When electrical draughtsman Harry Beck submitted a proposal for a new London Tube map in 1933, it was rejected out of hand. His radical idea – to replace the tangle of train lines with a completely different design inspired by a circuit board – was deemed too big a departure (no pun intended) from the status quo. 

Beck persevered until his simple yet revolutionary map was bought, and his design has endured to this day, becoming a global blueprint for countless city transport systems. Beck was unafraid to disrupt comfortable convention to deliver something simple, distinctive and memorable. 

As guardians of B2B brands, marketers can be inspired by Beck’s triumph in challenging the norm. The brass tacks are that dull. Predictable work is holding B2B businesses back, yet we still commonly see brands parroting dry product benefits and dragging audiences along the same weary road as their competitors. In a world where CROs are facing unprecedented challenges (economic turmoil, geopolitical issues, environmental pressures), it’s surprising that so few seek out the unrivalled effectiveness that convention-breaking creative can deliver.

System1 and LinkedIn’s B2B Institute did a “first-of-its-kind” custom analysis of 1,700 ads across 6 B2B categories and found that:

The data shows that “mediocre creative” generates roughly 0.25% market share growth, while “powerful creative” generates roughly 2.5% market share growth – or 10x more share growth.

Put another way, a B2B ad is 154x more likely to score 1 star than 4-5 stars -
4-5 star creative is extremely rare and can be 10 - 20 times more sales effective than mediocre creative.

Let that sink in. The majority of creative in B2B sucks. Good creative in B2B directly affects profitability and market share. Like the great American advertising guru Bill Bernbach said, “Creativity will become the last unfair advantage we’re legally allowed to take over our competitors.”

But…still a tough one for some bosses to swallow. Much like Beck's rejected tube map - things that are uncommon make us uncomfortable - it’s not easy to turn an accepted norm on its head, especially when your CEO has seen comfortable growth as a result of conventional marketing. This is not about turning our backs on legacy or overlooking what customers need.

Just as Beck had London’s Tube passengers front and centre of mind when creating his design, great B2B marketing should be rooted in powerful customer insight – and brought to life in a way that’s creative, differentiating and memorable.

B2B advertising’s creative crisis is your next big marketing opportunity - if you want it to be. Just as Beck questioned if there might be a better way to do things, we salute brave marketeers that are tearing up their own rule books and buying unexpected creative work that drives phenomenal results. At fst we’re lucky enough to be part of that extraordinary journey.

Source
https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/b2b-institute/b2b-creative