Safe Bets, Risks and Rewards: What 2012 Means for B2B Marketers

By Mary M. Flory

Content strategy? Social media? Mobile commerce? Lead generation? What should savvy B2B marketers bet on for 2012?
B2B Marketing polled several industry insiders to see what’s hot, what’s not and which strategies are worth their blood, sweat and tears, not to mention their time and money.
Here’s what they had to say.

Gary Meyers, Creative Director and President, Hodgson/Meyers Advertising:
In 2012, the economy will roar, relatively speaking. I’m not an economist. My observations are based on what we see in our world. Our ‘Tier One’ clients reside in the industries of telecommunications, financial services, security, industrial testing equipment, insurance and enterprise technology. And yeah, we’re in Seattle, which has a more robust economy right now, than say, Flint, Mich. But our clients represent a diverse geography, from New York to Chicago to Minneapolis to Houston to Little Rock, Ark., to Tucson, Ariz., to Seattle. For the most part, they’re bullish. So we’re bullish.

Brand positioning and brand activation are more relevant than ever in B2B. Content proliferation often translates to brand disintegration. More marketing “stuff” in the marketplace doesn’t mean more brand recognition. To the contrary––for the customer, it’s just more muck and mud and goo. The democratization of content creation hasn’t necessarily raised the quality bar. We hear from client marketing directors that their story is diluted and marginalized. We tell them: “Plant a flag in the ground. Be big at something. Own your space and rigorously, even single-mindedly at times, execute on that bigness with your marketing outreach.”

Data mining will be hot in B2B. While data mining, data aggregation and data selling are engendering intense debate regarding ethics and legalities in the consumer space (where commerce in consumer-data is a multi-billion dollar industry), I see more lenience, more leeway and more opportunity for B2B marketers. I think there is a huge, untapped potential, not so much for the trading of data, but for B2B companies to capture and analyze data from their own prospects and to market to them accordingly. I think, psychologically, we are more protective and guarded about divulging personal data that we are about divulging workplace data. For many professionals, our jobs involve research and purchase of products and services. It is more a requirement versus a choice as in the consumer psychosis. This more lenient business-to-business mindset opens the door to decision-tree content delivery and data capture on the Web, which leads to any number of re-targeting and nurturing activities. I believe, from what we see with clients, that data-based nurturing activities are still underresourced and underserved, especially considering that 90 percent of fresh B2B marketing leads, on average, are not ready for prime time.

To see what other industry leaders had to say on this topic, please visit the AMA website to view the rest of this article.

Rachel: For all those creative folks who appreciate Apple’s incredible product packaging, watch this video about how closely Apple considers every detail:

Willem: BIGGEST TEAHUPOO EVER!
The great surfer Kelly Slater said “witnessing this was a draining feeling being terrified for other people’s lives all day long, it’s life or death. Letting go of that rope one time can change your life and not many people will ever experience that in their life.”

BIGGEST TEAHUPOO EVER from UnFuzzy on Vimeo.

Gary G: Spike likes The Royal Room in Columbia City, especially when the Polyrhythmics are rockin’ the house. Check ‘em out on YouTube:

Kristen: Get your DNA as art!

Natasha: Adding some color to your house makes it beautiful and more unique . Check out these “Amazingly Colorful Homes“! These are my favorite ones located in Riomaggiore, Italy:

Willem: The Creators Project
A global network dedicated to the celebration of creativity, culture and technology. At a time in the history of the arts where digital technology has revolutionized distribution, democratized access, and re-imagined the scope and scale with which an artist can create a vision and reach an audience, The Creators Project is a new kind of arts and culture channel for a new kind of world.

Rachel: This is a great, clever use of video to show the amazing slender style of LG’s newest TV.

Christian: This is a really cool video on the surprising truth about what motivates us. Very creative in how to make a normal presentation really engaging!

Natasha: The finalists are in for the Doritos commercial that will air during the Super Bowl this year! Check out the five hilarious videos. This one was not a finalist but it was still funny!

John:

Jason: With Winter’s Chill firmly established Spike is thrilled to see a new ice skating rink set up in one of Seattle’s coolest neighborhoods… Capitol Hill

Gary G: Spike likes getting together with old friends, like at the Cole & Weber 80th Anniversary Party (left to right: Gary Graf, Christina Conte, Chuck Pennington, Steve Johnson, Peter Richards)

Kristen: My all-time favorite Christmas movie… Christmas Vacation! It never gets old

Rachel: I like getting in the holiday spirit! We got all of our Christmas lights up on our house, and our tree decorated. Next up for me is some holiday baking. Its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Tiffany: “Exploration is not a choice, really; it’s an imperative” – Michael Collins
My spike like’s this week is the Nasa Kepler Mission. In the past few months Kepler has discovered a Earth-like planet in the “habitable” zone of a star and a Tatooine planet with 2 suns. So far the Kepler telescope has spotted 2,326 candidate planets outside our solar system with 139 of them potentially habitable ones.

Natasha: Old song by N Sync but I love it for the holidays!

Sharan:

Tiffany:
My Spike Like this week is …….HAND TURKEYS!!!! ‘Nough said!

Kristen: This year, I’ll be sparing a turkey and eating Turk’y instead!

Rachel: Are you looking for a change from that same old pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving? Try this delicious Apple Spice Cake instead!

