Benedict Buckland, MD of alan.agency, shares insights from our panel at B2B Ignite, the premier event for B2B marketers. Our session, "Why Industry Activism is the Secret to Growing B2B Brands," sparked some truly inspiring conversations.
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As I sat down with Madlen Nicolaus, CMO of Hexagon, and Amy Oliver, Marketing Strategy expert from Workday, I was eager to unpack what might be a slightly provocative idea: that industry activism is the secret to building successful B2B brands. It's a concept that might seem out of place in the B2B world, but our recent research revealed some surprising insights that I was keen to explore.

Earlier this year, we spoke to 300 C-suite executives on the role of thought leadership in B2B marketing, and on how businesses can really show their customers that they are worth their attention in this crowded market. While it's no surprise that value proposition remains crucial in brand building, we discovered an intriguing undercurrent: industry leadership emerged as a significant factor, second only to products and services in defining a leading B2B brand. Even more striking was the revelation that having a vision for the industry's future was the top characteristic that B2B audiences viewed positively in brands.

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What does a B2B audience actually want?

I posed this question to our panellists, curious if they found these results surprising. Madlen's response was immediate and clear – it wasn't surprising at all. She pointed out that in today's rapidly changing landscape, "customers and partners are looking for brands who have a very clear picture of the future and who show how can they be a good partner in preparing audiences for what is to come". She pointed out that this is especially true when it comes to areas like AI; it’s essential that brands can show they understand what’s happening, but also what’s likely to happen.

Amy echoed this sentiment, emphasising that audiences are looking for more than just competition – they want to stay ahead of the industry. She shared a personal anecdote about choosing marketing agencies based on their ability to inspire forward-thinking, underlining the importance of a compelling vision that resonates. As she put it, "When I think about myself as a B2B buyer for marketing services, for example, when I'm looking for creative agencies and marketing agencies, those I work with are the ones that have inspired me to think ‘how do I move forward, how do I move my role, my organisation forward in the marketing that I do?’"

The secret sauce for B2B

Having a vision for your industry's future isn't just nice-to-have, it's the secret sauce of top B2B brands. I wanted to explore what makes a vision compelling – "I think it needs to be articulated in a way that's easily understood," Madlen said, before recalling CEO Marc Benioff's vision for Salesforce – "to make CRM systems as easy as buying something on Amazon". This, she explained, was "a very tangible, easy to grasp vision for the future".

But a vision can't just be a top-down directive. "It can't just be something that the CEO comes up with," she emphasised. "It needs to be lived and expressed through everything the organisation does and all of its parts."

A vision can't just be a top-down directive. It needs to be lived and expressed through everything the organisation does and all of its parts.

This naturally led us to discuss marketing's critical role, not just in communicating the vision but in actively shaping it. Amy stressed the importance of customer research and industry analysis: "Marketing plays a critical role because we own the customer research, the competitive analysis, the industry trends. We're looking at all of that to help take that vision and tell it in a way that the audience is going to be interested in."

Staying in your lane 

As our conversation progressed, I was keen to explore the delicate balance brands must strike between being constructively activist and overstepping their boundaries. I asked how brands can navigate this tricky terrain. Amy highlighted the importance of staying within one's area of expertise, using Workday's approach to AI ethics as an example. "When I think about AI technology for example, there are huge concerns around trust and ethics and regulation. At Workday, we believe so strongly in AI but we talk about it from an ethical point of view all the time. We come at it through the lens of technology, because that's where we sit and that's where our expertise is. We are not the PWCs or Accentures of this world. It’s really important to have that authenticity and credibility.”

Madlen also emphasised the need for brands to 'walk the talk', sharing how Hexagon implemented AI practices internally before rolling out to clients, thus gaining credibility and practical insights. "If you want to be seen as a trustworthy partner that leverages AI in a responsible way, you should then show clear examples of how you're leveraging it in your own organisations, with your own employees and how you've implemented relevant regulations," she said.

We concluded by discussing the role of thought leadership in shaping sectors. Both panellists agreed on its crucial importance, with Madlen sharing how Salesforce used thought leadership to establish the concept of a 'Marketing Cloud'. "We had to do a ton of thought leadership," she recalled, "and that's how we established the vision, and shared tangible proof points to educate the audience."

Vision alone is not enough

As I wrapped up our discussion, I was struck by two key takeaways. Firstly, there's an innate desire among B2B audiences – indeed, among all humans – to move their industries forward. A clear vision is crucial in achieving this. Secondly, vision alone is not enough. Brands must actively use various tools, particularly thought leadership, to bring that vision to life.

The key, as our panellists so insightfully pointed out, lies in understanding where your brand has permission to play, where you can be authentic, and where you can add genuine value to the conversation. It's about finding that sweet spot where your expertise meets market needs – that's where the real power of industry activism in B2B branding truly lies.

As Madlen succinctly put it in our closing remarks, "It's really about finding the unique topics that you can own as a brand that fit to your overarching vision...try to look at what's already there, and don't just add to the noise but try to identify the gaps where there are still questions from the audience and find those unique angles where you can offer some true learnings”.

‍This conversation reaffirmed my belief in the power of industry activism for B2B brands. It's not about being controversial for the sake of it, but about having a clear vision for your industry's future and actively working to bring that vision to life. It's about being a thought leader in the truest sense of the term – not just sharing insights, but shaping the direction of your entire sector. For B2B brands looking to grow and make a real impact, this approach could indeed be the secret weapon they've been searching for.

Your sector needs you. That’s the word from 300 C-suite executives based on our latest research into the state of thought leadership. B2B audiences want brands to play an active role in defining – and leading – their sector.Learn how to build real brand salience and create long-term value for your organisation in our latest report.
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‍Download Thought leadership: A Brand-building Manifesto here.