In his book, "Quantum Marketing," MasterCard Chief Marketing Officer Raja Rajamannar observes that “B2B marketing is several generations behind when it comes to tapping into emotions ... the reliance is on data and performance claims within communication elements, which by nature tend to be less interesting and hardly inspiring.” It's a painful truth, which is why it is noteworthy when a campaign breaks with convention.
One such campaign is from Ping Identity, featuring actor/athlete Terry Crews as "chief identity champion." The campaign, launched in October 2020, is the culmination of CMO Kevin Sellers’ efforts to dramatically increase awareness of the brand. “You can't win business if you don't even get a chance to bid on the deal” says Sellers. “You’re trying to get them to know you and remember you, and you can't do that by being really safe.” With site traffic up 1,000%, Sellers knows he’s tapped into something special.
Ping Identity's CMO discusses why actor Terry Crews' 'chief identity champion' character broke with product-focused convention.
Read the full Q&A on Ad Age: How a Software Firm Tapped into Emotion to Reshape B-To-B Marketing
Listen to the Episode: Awareness Matters: How One B2B CMO Cut Through