Natasha: Side dishes are my favorite foods at Thanksgiving, and my favorite one to make has always been yams with marshmallows on top! I remember making designs with the marshmallows on top of the casserole dish as a little kid, it was my favorite part (and of course being allowed to eat marshmallows during dinner time was also a plus)!

Sharan: My favorite part about Thanksgiving is watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade!

Chris: There are many things to be thankful for this holiday season…one of which is the fact that I get to work with an amazing group of extremely talented people at Hodgson/Meyers! Happy Thanksgiving spikesters!

Natasha: Excited to go to the Seahawks vs. Ravens game this weekend! Thanks UW for the discounted tickets!!

Willem: Murmuration: No one knows why they do it. The birds gather in magical shape-shifting flocks called murmurations, having migrated in the millions from Russia and Scandinavia to escape winter’s bite. Scientists aren’t sure how they do it, either. Even complex algorithmic models haven’t yet explained the starlings’ acrobatics, which rely on the tiny bird’s quicksilver reaction time of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions—and predators—in the giant flock.

Chris: Some of Spike’s closest friends put on quite a show in this amazing video…

Kristen: A little inspiration for your next mani/pedi!

Tiffany: Amazing concept and beautiful design. I want one!

Gary: Spike likes Dine around Seattle, Sunday – Thursday in November at many of the area’s most wonderful restaurants. 3 courses for $30. Visit dinearoundseattle.org

Gary: I can still picture my kids in their various costumes over the years: My daughter as a red crayon, a lady bug, a dalmatian puppy, a present, Snow White, a ballerina; my son as a construction worker, baseball player, Spider man, a character from the Tin Tin comics, a mummy. But my most favorite memory is, after making the rounds with the kids, getting home out of the inevitable wind, rain and fog that seems to haunt Seattle Halloween nights.

Rachel: In my search for some Spooky recipes, I came across these Chocolate Mice, Ghostly Lemon Cake Pops and, my favorite, Mini Spiced Pumpkins.

Willem: A chaotic look at the carving of a pumpkin.

The Carved Pumpkin from Paul Whittington on Vimeo.

Kristen: Saturday night I’ll be at The Oxford Saloon in Snohomish, famous for being haunted with 18 ghosts! Let’s hope I make it back to work on Monday

Tiffany: One thing I look forward to every year is a new Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror episode!
This year will make the 22nd episode in the Treehouse of Horror series, and for once it is airing BEFORE Halloween.

Natasha: It doesn’t have to be all scary treats for your waistline this Halloween. Try these Skinny Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting!! YUMM! Happy Halloween!

Erin: I love Halloween because its the time of the year that I can get my favorite candy: candy corn!

Jason: My favorite thing about Halloween is that it’s the only time of the year that people generally forget who they are and what they do for a living and try to recapture the honesty and fun of being a kid in a costume.

Some of Spike’s friends Down Under used 3,604 cups of coffee into a giant Mona Lisa Painting. The cups were filled with different amounts of milk to create the different tones and shades.

Tiffany: It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brow
A classic! Watching this with a hot cup of cider (or hot buttered rum) always reminds me of fall.

Natasha: The fall season is one of my favorites because of the delicious local produce available. Pumpkin lasagna is a delicious twist on this classic dinner recipe! And don’t forget to add caramel apples for dessert with these creative toppings!

Kristen: Picking pumpkins and going through the amazing corn maze at Stocker Farms!

Rachel: There is nothing like a little pumpkin butter and some spiked apple cider on a chilly fall day!

Gary: One word: Vermont!

Sharan: Not your ordinary pumpkin patch.

Lea: The smell of woodsmoke, my tree-lined street, kids in halloween costumes, corn mazes, cinnamon, nutmeg and spices, fresh local apples, and pumpkin pie.

Jason: When the sun begins to fade earlier each day and the leaves make a rapid descent from the trees, the early signs of Fall have fallen. The cool, crisp weather signals the time of year when everyone bundles up and tends to retreat indoors. Spike, on the other hand, takes a different approach. What better way to deal with the cold than avoiding it all together. October is the perfect time to plan a tropical vacation… preferably one scheduled to hit in January, when the weather is ugly and the Holiday cheer is all but forgotten. And what better way to plan a much needed sunny escape than taking advantage of a great on-line service like jetsetter. Spike likes!

John: This fall we have the Rugby World Cup playing out in New Zealand. Its great to see Ireland kicking-butt, and playing in the Quarter Finals on Saturday (10/8) against Wales. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the US team.

It’s interesting to note that those who lived during the Industrial Revolution didn’t stop and say to themselves, “gee, we’re living in the Industrial Revolution.” I think it’s a “can’t see the forest for the trees” sort of thing. So, it wasn’t until later that people looked back on this era and the full impact of what really occurred during those times hit them. With the passage of time and historical juxtaposition, it was clear that there truly was an Industrial Revolution.

Fast forward to today. As opposed to those of a hundred plus years ago, we realize we’re living in a Technological Revolution. What we don’t realize perhaps, is how one person could so profoundly affect how billions of people work, communicate, socialize, and get entertainment as part of that revolution. It’s truly mind-boggling to think how things might have been, had not that person pursued his vision and passion.

I sit here typing on my Mac Pro desktop computer, a MacBook Pro laptop in the computer bag under my desk, my iPhone a few inches away, and my iPad open to the Wall Street Journal app, where six of the top seven most read stories today are about Steve Jobs and Apple.

Thanks Steve. We will miss you.