Brand Perception and Creative Campaigns

Something strange is happening in B2B buying. Deals are being won and lost before sales calls even happen. Not because of features. Not because of price. But because of something most B2B companies barely think about. Dentsu's massive 2024 B2B buyer study - over 14,000 interviews - reveals a shift that's rewriting the rules of how enterprise software gets purchased. And most companies are completely unprepared for it. The shift? Brand marketing now drives more revenue than most companies realize. And the ROI is measurable, predictable, and massive. B2B buyers only evaluate 2-5 vendors on average, according to TrustRadius's 2024 B2B Buying Disconnect Report. That's it. Once you make that shortlist, you have a 71% chance the buyer sticks with their initial favorite. The entire "evaluation process" often just validates a choice they've already made. But here's the ROI kicker: TrustRadius found 78% of buyers select products they've heard of before starting their research. Forrester's Business Trust survey found 77% of purchase influencers consider a vendor's brand awareness as a key factor in whether they trust that organization. The revenue impact? Forrester found 83% of B2B influencers who trust a supplier plan to continue doing business with them. That's not just win rate - that's lifetime value. The LinkedIn B2B Institute and Ipsos research confirms the pricing power: buyers explicitly state they'll pay premiums for trusted brands because it mitigates risk in complex B2B deals. Brand marketing doesn't just win deals. It wins them at higher prices with better retention. Brand marketing isn't a cost center - it's a revenue multiplier. When 78% of buyers choose from brands they already know, awareness directly equals pipeline. Yet only ~30% of B2B marketing budgets go to brand. We're investing backwards. Meanwhile, 68% of buyers say all vendors sound identical (Dentsu). And every $1 cut from brand investment costs $1.85 to rebuild (BCG). Smart companies track brand perception religiously. They know which buying situations trigger their brand. They measure if messages actually change perception. But 79% of CFOs see no clear metrics connecting brand to revenue. Because most companies guess instead of measure. You should do brand tracking at minimum once a year. You can run one with Wynter and gets results in 2 days https://lnkd.in/dV2umFPy

Ricky Gervais's first poster for Dutch Barn ruins all the advertising secrets, and that's why it works. It's perfect 'notvertising'. Taking the p*ss out of all ads whilst equally being a brilliant Out Of Home campaign. Why do marketers pretend people don't know how advertising works in 2024? This rare ad finally addresses that. ❤️ Ads try to sell with emotions, showing how rich and happy you'd be after buying. This ad doesn't, it makes Ricky rich and happy. 🧔🏻♂️ Most brands have a celebrity mascot, trying to be nice and win you over. Ricky doesn't care. 👎 Ads don't respect your intelligence. They assume you are waiting to be sold. This isn't an ad; it doesn't try to sell you; it mocks you. Brilliantly, it breaks those rules whilst following them. ❤️🔥 It's funny. Humour sparks strong emotions, which attract our attention and make ads memorable. This emotional ad will do all that for Dutch Barn. Building their brand. 💇🏻♂️ It brilliantly shows how to use a celebrity in advertising, show them doing what they are good at. Only Ricky could be this rude, and we still admire him. 👍 By acknowledging these cheap ad tricks, it respects the viewer's intelligence. And earns respect. Which will sell without us even knowing it. "Humor gets under the door while seriousness is still fumbling at the handle." - G. K. Chesterton Also, whoever created this campaign clearly knows how to make OOH ads. After researching hundreds of posters with JCDecaux and System1 we created "Posters That Work". This smashes all the best practice guidelines, read those here: https://lnkd.in/e8HXtX-4 I share #advertising and #marketing insights daily; follow for more. Dutch Barn Vodka

Buyers rarely choose the objectively best option. They choose the one they recognize. In many B2B decisions, familiarity plays a greater role than features or pricing. Teams may evaluate multiple vendors, but preference often leans toward the one they have consistently seen, heard, and understood over time. The reason is simple. Recognition signals safety. When a brand shows up repeatedly with clear, consistent messaging, it reduces perceived risk. Buyers feel more confident choosing what already feels familiar, even if alternatives may appear stronger on paper. This is where many marketing strategies lose effectiveness. In the pursuit of novelty, teams constantly change angles, campaigns, and positioning. But without consistency, recognition never compounds. Messaging resets instead of reinforcing, and trust takes longer to build. Repetition, when done well, is not redundancy. It is reinforcement. Each consistent touchpoint strengthens recall. Each repeated idea builds confidence. Over time, familiarity becomes preference, especially in longer B2B buying cycles. This week’s newsletter explores the psychology behind recognition, why repetition drives trust, and how to build consistency without losing relevance. For teams focused on sustainable growth, this is a shift worth understanding.

