IBA takes a walk on the consumer side of B2B PR
We’ve talked plenty about the consumerization of B2B marketing, but the convergence of B2B and B2C marketing tactics continues at pace – witness the recent launch by Coca-Cola of its B2B content platform Coca-Cola Lens. And here at IBA, with a new client, we’re right there where it’s at! And with Europe full of coverage of the European Football Championship, we aren’t the only ones scoring goals across Europe this month – IBA’s European client coverage is at an all-time high!
At IBA our clients are B2B organizations, but we’re always aware that the B2B buying persona is also a consumer – that’s where content gets a spin, and social gets to work plus where TikTok and even Pinterest (more in a later blog on this one) come into play. It’s not every day as a PR pro you get to put a football spin on your writing but as a self-confessed football fanatic I will continue with as many footie puns as I am allowed by our VAR sub.
Kicking off a brand-new campaign
This month we’ve taken a B2B approach to a B2C campaign for the newest member to our roster of IBA international clients.
We kicked off the campaign with our new emergency air medical provider client by homing in on local media, health and business publications based within specific areas where our client already has a presence but as yet unperceived. The aim? To increase awareness around their service, building trust and attracting consumer take-up.
The IBA team scouted out local radio stations, TV channels, magazines, newspapers, and social media groups that would be applicable for the service our client offers. With our targets acquired, we then pivoted to our content plan – think press releases, momentum stories, targeted social media, and Q&A style pieces – that’s the B2B spin. The pitch and place team has already scored the first couple of placements – with more in the pipeline – so watch this space!
Taking a trip to the consumer end of B2B
And this month we also were successful pitching the importance of the consumer-facing elements to B2B campaigns with our contact center client earning a placement in a top technology publication with a UVPM of over 26 million. This placement looked at how contact centers can empower employees with the right technology to be able to offer a good end-customer experience and journey, focusing squarely on how B2B developments deliver consumer-facing benefits.
We spoke about it in April and it’s come true again in June, one of the biggest rewards in PR for establishing your client as a thought leader is resulting organic overage. The IBA team had pitched out an article for our insurance client on how to improve the customer journey in the financial services industry with resulting tier 1 coverage, but the momentum didn’t stop there! A journalist so liked our piece that they came back asking if we had any more customer pieces to publish the following week. They think it’s all over? Think again!
Back of the net placements across Europe as we put a B2B spin on a B2C hot topic
Through the well-honed skill of trendjacking, our team is always keeping tabs on current market hot topics to help inform our next thought leadership piece. Sometimes these hot topics can be consumer topics, and there’s always a way to put a B2B spins on proceedings. We’ve even done it before with Taylor Swift and Beyonce!
So when we saw the recent news on recurring ChatGPT outages we knew we had to jump on the digital bandwagon and get a comment piece out there with a B2B spin on it. There was no better fit than for our data movement client who had already made headlines with their ChatGPT comment last year! I think it’s fair to say the media agreed with placements flying into the net across Europe in some of the top IT publications and into double figures across France, Germany and Benelux!
As I write, we have more placements than goals in the Euros. The PR momentum goes on – and the rest is football!
Sam Walker is PR Executive at IBA International.
Leave a comment