The in-depth B2B advertising agency

Many manufacturers are ‘only’ manufacturers: They haven’t succeeded in transforming their name into a brand. They often believe it’s unnecessary since they've been in business for so long. But this inevitably leads to significant potential and growth opportunities being wasted. And this is exactly where a good B2B advertising agency comes in:

It can support a manufacturer in differentiating itself from the competition. It can define the brand, develop a brand story and a corporate design, provide chains of arguments and reasons why, sharpen the brand relevance and therefore give it a unique position in the market. While analysing the target group and determining what triggers them.

To achieve this, a B2B advertising agency has to immerse itself in the respective industry and evolve from a marketing agency to an industry insider. It needs to become one with the product, the history and culture of its clients – and understand the market and needs at least as thoroughly as they do.

It has to be a real sparring partner. In many companies, silo thinking and a “but we’ve always done it this way” attitude are widespread. This may be understandable, but it doesn’t help when market participants have long since moved on and other customer benefits have become more relevant to the purchase decision.

Identifying these together with the client is one of the most important mandates of a B2B advertising agency. As well as developing a relevant strategy that is proven to work in the market. Not an easy challenge. The client needs a B2B advertising agency with daring, the right mindset and, very importantly, backbone.

Marketing has changed. A lot. Mainly due to digital channels and social media. With this in mind, marketing budgets are being shifted away from the classic media towards digital platforms. This also requires a reorientation of the communication content. Marketing with attitude – in other words, purpose marketing – is the key.

Purpose marketing has become dominant in recent years because it feeds into the logic of social media channels. With content and a clear opinion that generates dialogue and interaction with users, creating a higher-quality, more targeted contact than via classic channels.

Whereas in the past, brands avoided political or polarising topics to avoid taking part of a social discussion, today the exact opposite is true: Resonant messages represent a promising strategy.

If a brand has the opportunity to become a statement, brand managers should seize this chance. In fact, the social-media-influenced target group expects it: According to a survey, more than 80 percent of 19 to 35-year-olds say that companies should take a stand on social issues.

Modern marketers and their B2B advertising agency should always keep an eye on the question of which topics resonate with their target group and with which messages they can penetrate these social resonance spaces – always without losing sight of their own brand values.

The messages don’t necessarily have to be emotional or polarising. What they should do is initiate a discussion, promote it and positively charge the brand. It’s the only way a brand can create more reach and visibility, identification, interaction and ultimately also conversion – step by step.

A marketing campaign doesn’t only contribute to a company’s visibility. It is also responsible for its sales and success. The goals of a marketing campaign can be, for example, to increase the level of company or brand awareness, or to sell a product or service. 

Marketing campaigns usually have a thematic focus that is oriented towards a company’s goals and products. They are created to attract the attention of specific target groups, potential customers and sometimes other companies.

The quality of the campaign depends heavily on the content delivered and the overall creativity of the B2B advertising agency. To do this, an agency uses both classic channels such as print or TV as well as social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. Trade fairs can also represent an excellent platform for the campaign.

Customers only buy products or use services that meet their needs and offer them real added value. It is therefore important to identify the needs of potential customers and the intended target group – and to target your marketing accordingly. But it isn’t only the product that plays a role.

Added value also refers to the content that is part of any marketing campaign. Here, too, the audience is becoming more and more discerning: Free, informative resources such as videos, e-books or studies offer unique expertise. In this respect, high-quality content is extremely important for the performance of the campaign.

Furthermore, high-quality content with a lot of added value for the user also says something about the company: How important is high quality to the company? Is it engineering-driven? Pragmatic and driven by facts. Or does it live on ideas and inspiration? What recipients subliminally sense doesn’t have to be sold to them in an elaborate or complex way.

Another way to trigger positive feelings is, for example, a catchy slogan. Classic examples are Nike’s “Just do it” or McDonald’s "I love it", which has been translated into countless languages. But Saturn’s “Geiz ist geil” (EN: Stinginess is cool) or Edeka’s “Wir lieben Lebensmittel” (EN: We love food) are also slogans that every child in the German-speaking world knows.

