Why creativity is a sure bet in the AI age

This article is part of a series about marketing in the age of AI. Access additional articles:
– Keep a level head: smarter AI transformation strategies for B2B marketers
– AI search: a 5-step content blueprint to make sure your brand shows up
– B2B personalization that’s personal: humanizing the buyer’s journey

Depending on your habits, you’re exposed to thousands of digital ads, logos and branded messages every single day. By some estimates, 6,000 or more. 

It is also true that you’ll forget nearly all of them. Because most are forgettable. The kind that fades from memory as soon as you look away. 

What these ads lack of course is creativity — the sparks that tap into human emotions such as joy, amusement, nostalgia, desire, even fear. It’s creativity that turns ad “impressions” into memories that our brains deem worthy of holding onto. 

Compared to their consumer counterparts, the B2B space, on the whole, tends to produce fewer campaigns that stick. There are perfectly good reasons for that: a focus on rational decision-making, an abundance of stakeholders, a sense that B2B businesses needs to appear practical and  serious.

But that doesn’t mean B2B campaigns should have all the appeal and flavor of canned peas. After all, “B2B” is a bit of a misnomer. Businesses are human entities. C-suite decision-makers are people, too. And buyers will remember companies only if their businesses are memorable.

There’s also another force at play. The seductive power of performance marketing and data can lull many B2B companies into playing it safe. Businesses know “what works.” They rely on tried-and-true best practices to predict and reach KPIs. 

But be wary of best practices. By definition, a best practice is a tactic already used by a majority, so it fits into the ordinary. And we all know that an ordinary message will only get an ordinary response. 

Ironically, the best way for B2B companies to “play it safe” is to bet on creativity. And just like any other investment, the bigger the bet on creativity in B2B tech marketing, the bigger the reward. 

Whatever your sector, your buyers are likely being bombarded with many of the same messages, the same stock shots, even the same color palette. 

It always strikes me that many B2B companies are building brands that are literally made to be forgotten. Neuroscience has found that one of the most important functions of the brain is to forget; forgetting helps the brain prioritize what matters. 

What the brain does remember forever are the things that give us joy or fear, inspiration or repulsion, pleasure or aversion, because these memories become key to our survival and future success. Emotion is how a brand stays relevant. It’s literally how to build a memorable brand. 

Without creativity, your targeting strategy, no matter how precise, may perform adequately, but perhaps not brilliantly. Brands that win know how to take data and find the beautiful human story hidden inside. 

In an age where ROI rules, it can be hard to make the initial case for more humanity, more feelings, more of that immeasurable, memorable thing. 

But trust me when I say that creativity in b2b marketing will prove itself in the numbers, ultimately. Try it out, one A/B test at a time. A few steps more, and there is space to forever break from the forgotten pack and become the one brand in your sector your customers enjoy remembering. And they may find it’s the one brand they cannot forget.  

Get more performance marketing content from FINN.