What does a football club have in common with a company buying millions of dollars in software? Both are customers and both expect marketing to deliver more than a memorable message. When we think about marketing, we often picture individuals choosing a restaurant, phone, or streaming service. But organizations are customers too. Their decisions involve budgets, multiple stakeholders, long buying journeys, and pressure to demonstrate results. The latest thinking in B2B marketing shows why understanding those customers requires more than knowing what they want to buy.
The Association of National Advertisers’ research highlights a challenge: 98% of respondents consider creativity extremely or very important, but fewer than half are equally confident in measuring its impact. The issue is not whether creativity matters. It is whether marketers can connect creativity to business outcomes such as pipeline, revenue, trust, and differentiation. SAS’s partnership with Liverpool FC offers an interesting example. SAS provides data analytics for the club while using the partnership to build brand awareness. Its “Make the Smart Play with Data & AI” message connects a complex business service to a familiar, emotionally engaging environment. The strategy suggests that B2B buyers are still people who respond to stories, experiences, and recognizable brands.
A CFO may care about financial performance, a marketing director about customer insight, and an employee about ease of use. Effective B2B marketing connects these different needs to one clear value proposition. B2B marketing is complex, but the lesson is simple. Organizations have different needs, multiple people influence the buying decision, and marketers must show how their products create value. Effective B2B marketing connects those needs to a clear message and measurable business results.
Discussion Questions and Activities
- Watch the video about SAS’s Liverpool FC partnership and discuss how the partnership demonstrates the role of emotion in B2B marketing.
- Why might a B2B marketer need to communicate different benefits to different people within the same organization?
- What can B2B marketers learn from successful consumer-facing brands like Owala or Nike about building trust, creating emotional connections, and influencing organizational buying decisions?
- How should marketers measure the effectiveness of a creative campaign when the buying journey may take months or years?
- The Organizational Buying Committee. In groups, students choose an organization that might purchase SAS analytics, a workplace meal service like Door Dash, or another B2B product. They identify three to five people involved in the decision, describe each person’s priorities, and create a value proposition that addresses the committee as a whole.
- Online Brand Investigation. Students visit the official websites of SAS, Liverpool FC, and one additional B2B brand of their choice. They identify how each brand communicates value to organizational customers. Students then compare the brands and explain which uses emotional or functional benefits most effectively.
Sources
Byrd, Andrew (4 September 2026) B2B marketers are rethinking creative effectiveness, Chief Marketer; Klara, Robert (19 August 2026), Data giant SAS’s deal with Liverpool FC signals a broader B2B shift, Adweek.