Statistics and scientific expert statements are also information with added value. Assessments by experts in particular can positively confirm the initial impression of a product. People who buy want to know what advantages a service or product offers them. If it is scientifically proven, all the better.

Targeting often determines the success of a campaign. It is, to say the least, important to know who is to be addressed by the campaign – and why. After all, marketing can only be effective if the target group is clearly defined. For classical targeting, information on potential customers needs to be collected:

Age, gender, interests, needs, where they live, profession, etc. A buyer persona can then be worked out using this information. The buyer persona represents the ideal customer or user. Online tools can help collect the most important data. And, of course, in an ongoing manner. Even in targeting there are often changes. 

The first data can be found in the company itself. Here, a precise analysis of existing customers provides important clues about specific customer expectations and needs. Further data can be sourced via customer surveys by email, telephone or via social media channels.

Further insight can be found on your own website using web analytics tools such as Google Analytic or heatmap tools. They can answer the following questions: Where does the traffic on the page come from? Where does the user spend the most time or stay the longest? What content is of interest to them? How often do they come back?

Further insight can be provided via keyword databases such as the Google Keyword Planner or tools such as Google Suggest and Google Trends. With important insight into what content and questions are of concern and relevance to the potential customer. Also for the company website, the content of which can be adapted in this way – to generate more traffic.

The goals of a marketing campaign are determined by the tools – and not vice versa. The more clearly targeted the campaign, the more valuable resources can be saved in the end – since no investment is made in tools or strategies that end up being inefficient.

Her too, planning is everything. It needs to be carefully considered which channels should be used for the marketing campaign and whether the potential interested parties can be reached through them . After all, every tool and platform usually has different target groups.

These are the reasons why it is essential to be aware beforehand of who exactly the campaign is meant to address. For example, if you want to draw attention to an online service, you won’t place an ad in a print magazine, but instead give preference to a digital campaign.

But this is only half the truth, because cross-media multi-channel campaigns are becoming increasingly popular. And because the most successful companies are on the move on different channels. Professional B2B advertising agencies make sure that the content is perfectly suited to the respective channel.

Because, for example, videos work better on some channels, and visuals on others. The texts and descriptions used should also vary. Only the slogan, which should be remembered by the target groups, should be the same in all channels and promoted on all of them.

It isn’t only the markets that are becoming increasingly global. Communication is too. This isn’t necessarily problematic, but there are various challenges involved: When the brand essence and brand messages have to be positioned over great distances in entirely different cultures.

In other words, a global campaign that always looks the same everywhere cannot be created. Instead, benefit messages, argumentation chains and imagery have to respond to different local expectations. This is exactly where you’ll need the expertise and knowledge of an internationally experienced B2B advertising agency.

One who understands the respective markets, cultures and media channels. One who understands what works, or what is overpriced. Is a social media campaign required or a trade fair presentation? Or both? Or maybe even something entirely different. These are all important decisions that cannot be made based on gut feel.

The challenge calls for an internationally experienced B2B marketing agency that has all the key data for planning, implementation and controlling. To achieve as much as 30% more results from the budget. Marketing is all about learning, but the most valuable experiences are those that your B2B advertising agency has already had.

These days, marketing and sales change within a few months: Traditional channels are weakening, new ones are emerging, technical possibilities are developing at a rapid pace and people are using new and old media in new ways. Marketing und Vertrieb verändern sich heutzutage innerhalb weniger Monate: Traditionelle Kanäle schwächen sich ab, neue kommen hinzu, technische Möglichkeiten entwickeln sich in rasantem Tempo weiter und Menschen nutzen neue und alte Medien auf neue Art und Weise.

Many channels are interconnected, many build on each other. This is why a good B2B advertising agency will always put together a team of experts from different disciplines on a client-specific basis and ensure, based on data, that the target group is addressed stringently, effectively and efficiently throughout the entire customer journey.

For this, it shouldn’t only be a B2B advertising agency, but also a digital agency, PR agency, advertising agency, media agency, SEO agency, CRM consultancy, online event agency, UX design agency, trade fair design agency and much more. We at the Ruess Group are proud to say: This is exactly what we have to offer.