How your brand can be bolder

A recent ‘B Inspired’ event, held by Broadsword, aimed to educate the audience on what bold and brave campaigns look like in the B2B space. Broadsword Strategy Director, Matt Green, spoke about the Power of Brand, touching on the origins of the word, and explaining that if you get to a certain level of market salience, your brand can permeate into people’s minds at a subconscious level. He also examined brand collaboration and the emergence of new and innovative brand experiences. A panel of experts included asset management firm M&G who are colouring outside of the lines when it comes to campaigns in a highly regulated industry; EY who are creating successful events measured by human connections and conversions; as well as Illusion Design and Construct who produce immersive experiences to engage audiences — from Glastonbury sets to Secret Cinema. Also on the panel was Broadsword’s Creative Lead, Aisha Kareem, to share how the space for bravery and creativity can be created internally.Brave Marketing in a B2B Sector Answering the question of how brands can balance creativity with constraints, M&G’s Global Marketing Director Laura Brown spoke about the launch of their Ampersand Magazine on social media. Doing things differently in this campaign resulted in over 200% more engagement on this campaign compared to previous work and fostered a new perspective of the brand.In a highly regulated sector, where creativity must be balanced with constraints, being bold doesn’t mean changing the fundamental message of content, no matter how heavy. But presenting this in a different format and making small changes (which might not be necessarily bold themselves) can make a big impact.Doing something that feels out of the ordinary for your business can be the key to achieving goals, such as reaching a wider audience more effectively, in a digital world. It’s key to remember your audience, even if they’re mostly corporate, are people too and most likely enjoy the same content formats as you. The launch of Ampersand reached and connected with more people because it elicits an emotional response and leans into a more human, humorous element.Audience EngagementSo is there a greater opportunity to push boundaries at live events?EY’s Associate Director, Global Strategic Events and Experiences, Kate Humphrey described events as a ‘moment in time with a captive audience’ who have invested their time to experience a unique offering. Discussing EY’s flagship World Entrepreneur of the Year event, she explained how success can be measured through repeat attendance and valuable conversations that come from the event. Human connection is integral to this success and, as an event is only live once, planners must ensure every element is in line with this purpose.Making audience members feel special by personalising the experience, creating standout moments, and investing in takeaways for attendees should be balanced with the objectives and purpose of the event, which ties all of these moments together.Small ideas can be really creative and drive value for money — for example impactful ideas such as using branded stencils for drinks or food as an example of a low-cost item that can create moments of surprise and delight. These small yet different ways of doing things can help to balance creativity with stakeholder constraints.Creating the wow factorWhen it comes to immersion, Illusion Design and Construct’s Owner, Dan Hughes dived into the future trends for immersive events and how technology can elevate audience experiences. It often starts with those hero moments, those wow moments which often involve integrating digital with physical elements. Illusion gave the example of its work on a Green Planet exhibition experience for BBC Studios where attendees could step inside the series with the use of AR to give each attendee a personal guide and individual experience of the event.There is increasing demand to tailor events to individuals and this is an emerging trend across the B2B sector. Perhaps VR will transition into another tool for event planners that becomes as commonplace as lighting at events. Can creativity exist without bravery?Broadsword’s Creative Lead spoke about coming up with brave ideas, and how navigating this internally often means creating a space where every voice is heard and diverse thinking contributes to impactful ideas.Brand is extremely important as it is how an audience recognises you. Therefore the need to protect the integrity and essence of your brand must be balanced with the need to push boundaries, and challenge perceptions. Stepping outside of your comfort zone when it comes to brand innovation is always going to come with an element of risk. If it doesn’t feel uncomfortable, there is a sense that you might not have gone far enough. Should B2B define you?There is an assumption that B2B advertising has a responsibility to inform and not entertain, but in order to shift this perspective, brands should embrace riskier strategies. Bravery in a B2B world often lies in leaning into the power of emotion and appealing to human drives such as humour and personalisation.Being clear on the purpose is key as this ties every element of an event or a campaign together, and helps to meet stakeholder constraints and ROI. Things shouldn’t be there for the sake of it especially when cultural differences come into play.Putting bold and brave ideas into practice can mean giving it a go and committing to ideas openly while listening to your gut and others around you- both teams and opposing viewpoints!

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