Marketing communications. In technology-driven industries change is a known certainty and remaining current and up-to date is the name of the game. The pace can be ferocious and often blinds you to the sheer amount of noteworthy information, talent and innovation that exists right under your nose and in your own organization. Change is tough, not only psychologically but also creatively. In fact one comment I’ve heard regularly over the years is that very few companies have the creative ability to see themselves from the outside inwards. Making the right changes therefore becomes harder.
Sorry about confronting you with yet another choice. Having just read an excellent article on decision fatigue, I realise there are too many decisions in your life already – and in mine, too.
Almost all B2B sales are built upon a personal dialog. But up until now most sales people have used static material such as brochures and product leaflets. And many PowerPoint presentations have been nothing more than a modern form of overhead leaflet. However, new technology is opening up completely new possibilities for meaningful conversations with customers.
Once I’d lived in this country for long enough to have learned a little of its history, I came to realise it has a remarkable legacy of innovation. Of course, I’d heard of Nobel and Ericsson, was vaguely familiar with one or two others, but the sheer scope of invention was new to me. Well, dear reader, I can tell you from personal experience that the tradition is alive and well. Take Sectra in Linköping, for example. This is a medical imaging company that, compared with some of its global competitors, is tiny. But what it lacks in financial muscle, it more than makes up for in brainpower.
Hoi An, a petit town at the heart of Vietnam’s ancient kingdom, lies midway between Hanoi in the north and Saigon in the south. Rickety French shophouses, still standing up to the savage seasonal lashings of rain and wind, bear witness to the country’s colonial past. As of course do the ubiquitous patisseries, laden with baguettes, pain au chocolat and a host of other mouth-watering edibles.
A recent blog entry by one of my colleagues prompted me to write a follow-up on the landscape of visual sameness that pervades so much of B2B communication. Browsing through advertisements in trade journals is like taking a tour of some dreary Stepford suburb where the houses are more or less identical.
Regi has now published the results of its survey Agency of the Year 2010. We are the highest placed B2B agency,comingsecond in the category “medium-sized agencies”. A fantastic result.
A huge thank you to all our customers who participated in the survey!
Why does the majority of B2B advertising look so dull? Why don’t more brands dare to let go, build on emotions and be different? Martin Lindström, author of the best-seller Buyology, puts it down to pre-conceived ideas about business people. They don’t have any feelings, are not affected by brands and are generally boring and conservative. The big question is whether there’s any truth in it?
A short while ago we announced the agency’s relaunch in Stockholm. We’ve been underway for a couple of weeks now, working on several interesting assignments. (More on what we’re doing and for whom later).
Leading the way back East is Urban Ericsson, Copywriter, and Torbjörn Persson, Art Director. Both have long experience of B2B advertising spread over several different Swedish agencies, and have worked with famous brands such as Sandvik, Skanova, ABB, Ny Teknik, KPMG, Telia and Scania. So if you’re thinking about changing agency or are simply interested to see what a new face on the Stockholm B2B scene can offer, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Call or e-mail us at:
Urban Ericsson, +46-8-410 57 831, ">Torbjörn Persson, +46-8-410 57 832,
Anyone who’s walked past a building site in Stockholm has seen them. Bright orange and usually filled with rubble, they’re everywhere. Heck, even I’ve seen them, and I’m pretty good at filtering out anything to do with hard physical labour. That said, I take my hat off to Big Bag. As far as I’m concerned, these bags are sheer marketing wizardry.
Sandberg Trygg is a specialist b2b advertising agency that helps international companies generate better business results through forceful and attractive marketing communications.
Do you often wonder about all the words and phrases marketers and advertising people throw around? This glossary includes the terms most frequently encountered in marketing communications projects.
