How to Develop Creative B2B Advertising Campaigns
by MGB2B
There is a common misconception that business-to-consumer ads are meant to be enticing and visually appealing while business-to-business ads are destined to be dry and dull. Just because you are creating an ad for a B2B company does not mean that it has to be a boring piece of creative. Below are a few things to keep in mind when you are developing creative B2B advertising campaigns.
How to Develop Creative B2B Advertising Campaigns That Work
The message:
People need to be engaged when looking at an advertisement. This goes for a commercial on TV, an ad in a trade magazine, or even a banner ad online. You can’t just give a bullet list of all the great things your product does and expect customers to come flocking to you. You need to show how you will solve your customers’ problems in a way that resonates with your audience. I was taught (and it has served me effectively) to pair your product benefits with the needs of your customer and then craft a message based on where these two worlds overlap. A good exercise is to split a sheet of paper into two columns, and on the first list all the benefits of your product or service. In the second column, create a persona for your potential customer – the CEO, a product engineer, a buyer, etc. – and list all of the attributes of this persona. Attributes can be professional such as “Deadline Driven” and “Cost Conscious” to personal like “Saving for Kids’ College,” etc.
After you have created these two lists, begin to draw lines between your product’s attributes and how they will help make your potential customer’s life easier. For example, from the list below we can say: “The Acme 6400’s automated process will help you meet tight deadlines and save money.” I realize this is a very basic message, but the more time you spend developing your lists and the further you dig, the more gems will develop.
The Visual:
As with your message, just showing a huge visual of your product isn’t always the most effective way to entice a potential customer. Make sure you are showing visuals that will stop the reader from flipping the page, keep them from changing the channel, or take their finger off the scroll. A good place to start when developing your visuals is by doing a quick competitive analysis. Take a look at past issues of the publication you are going to be advertising in. Do you see an over abundance of any specific visuals? It might be smart to avoid doing the same thing. Is everyone using a ton of red in their ad layouts? Consider using blue instead. See some examples of creative B2B advertising campaigns we have designed for clients with these tips in mind.
The Payoff:
So you’ve gotten a reader to stop flipping pages and read your advertisement. Now what? You need to drive them to action. Including a phone number in your ad is important, but more and more people are not immediately picking up the phone to reach out to your sales team. They are going to do a little more research on their own, which is why it’s key to have a place online they can go to find out more. Leaving your prospect to comb through your site searching for the product they just saw is a surefire way to lose their interest. So rather than sending them to your homepage to fend for themselves, drive them to a specific page on your site where they can learn more about that specific product. I also recommend that you use a vanity URL or specific directory on your site so you can track page views and get a good look at how your campaign is performing. Using the same fictional company from above, it would be something like www.The6400Difference.com or www.Acme.com/6400.
When all is said and done, the main goal of advertising is to get someone to purchase your product or service. If you stick to the rules above, you will be on your way to developing creative B2B advertising campaigns that stand out and effectively drive customers to you. Take a look below at some examples of B2B ads that Mascola B2B has created recently that stand out from the pack and have helped out clients grow new business.
In a sea of ads filled with images of techs working in labs and molecule symbols, we decided that showing off the toughness and strength the material lends to the final product was the way to go in order to stand out from the pack.
All of our clients’ competitors were listing product benefits and showing images of just their railings. We decided to showcase and talk about how the BlueWater Railings allow safety officers at any given company to sleep easy when partnering with out client.
Interesting visuals and a targeted message can change what may otherwise be a boring B2B ad into a strong piece of creative that will stand out in the crowd. By considering how your product will benefit your customers based on their needs, and what your competitors are already sharing in their marketing materials, you can begin to develop truly creative B2B advertising campaigns that will help you win business. Ready to spice up your B2B advertising? Drop us a line!
Tags: ads that work, B2B ads that stand out, concepting, creative B2B advertising campaigns, creative concepting, tips for designing B2B ads, tips for writing B2B copy