B2B IRL: Business Marketing Impact on Real-World Challenges

Our clients bring amazing things into the world. What fuels us as marketers—on top of our client's ingenuity—are the thinkers, practitioners and creators who are showing us a new way. In this space, every few weeks we share what is capturing our attention—big or small.

1. To Shine in Content Marketing, Define Your Bright Line of Value

Reading the new B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends for 2025, I kept thinking of “illusory superiority.” That’s the phenomenon where nearly everyone thinks they’re better than average, most memorably recalled in Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon, where “all the children are above average.” 

With B2B content marketers however – at least the 1,000 or so this survey reached – not many feel they’re even making it to average. Which is saying something.

• Nearly two-thirds reported that their content strategy was only moderately effective. (Another 13% said it wasn’t very effective at all.)
• Nearly half said they don’t have clear goals for their content.
• Two-thirds claim they don’t have a scalable model for content creation.

The chief strategy officer at Content Marketing Institute put it this way: “Frustration and simple maintenance have become the status quo in B2B marketing.” 

Anyone just feel a chill?

And why aren’t these content marketers more satisfied with their results? Again, about half of them:

• Don’t believe they have enough budget
• Can’t measure results
• Don’t align their content with their buyer journeys
• Don’t align content across sales and marketing

I and a colleague work a lot on content programs across three clients, and if there is one large solve that might address some of the smaller, perennial problems noted in the chart above, it is this.

Your content program must define and maintain a very bright line of value.

What does this mean?

It depends on the organization, of course, but in essence it’s about making sure that the way you define a content program connects to business value.

That’s it. It’s very easy to say and very hard to do. But it starts with defining a core goal that the market is interested in and that company management will support.

Here are a few scenarios:

You might want to create brand awareness. For this you need, at a minimum, compelling content, strong SEO, and a well-built landing page or microsite.

Or you might want to grow loyalty with existing clients or customers. In this scenario you need good customers to call on for content collaboration, which often means a strong rapport with Sales, as well as a creation model that makes it extremely light lifting for the customer. Customers have day jobs, after all. Thematically, it’s about making the customer the hero, and your solution the supporting actor. I wrote about a brilliant example of this kind of content earlier this year – Intuit’s Second Act.

Some content programs are about generating demand or leads. For this you the robust content and SEO, the online destination, as well as a shared definition of marketing- and sales-qualified leads in the company, a clearly defined hand-off process, and strong Sales support. Paid media promotion doesn’t hurt, either, and this can be less costly than you think if your audience targeting is precise.

 Whatever your goal is, make sure it’s sharply defined, agreed upon, and funded. Agree on what you’ll be measuring, and how. And revisit it quarterly, because things change quickly, and a content program without a bright line of value is all too easy to put on the marketing chopping block.

PJA Author: Hugh Kennedy

2. Autodesk Launches Advertising Effort Sharing Design and Innovation in Notre Dame Restoration

Notre Dame Cathedral reopened this weekend, five years after a devastating fire destroyed its roof and spire. To commemorate the occasion, Autodesk, the company behind AutoCAD design software, released an ad showcasing its pivotal role in the restoration. Autodesk contributed funds, staff, and a detailed 3D model, created in partnership with French laser-scanning firm AGP, to aid in the reconstruction. The model allowed teams to simulate construction phases, anticipate challenges, and ensure the stability of the rebuilt spire.

The ad 'To Paris, with Love' opens with scenes of the fire, restoration efforts, and AutoCAD renderings. Set to Philippine Lavrey’s rendition of “L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole, the campaign emphasizes Autodesk’s commitment to innovation and history, aligning with its tagline, “Make Anything.”

Under Chief Marketing Officer Dara Treseder, Autodesk has strategically connected its brand to many high-profile projects. This campaign continues Autodesk’s trend of showcasing its behind-the-scenes influence. Earlier efforts include collaborations with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort during the Academy Awards, a Star Wars contest with Disney, and its designation as the official design platform for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Through these initiatives, Autodesk reinforces its role in solving real-world challenges through design and innovation. Learn more here about Autodesk's involvement in Notre Dame.

PJA Author: Greg Straface

3. Thought leadership has an inferiority complex

The best B2B thought leadership exposes a critical market gap. In innovation driven markets, change is constant so there is always a chasm between what buyers want and technology can deliver. In the past few weeks, I've come across the Observability Conundrum and the Digital Thread gap. The short story is buyers say they want these things, but either aren't implementing or their preferred solutions are falling short. Switching categories, I really like what Sanofi is doing with the "Trust Gap", health equity-focused research that captures the voices of over 11,000 people in five countries whose negative experiences have eroded trust in health care. Identifying a gap that is holding back progress, and helping people resolve it is a great way stand out and be a leader.

It can also help you sell. But according to Edelman's 2024 B2B Thought Leadership report, too many creators of thought leadership underestimate this power. So yes, it turns out thought leadership has its own gap. This is just one nugget from a great report--86% of decision-makers say good thought leadership is a factor in inviting vendors to participate in an RFP process. But only 38% thought leadership creators believe this.

One outcome of this inferiority gap? In tight budget times, companies that see thought leadership as a branding strategy are tempted to cut programs, which directly hurts their ability to sell. So buck up, and get your vision for change out there.

PJA Author: Michael O'Toole