The biggest marketing misnomer. Performance is a bad moniker 👇👇👇 Marketing is often split into two camps: Performance Marketing & Brand Marketing. One is obsessed with immediate results, the other with long-term impact. Here's the big problem - The way we define “performance” is flawed. Imagine if we classified medicine into just "painkillers" and everything else. Painkillers give instant relief, but multivitamins build long-term health. Performance marketing is the painkiller - driving immediate conversions, tracked clicks, short-term wins. Brand marketing is the multivitamin - building trust, recognition, and emotional connection for sustained growth. Yet, calling one “performance” marketing implies the other doesn’t perform. That’s a flawed and misleading notion that has hurt the marketing industry. SHORT TERM-ISM AND MISEXPECTATIONS Businesses love instant metrics. Performance marketing delivers direct attribution - spend X, get Y conversions. It’s measurable, reassuring, and looks great in reports. Brand marketing is harder to track in a straight line. It influences subconscious perception, cultural relevance, and long-term demand. But does that mean it doesn’t work? Absolutely not. Performance marketing = instant gratification but diminishing returns if done alone Brand marketing = long-term demand that makes performance marketing more effective over time HOW HUMANS PROCESS BRAND MESSAGING Marketing isn’t just numbers. It’s psychology. 🔹 Familiarity breeds trust People buy what they’ve seen before, even if they don’t recall where 🔹 Emotion beats logic They don’t choose the “best” product; they choose the one that makes them feel a certain way 🔹 Recognition leads to recall A well-branded product wins, even if a competitor offers more 🔹 Sustained presence wins Only running ads during a sale trains customers to wait for discounts BRAND MARKETING SUPERCHARGES PERFORMANCE MARKETING When brand marketing is strong, performance marketing gets cheaper and more effective. ✅ Higher conversion rates - A trusted brand doesn’t need to fight for clicks ✅ Lower acquisition costs - If people already know your brand, ads work better ✅ Stronger recall - They might not click today, but they’ll remember you later ✅ Increased loyalty - Brand-driven customers stay longer, reducing churn Brand marketing makes performance marketing perform better. BALANCE THE PAINKILLERS AND THE MULTIVITAMINS A business that only runs performance marketing is like someone who only takes painkillers - quick relief with no long-term health. A business that only runs brand marketing is like someone who only takes multivitamins - strong foundation, but no immediate solutions to address the pain You need both. ✅ Brand marketing builds trust, awareness, and long-term demand ✅ Performance marketing captures intent, drives conversions, and boosts efficiency Stop treating them as separate. The real magic happens when they work together 🚀

I remember calling Crocs “ugly.” Here’s the story of how the so-called ugly shoe became worth USD 5.8 billion and the go-to footwear for my kid. Most footwear brands focus on making shoes look good. Crocs went in the opposite direction. Instead of prioritizing aesthetics, they tackled a pain point. They solved a problem—and accidentally became a brand all parents could identify with. Kids destroy shoes. Mud, puddles, sand adventures, and playground battles—every day is a test of endurance. And the more expensive the shoe, the more heartbreaking the damage. Crocs just work for this use case. They’re practical, durable, waterproof, and easy to clean. Honestly, they’re a lifesaver for parents everywhere. Their three-fold strategy made it simple: >Convenience: Lightweight, breathable shoes kids could wear on their own—no more morning shoe struggles. >Durability: 100% waterproof and easy to clean. One wash, and they’re good as new. >Fun factor: Those little charm accessories made kids actually want to wear them. This focus on real solutions took the boating shoe (its original use case) from a little over $90 million in 2018 to around $400 million in 2023—a surge of over 4X in just five years. For founders, the lesson is simple: They saw kids using the product and doubled down on that use case. It’s not always about where you start—it’s about where your customers take you. Are you a Crocs fan? Is your kid? #business #parenting #strategy #product #footwear

