3 lessons for B2B marketers
from the industry’s winners at Cannes

Time was, mentioning B2B marketing at a creative awards show was sure to elicit groans. B2B creative, we often heard, is just not that creative. So it was more than a little encouraging to hear Titanium jury president Debbi Vandevan describe B2B as one of the Cannes festival’s bright spots, in only its third year as a category.

This year’s Titanium and Grand Prix winners provide plenty of inspiration for future groundbreaking work in B2B, as well as several valuable creative lessons:

1. Involve your audience in the story
B2B brands are famous for their detailed message architectures, dotting every “i” and crossing every “t.” But rather than telling buyers of B2B services what to think, it can be more effective to let them connect the dots.

That was the inspiration for JCDecaux’s Meet Marina Prieto, one of only four Titanium winners at this year’s Cannes (and the B2B Grand Prix winner as well).

With subway poster bookings in Madrid down 7% after the pandemic and global supply chain crisis, JCDecaux needed a way to get young media buyers to consider this old-school media. Their solution? A subway takeover featuring day-in-the-life posts from an unknown, 100-year-old Instagrammer – with no further explanation.

Before long, all Spain was asking “Who is Marina Prieto?” As a result, this lovely grandma with a grand total of 28 followers suddenly went viral, and buzz from the campaign drew in 185 new advertisers and doubled ad revenues.

2. Inhabit their world
Media buyers were also the target of this year’s Grand Prix for Digital Craft, awarded to a B2B campaign from Spotify that delved deep into the media buyer’s world. Realizing these professionals spend their days in Excel, Spotify created a custom brand experience for the black-and-white world of spreadsheets: Spreadbeats, the first-ever music video in Excel – because media planners deserve a little joy, too.

B2B also took the Grand Prix for Design at this year’s Cannes with another initiative that met its audience right where they live. In Peru, where loss of sight is the most common disability, limited wayfinding solutions make it challenging for the blind to identify a bank, pharmacy, grocery store or other locations. Local cement company Sol worked with organizations serving this community to develop SightWalks, a coded system embedded in sidewalk tiles to help point the way to various types of businesses.

3. Make unexpected connections
Business, naturally, are wary of competition. When the Russian invasion caused more than 1.5 million Ukrainians to flee to Poland, local businesses were concerned about the number of new businesses started by these refugees. That is, until Mastercard demonstrated that certain types of businesses don’t compete so much as complement.

With its Room for Everyone tool, winner of this year’s Grand Prix for Creative Data, Mastercard demonstrated that bookstores profit next to jewelry stores and barber shops thrive next to restaurants, among other surprising connections. All of which provided Polish businesses with new data and incentive to welcome Ukrainians as their new business neighbors.

“This initiative redefines business competition by transforming it from a source of fear to an opportunity for growth and inclusion.”
Andrés Ordóñez, Global Chief Creative Officer, FCB

Great things happen when B2B decides to be creative
This year’s Cannes winners also included two initiatives supporting small businesses from Heineken and Coca-Cola, making it a banner year for B2B. So, it seems, the word is out – inspired B2B creative can deliver inspiring bottom-line results.