This episode of the Marketing Smarts Live Show features David Aaker, a renowned figure in the world of marketing. Together with host George B. Thomas, he delves into the fascinating concept of disruptive innovation and its impact on B2B branding, storytelling, and social efforts.
Let's dive into the key takeaways from this episode and explore how David's insights can revolutionize your company's marketing.
Disruptive Innovation: The Gamechanger
"Disruptive innovation" has been a buzzword in the business world for some time. But what does it really mean for your company? This episode breaks down the concept in a way that's both understandable and actionable.
Disruptive innovation isn't just about technology; it's about changing the way we think about our markets, our customers, and the ways we deliver value to them.
The Power of Storytelling in B2B
A highlight of the episode is the discussion on the power of storytelling in B2B marketing. Stories are not just for consumer brands; they are equally powerful in B2B marketing. A compelling story can humanize your brand, making it more relatable and memorable to your clients.
David shares insights on crafting stories that resonate with your audience, creating a lasting impact on your brand perception.
Social Efforts: More Than Just Presence
In the digital age, having a social media presence is a given. But how do you make your social efforts count? The episode sheds light on strategic social media practices that go beyond just being present. Rather, it's about creating content that engages, educates, and empowers your audience.
George emphasizes the importance of being intentional with your social media strategy to build a community around your brand.
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This episode of the Marketing Smarts Live Show is a treasure trove of insights for anyone in B2B marketing. The discussion provides a fresh perspective on disruptive innovation, storytelling, and social media strategies.
Discover the exciting possibilities and far-reaching impact of disruptive innovation. Check out the video:
Make sure you don't miss any future episodes: Subscribe to the Marketing Smarts Live Show on YouTube. And to catch up on all previous episodes, check out the full playlist on YouTube.
Episode Details, Guest Information, and Referenced Links
Episode No. 57
- Live date: November 20, 2023
- Episode link: youtube.com/watch?v=qjoCB0-0Y8w
- Original podcast episode: B2B Branding, Stories, Social Efforts, and Disruptive Innovation: David Aaker on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]
Guest's social media profiles:
- Twitter: @davidaaker
- LinkedIn: David Aaker
MarketingProfs resources referenced in the show:
"In B2B News" article referenced in the show:
"From the #mpb2b Community" links referenced in the show:
Transcript: B2B Branding, Stories, Social Efforts, and Disruptive Innovation: David Aaker
Hello to all my Marketing Smarts Live viewers today. I'm super excited to bring you EPISODE 57 of the Marketing Smarts Live show.
This week's topic is all about B2B Branding, Stories, Social Efforts, and Disruptive Innovation.
So, if you're ready to get your learn on, buckle up and let's get ready to rock and roll.
Hey, I'm your boy George B. Thomas, speaker, trainer, catalyst, and host of this here show, the Marketing Smarts Live show, as well as the Marketing Smarts podcast found on your favorite podcast app.
Our guest clips today are brought to you by none other than David Aaker.
David Aaker is the vice-chairman of Prophet and professor emeritus of marketing strategy at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business.
He is the winner of five career awards for contributions to the practice and science of marketing, including the Paul D. Converse Award, the Vijay Mahajan Award, the Buck Weaver Award, the Sheth Foundation Medal, and being named to the NYAMA Marketing Hall of Fame.
He has published 100+ articles and 18 books that have sold over a million copies and have been translated into 18 languages, including Strategic Market Management, Building Strong Brands, Brand Leadership (with co-author Erich Joachimsthaler), Brand Portfolio Strategy, Brand Relevance, Aaker on Branding, Creating Signature Stories, and others.
He blogs regularly at davidaaker.com.
Now, remember the clips of David Aaker today are pulled from the full Marketing Smarts podcast episode, and if you want to listen to the full interview with David Aaker and myself, make sure to tune into the Marketing Smarts podcast, link to the full show will be in the description below after the live show ends.
Now, in this episode, again, I'm talking with David Aaker about B2B Branding, Stories, Social Efforts, and Disruptive Innovation.
In this clip, I wanted to ask David: when thinking about B2B Brands and brand building, what is something that we need to know or something that has worked for all time?
So, I asked David: Why is brand important, and what should every B2B marketer know or think about when building a B2B Brand?
David: It's because literally, with some rare exceptions, it is the only way to grow. The only way. I think the most robust empirical law that we have in all of marketing, if you go back a whole century of research and observation about marketing, the one empirical law is that we know what causes a new product to succeed. You know what that is? It's being different.
There's all kinds of studies, dozens and dozens of incredible studies on new products and what makes them successful. It's being different. If they're different, people listen to their information, and they buy them and they try them. If they're not different, they ignore them. That really is some support for the idea that if you want to grow, "my brand is better than your brand" doesn't make it, it doesn't create growth. It just doesn't. What does create growth is to create new must-haves to finding new subcategories.
Are you playing the "we're better" game or, the "we're different"?
Have you listed out every way you are different? Are you leveraging that for your brand messaging and your future growth?
Are you creating your own subcategory or category in that difference?
Put the answer to that in the chat pane or let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #mpb2b and, of course, tag me using @georgebthomas.
We'll get back to David Aaker and his thoughts on B2B Branding, Stories, Social Efforts, and Disruptive Innovation, But first, I have to ask...
Are you part of the MarketingProfs community? If not, become part of the MarketingProfs community by heading over to mprofs.com/mptoday - That's mprofs.com/mptoday.
Now, it's time for one of my favorite sections...
In The B2B News, where we talk about breaking B2B news or really important tips we find on the Google news tab related to you and your B2B business. This week, the title is...
How B2B Is Reaching New Heights of Creativity, by Ian Darby
Emotional appeal packs a punch with business audiences and marketers are investing in powerful creative campaigns that deliver. But will this continue in the era of optimization and automation?
This year has seen a real coming-of-age for B2B marketing. No longer dismissed as the forgotten sibling of consumer marketing, it has moved far beyond "just" a lower-funnel marketing play, and standards of creativity are higher than ever before.
The sharper focus on creativity is highlighted by the recent finding that "creative strategy and execution" is the most important skill in the B2B CMO role, according to the Global B2B Marketing Benchmark. This expertise is on the rise, with 46% more creative skills being added to marketers' profiles in the past year.
To read this article, check out the link below when the live show is over.
So let's get back to David Aaker and his Marketing Smarts podcast episode.
In this clip, I wanted to dive a bit deeper into this idea of B2B branding and what are the two to three things you need to make sure are in place for your organization.
So, I asked David, what do we need to have in place that equals future brand success?
Here's what he had to share.
David: I think that one thing, this particularly is true of startups, but it's true in general, is that if you have a disruptive innovation, you need to access branding talent, branding concepts, and branding tools. What happens is that the number one priority is to have people on your team that have the technology and the skills and the resources to come up with this disruptive idea and to make it happen. That's number one.
For a startup, number two is to get money. But even within a business, the number two thing is to get organizational support for this. You gotta have a home in the organization. You gotta have funding within the organization. That's the number two job.
Then everybody knows you need marketing, you need to have advertising, you need a name, you need a tagline, and so on, but what you really need is the branding strategy. You need branding talent within the organization or outside of the organization, you gotta be able to realize that is an indispensable part of your future success.
