• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, November 26, 2024

B2B marketers have a habit of sending out the wrong vibe. 

For example, they waste readership focus by inserting generic mentions of AI.  

It doesn’t work, and marketers are turning away from it, according to Vidmob’s 2024 Creative Trends Report with LinkedIn. 

“Messaging that simply mentions AI saw a 46% decline in VTR25% (the percentage of viewers who watched at least 25% of a video ad), which is a critical measure of how to grab early attention and drive awareness and education,” the study notes. “B2B brands that focus on the tangible benefits of AI, specifically creative that included messaging around efficiency (+197%), future-proofing (+748%), and digital (+34%) helped drive a significant increase in Conversion Rate."

The study advises brands to humanize AI, user customer stories, focus on benefits and “warm up AI, focusing on both past and future marketing innovations. 

Mind you, this study does not focus on email per se. But all of its analysis equally applies to email and to landing pages and videos. 

Then there is the way they portray their workplaces. 

Many of these photos and videos focus on “smiley, polished, corporate imagery.” In short, they look fake. 

The study shows that “B2B campaigns embracing emotions like a "smile/ happy"(+14%), "angry" (+59%) and "confused" (+21%) drove a VTR25% uplift. 

And if your office is casual, there is no harm in portraying your staff in more relaxed clothing.