APAC marketers see B2B 'creative confidence' growing: survey

Nine out of ten B2B marketing leaders in APAC say B2B “creative confidence” is growing, with the level of creativity increasingly on par with B2C counterparts, according to a study by LinkedIn.

Why it matters

B2B marketers in APAC are moving away from traditional B2B tactics as priorities, like performance marketing and lead generation, and turning to creative storytelling instead to increase brand stickiness and stand out in a unique market characterised by emotionally-driven purchase decisions.

Key insights

• 75% of APAC marketers believe B2B marketing is more challenging than B2C marketing – higher than the global average of 56%.
• Against this backdrop, B2B brands in APAC are increasingly prioritising brand building to stand out.
• About seven in 10 (69%) of these marketers believe brand building is more important in B2B than B2C versus global average of 55%.
• They recognise that creativity is essential to long-term brand building (34%) and drives memorability among customers (28%).
• APAC is the most competitive region to hire creative talent – 67% find it challenging to hire creative talent vs 57% global average.
• Another challenge to attracting talent – 87% worry the best talent is drawn to working in consumer marketing over B2B marketing.

Quote

“APAC is one of the most unique markets for B2B marketing, with our research showing that purchasing decisions are more emotionally driven here than elsewhere in the world. In this landscape, brand building underpinned by creative storytelling is critical to capture the attention of B2B audiences” – Sarah Tucker, Head of APAC Marketing, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions.

Background

LinkedIn commissioned YouGov for an online survey of 1,629 senior B2B marketing decision makers in the US, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Australia, India and Singapore from 28 April to 25 May 2022.