Head and Heart: How to Stand Out in a Rational Industry.

Why emotional branding isn’t just for B2C, and how it can differentiate B2B companies in competitive markets.

At Chromatic, we work extensively in B2B sectors in which clients pride themselves on a logical approach to business and decision making. This often leads to scepticism regarding the need for developing distinctive brands and even leads many to question our presence in meetings.

‘Our business comes through relationships’, Executives will tell us. ‘We have the best team/technology/platform’. ‘We’re the quickest’.

All of which may be true. But they are also claims that are probably made - and believed - by most of the other businesses in the sector. And a quick flick through the adverts of the FT or the Economist is a perfect demonstration of the fact that following the same rational approach to brand building quickly leads everyone to the same conclusion, resulting in business brands that are serious and worthy, but dull, indistinct and forgettable.

Yet there are many compelling examples of B2B organisations that have successfully built strong brands by taking a different approach.

Accounting and advisory may not always be top of mind when we think about vibrant, sexy industries, but the big professional service firms realised long ago that if they were to attract the best talent and raise consideration among clients and prospects, they would have to deliver brands that achieved distinctiveness in a sea of corporate sameness. Because if every brand feels, looks and sounds the same, how do busy, pressured decision-makers choose between them?

Deloitte did this by showing the sheer breadth of its services in a way that is memorable, distinctive and often clever. Compelling messages based on the idea that ‘Deloitte Do’ were combined with imaginative, creative executions that referenced the company’s ‘green dot’ logo. The dot became a key device for all ads and was used in a playful, witty way that helps to communicate a sense of the character and humanity behind an organisation that delivers a deeply analytical service.

And according to B2B Marketing, Deloitte’s approach has resulted in a significant uplift in brand understanding and recognition, helping the organisation to cement its position as the largest global professional services network.

Likewise, our work for the M&A division of insurance giant Liberty Mutual, Liberty GTS,  follows a similar - though frequently untrodden path. We knew that if we followed the standard communication formula of features, advantages, benefits and ‘meet the team’ shots, the brand was unlikely to get noticed or pique interest. But by dramatising the promise of true compatibility through engaging stories and striking, amusing illustrations, we have helped Liberty GTS to become the most well known and well regarded insurer in the global M&A industry.

Conclusion
The key lesson here is that despite the unshakeable belief many people have in their own rationality, decision-makers in B2B organisations will only notice and remember something that is distinctive. So in a sector where logic dominates, appealing to the heart can be a very effective way of reaching the head.

Written by Simon Case

See how Chromatic has helped global B2B brands to reach heads by appealing to hearts: