B2B enterprise has always felt like a second cousin to popular consumer brands like Pepsi, Apple, Nike and Beyoncé. B2B markets are more niche, their budgets typically smaller and B2B products and services are not always influenced by popular media. This has resulted in B2B brands assuming a second class status that is not always accurate.
When the workers of the Norsk Hydro PVC plant in Stenungsund on the west coast of Sweden came to work in the early morning one day in 1996, a young man in an orange overall was chained to the factory gates as though crucified.
In their research paper ‘What makes online content viral?’, Jonah Berger and Katherine Milkman show how surprise is one of the most important requirements of content, after practical value and interest. Practical value and interest are usually addressed at the product innovation and development stage, but surprise can be effectively used later on, as well.
How did Amazon become the retailer of choice for a large portion of the US population? How did Walmart beat out other grocers in the late 1990s to become the leader in food retailing? How did Warby Parker make a dent in the once-untouchable Luxottica’s lucrative eyewear business? How did Sephora draw customers away from once-dominant department stores to become the go-to retailer for beauty products?
In Nike founder Phil Knight’s book “Shoe Dog” he focuses on the deals. Factory deals, sponsorship deals, celebrity deals. It’s all about connecting superstars to superschtick. He never once talks about the cultural relevance of Nike advertising or the “Just do it” line ripped from a Clint Eastwood movie.