One of the smartest brand-building strategies I’ve seen is what Amul has done over the years. Every time something happened - big or small - Amul had a take on it. Through their iconic comic strip, they depict current events, pop culture, politics, and whatever was buzzing. And in doing that consistently, they made Amul feel relevant. A brand that had a voice. A point of view. A sense of humour. A contemporary brand. That fascinated me. So when we were building BEWAKOOF®, we didn’t have the kind of marketing money that big brands did. We were a small team with big dreams and even bigger limitations. But we thought - what if we used Amul’s strategy? Except this time, we weren’t limited to billboards or newspapers. Back in 2013, Social media was just taking off- Facebook and Instagram were blowing up. And meme culture was on the rise. People had started consuming news and trends not through newspapers, but through memes. Memes became the new way to find out what was going on. If something went viral, a meme told you first. They were faster than the news. Funnier than a press release. So we latched onto that. We decided to become hyper-contemporary. Amul used to do this once a week, because it meant: - getting a sketch made, - writing the copy, - printing it, - and distributing it through hoardings and newspapers. We could do this multiple times a day. Budget announced in the morning? We had something to say about it by noon, memed and delivered with humour. India is playing a match at night? We were on it, reacting and creating while the match was on. And slowly, it worked. In 2016, we became one of the top Facebook pages in India, with 4.5 million followers. On Instagram, we grew to 1.7 million followers. All organic. All real. All built with zero media speed No ad budget. Just paid attention to what was happening in the world and a will to be part of it. THAT'S how we cracked awareness. And honestly, awareness is the first step in brand-building. It’s what tells people you exist. It’s what gets people to care. We didn’t have the money to buy attention. So we earned it - by showing up every day, in the moment, with a voice. That was our Amul strategy. But in the age of memes.

This photo provides a great insight into human psychology: how perception overrides reality in decision-making. I snapped this photo yesterday in the local supermarket: two nearly identical packs of butter, same product type, different producers. One had a bright “special offer” sign; the other, none. But look closer — the one without the sign was actually cheaper per kilo. Still, the shelf with the “offer” was empty, while the cheaper butter remained untouched. Why? Because framing wins. The label “offer” triggers a shortcut in the brain: good deal. Most shoppers don’t double-check the price per kilo. They see the sign, they act. It's fast, easy, and feels like a win. This is the cognitive ease trap — the tendency to favor what’s simple, obvious, or fluently processed over what’s accurate. We often say that if people had all the data, they’d make better decisions. But this small example shows that’s not necessarily true. The same mechanism drives how people consume information. Flashy headlines, emotional hooks, confident assertions — they act like that “offer” sign. They draw attention and imply truth. But dig a bit deeper, and the substance often falls apart. The problem is: few dig deeper. Just like in the supermarket, most people don’t check the label. They scroll, skim, and move on — internalizing whatever the headline framed. This is how misinformation thrives: not by being more true, but by being more readable, shareable, and emotionally resonant. That butter shelf is a small scene, but a sharp metaphor. The loudest message isn’t always the best one — it’s just the one we notice.

I’ve grown up seeing Amul’s little girl become a household name, and even today, Parle-G’s baby-faced branding keeps it India’s favorite biscuit. Now, I’m watching digital-first brands like Licious and Zepto follow suit, proving that mascots aren’t just about nostalgia they build trust, create connection, and drive real growth. The impact is massive. ➡️ Amul’s mascot pulls in 10M+ social media impressions every month. ➡️ Parle-G dominates the glucose biscuit category with 80%+ market share. ➡️ Licious used mascots to drive a 40% jump in revenue last year. ➡️ Zepto’s cat mascot helped them gain 1.5M+ app downloads in just six months. It’s no surprise that 67% of Indian consumers trust brands with mascots more than faceless logos (Kantar 2023). And this trend is only getting bigger. With India’s D2C market set to hit $100B by 2025, brands need something memorable to stand out. Gen-Z already prefers mascots 72% engage more with them. CRED’s quirky campaigns racked up 2.3B+ video views last year. At M.O.M Meal of the Moment, we’ve built our brand on trust and familiarity, values that matter in every Indian home. India’s $50B mom-driven spending market values brands that feel personal, not distant. 64% of moms prefer brands that feel like family. A mascot that blends tradition with modern convenience could make MOM even more relatable. Any ideas? Mascots aren’t just cute characters—they’re business drivers. With 800M+ smartphone users by 2024, the brands that create real connections will win. Which mascot-led campaign do you think is doing it best? #brands

