Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about business-to-business marketing

Article • WARC Best Practice, April 2019

Provides guidance and reading on business-to-business marketing; similar to B2C marketing in its emphasis on human traits, but very different in terms of budget size and a greater emphasis on relationships and networks.

How B2B and professional services brands can weather disruption

Article • Peter Matthews, WARC Best Practice, February 2019

Explores how B2B marketers can harness the opportunity to strengthen their relationships with their clients by clarifying and revitalising what they stand for.

How to develop an account-based marketing strategy

Article • Bev Burgess, WARC Best Practice, July 2017

This article provides a best practice guide to developing an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy, which treats individual accounts as markets and focuses business-to-business marketing on specific organizations.

Sage: Sage Budget Speech Campaign 2019

Case Study • SABRE Awards, Africa, Financial Communications, Gold, 2019

Sage South Africa, a software company, launched a "media deskdrop" and series of videos surrounding the South African government's annual budget speech to showcase its expertise in tax and compliance.

SAS: Meet the man who hears colours

Case Study • SABRE Awards, Africa, Public Education , Gold, 2019

SAS, a software company, launched a media event that introduced Neil Harbisson, the world's first and only cyborg, to promote the notion of AI.

Siemens: Fabric

Case Study • SABRE Awards, Africa, Best in Show, Platinum, 2019

Siemens, an automation company, used data from Lagos, Nairobi and Johannesburg to create unique fabrics for a truly African fashion collection that shows the power of data-connected cities.

VMware: Employees First – VMware Elevates Employees as Drivers of Digital Transformation

Case Study • SABRE Awards, North America, Technology: Software & Services, Gold, 2019

VMware, a software company, generated more than 1,400 leads as a result of its social media effort to highlight employee technology pain points in the US.

Clorox® Total 360® System: A Game Changer in Fighting Outbreaks

Case Study • SABRE Awards, North America, Product Media Relations, Gold, 2019

Clorox, a manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products, promoted its new cleaning system among American professionals by giving them materials to promote the product as part of the fight against germs.

Patagonia & Levi Strauss & Co: Time to Vote

Case Study • SABRE Awards, North America, Retailers, Gold, 2019

Patagonia and Levi Strauss & Co, two clothing brands, launched a campaign across social media and print ads in the New York Times that encouraged US citizens to vote by enlisting the support of CEOs.

Establishing ABB's First Chief Digital Officer As An IOT Champion

Case Study • SABRE Awards, North America, Executive Leadership , Gold, 2019

ABB, an industrial technology company, increased global awareness of its ABB Ability platform by personalising the brand through thought leadership and event appearances from its chief digital officer.

Google Cloud: Ask the Cloud

Case Study • Jane Dorsett , Ellie Gogan-Tilstone, Chris Oliver, WARC Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Innovation, 2019

Search engine Google used direct marketing to target chief technology officers in the US to achieve growth in the B2B cloud computing market.

B2B marketers can tap a behaviour-based approach

News • 27 March 2019

B2B marketers who have been finding success with account-based marketing can take this approach a step further by embracing behaviour-based marketing, a new WARC Best Practice Paper suggests.

Debunking common myths SME’s have about branding

Article • Research on WARC, March 2019

Summarises findings from a paper published in the Journal of Brand Strategy on debunking the ten most common myths SMEs have about branding and why SMEs need real branding to succeed.

How behaviour-based marketing can improve B2B marketing

Article • Jon Clarke, WARC Best Practice, March 2019

Outlines the five-step approach which helps to start the journey to a more behaviour based strategy.

Is AI the future of B2B marketing?

Article • Michael J. McDermott, ANA Magazine, B2B Marketer, March 2019

Artificial intelligence and machine learning may be the industry’s next great hope and will play an increasingly transformative role in reshaping B2B marketing in three key areas.

Now professional services feel the digital heat

News • 19 February 2019

Automation is coming to the professional advisers sector which needs to be thinking now about branding in order to counter agile competitors who are beginning to leverage tech to cherry-pick high-value services.

Teaching Chefs to Go Whole Hog for Prosciutto di Parma

Case Study • SABRE Awards, Corporate/B2b, In2, 2019

Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma, a manufacturer, launched a site to educate US chefs on the qualities of Prosciutto di Parma (PDP).

Niagara Conservation: Welcome to the Water Revolution—Niagara Conservation with Padilla

Case Study • SABRE Awards, Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Paid), In2, 2019

Niagara Conservation, the manufacturing company, launched a fully integrated campaign that used humor to get a serious message across to US customers.

The B2B future of digital marketing

Opinion • Geoffrey Precourt, February 2019

Geoffrey Precourt taps the IAB’s Susan Borst to discover what’s happening in the world of B2B digital marketing.

5 Trends in B2B Email Marketing

Article • David Ward, ANA Magazine, B2B Marketer, January 2019

Marketers are using five trends in B2B email marketing to boost deliverability rates and increase automation.

Condé Nast to launch Vogue for business

News • 29 January 2019

The publisher of Vogue is to launch a new business-focused version of the magazine as they strive to open up innovative revenue sources.

Content As a Differentiator: Personalized and relevant content can help B2B companies stand out

Article • Michael J. McDermott, ANA Magazine, B2B Marketer, January 2019

B2B marketers can use personalized and relevant content to stand out in a crowded market.

HP: Imagining the office of the future

Case Study • Ronnie Thomas, Scindya Datt, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Tech, 2018

HP, the computer company, used augmented reality in a campaign targeting businesses across APAC.

Gallup Workplace: Custom workplace solutions

Case Study • Kristin Bell, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Channel Integration, 2018

Gallup, the pollster and business consultancy, used paid search advertising to increase leads for its workplace solutions in the US.

Andersen Windows 400 Series: Endless Yes

Case Study • Ed Schindler, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Channel Integration, 2018

Andersen Windows, a windows manufacturer, increased sales of its custom-sized windows in the US through paid search, social and digital ads.

B2B audiences