjoy.
I have given sexy names / brands to lots of b2b products and companies; Firebrand, Veneer, Zounds, Antidote, Bigfoot, Dragon Tag, etc. Full list here http://www.igorinternational.com/clients/case-studies-naming-branding.php
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I think it’s more an issue of confusion by ad and brand people being so far removed from three things: 1) how the products are BOUGHT by other companies of people (the accepted practices and established processes for large scale purchases and related business cycles), 2) how the products have been successfully SOLD by the firm, ie. how they sell (and what will advance that game into the future), and 3) the strategic needs and roles of positioning, messaging and branding to help either of those missions — vs. other ways to use that cash (bribes are good, and proven).
Costs affect this thing, too — a A 747/400 starts at $216,000,000 (Full price). A new iPhone? About $300. Complex idea vs simple idea.
The ‘unsexy’ part, methinks, that Milan referenced in his wafer thin argument, has to do with this complexity — of the processes and required business savvy.
Most decent brand marketers and creatives can get to an easy, fun, wheezy distillation of why Coke over Pepsi. Or Mac over Dell. Etc. Consumer behavior, trends and market analysis is all accessible information. That’s easy — and sexy.
ADD rules today. Long-term thinkers and endurance runners like B2B. Sprinters and whippet-users like B2C. Figuring out why Airbus over Boeing is a far deeper dive, and many a sprinter goes limp.
I think it’s a relative easy case to make (Interbrand’s been singin’ it for decades) that better branding helps people resonate to certain decisions, whatever they are. In a complex sale, with lots of actors, that gets lost.
I like what Caterpillar does. Sexy. Make me wanna buy a bulldozer. IBM kinda sexed me up at NAB this year, more so than Microsoft. Adobe? HOT — and kinky. Panasonic was way sexier than Hitachi or Ikegami, but not as sexy as SONY (these were all B2B pitches out there at NAB).