Sustainability communication is shifting toward authenticity and impact 🌍 Getty Images’ latest VisualGPS: Sustainability at the Crossroads report highlights a critical shift in how sustainability should be visually communicated. Drawing on extensive global research conducted between 2022 and 2025, the report reveals that consumers increasingly expect brands to convey sustainability narratives with realism, transparency, and inclusivity. With visual storytelling playing a central role in shaping perceptions, the report outlines evolving preferences and expectations that should inform visual strategies across industries. A key finding is that while climate change remains a top global concern, “sustainability” as a concept is not equally prioritized. Consumers respond most strongly to issues with direct and visible consequences, such as extreme weather events. As a result, visuals that depict the tangible effects of climate change perform significantly better than abstract or symbolic representations. Getty Images data shows that audiences are disengaging from imagery such as polar bears or melting ice caps in favor of more grounded depictions of real people taking meaningful action. This shift comes amid widespread skepticism. Nearly 90% of consumers believe businesses should use their resources to improve society and the environment, yet two-thirds doubt their commitment to sustainability. Greenwashing concerns are high, with 76% perceiving “green” labels as marketing tactics. In this context, visuals must do more than signal good intent, they must substantiate it with clarity and evidence. Getty Images emphasizes the need for visuals that reflect authentic, results-oriented efforts rather than idealized scenarios. The report also identifies regional differences in visual expectations. European audiences demand unfiltered depictions of environmental impact and policy response, while Latin American consumers prefer visuals grounded in reality, with a focus on collaboration and protection. As sustainability becomes a core expectation, consumers are looking beyond isolated campaigns. They want to see sustainability embedded across all facets of a company’s operations, from product design and supply chains to packaging and employee practices. Getty Images refers to this as “quiet sustainability,” where actions speak louder than declarations, and visuals must reflect this integration to build credibility and trust. The visual landscape is moving away from abstract symbolism toward real-world representation. Consumers want visuals that are inclusive, honest, and grounded in action. For brands, this presents an opportunity to align visual content with the expectations of a more informed, cautious, and values-driven audience, delivering authenticity as both a creative and strategic imperative. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #storytelling

One of the ultimate "ugly duckling" story that turned into a billion-dollar masterclass in brand resilience and managing change initiatives 💫🪿 The "S-curve" of a product lifecycle is rarely a smooth ride. But Crocs, Inc. Crocs? Their lifecycle looks less like a curve and more like a high-intensity EKG monitor. From the low points in 2008 to becoming the darling of both Gen Z and high-fashion runways, here is how a "functional foam clog" rewrote the rules of marketing, organizational change and how HR Digital Transformation could learn: 1️⃣ The Near-Death Experience (The Valley of Despair): In 2008, Crocs was facing a $185 million loss. They had overextended, lost focus on their core product, and the "fad" seemed to have hit its expiration date. In change management terms, they were stuck in the "Neutral Zone"—too big to be niche, but too "ugly" to be mainstream. They didn't try to hide the clunky design. They doubled down on it. They streamlined operations, slashed underperforming lines, and returned to what I call "Functional Irreverence. 2️⃣ From "Ugly" to "Iconic" (The Design Paradox): As an enthusiast of both functional and unique design, I find the Crocs evolution fascinating. Originally a boating shoes, with design inspired by clogs, the croslite material, non-slip, lightweight are beyond design . It was a "tool" first. They leveraged the "Ugly-Cool" paradox. By collaborating with the likes of Balenciaga, Post Malone, and Salehe Bembury, they moved the needle from "clunky gardening shoe" to "limited-edition canvas." 3️⃣ Personalization (The "Jibbitz" Effect): Crocs understood a fundamental truth about modern talent and consumer behavior: People want to belong, but they also want to be unique. Jibbitz turned a mass-produced commodity into a personalized self-expression tool. It’s the same logic we use in culture-building; providing a shared framework (the shoe) while allowing for individual flair (the charms). 4️⃣ The Pandemic Tailwinds: When the world shifted to WFH, the hierarchy of needs changed. High heels and oxfords were out; ergonomic utility was in. Crocs was perfectly positioned because they had already fixed their supply chain and sharpened their brand voice to be "authentically you." ➡️ Whether you’re redesigning an HR strategy or a footwear line, the lesson is the same: Lean into your friction points. Crocs didn't try to become a sleek sneaker; they became the best version of their weird selves. In a world obsessed with "fitting in," there is massive ROI in being unapologetically functional. So, what’s your "Crocs" moment in your professional journey? That one project or strategy that everyone called "ugly" or "crazy" until it became the gold standard? #BrandStrategy #ChangeManagement #OrganizationalDesign #DigitalTransformation #Leadership #ProductLifecycle #HRStrategy #Innovation 📷 Personal collections; the "ugly-cool" ones 🩴⚠️