Whoosh: and just like that, we’re halfway through the year. As the world keeps turning and the B2B landscape continues to shift in dramatic ways, now seems a good time to take stock. We’ve been keeping a close eye on some of the major B2B marketing trends of the last six months, and a few in particular are standing out…
From marketing play to business strategy: the evolution of ABM
Account based marketing (ABM) is nothing new. At its best, it has always been a strategy that represents something more sophisticated than a cluster of highly-targeted tactics. Adept ABM-ers continue to use it to focus both marketing and sales around the right accounts, hitting them at the right times with the right messages in the right channels.
What’s changing in 2025 is not the principle of ABM, it is how leading B2B teams are reframing the approach as a unifying commercial strategy; one that informs everything from recruitment and reporting to content development and budget allocation.
In other words, ABM is becoming operationalised, like a lens through which go-to-market (GTM) strategies are executed. According to LinkedIn’s Benchmark report, 60% of marketers say they are restructuring teams and measurement models to align with ABM programmes, rather than thinking in terms of individual campaigns.
GTM becomes the backbone of commercial strategy
Speaking of GTM, this strategic discipline represents another of 2025’s key focal points. While ABM continues to thrive for targeting and engagement, GTM is increasingly recognised as the backbone of all commercial planning: the platform that underpins everything, connecting innovation programmes, departments, timelines and success metrics.
Our recent GTM Strategy Report, produced with B2B Marketing and Censuswide, found that while most businesses are upping their GTM investment, few have nailed the operational clarity needed to turn that spend into real performance. Tension between teams remains rife. Measurement is patchy. And too many marketers still equate GTM with launch activity, not long-term growth.
The best-performing businesses are changing that. They’re using GTM as a shared playbook, connecting customer insight to strategy, execution and revenue. In an uncertain market, that kind of alignment is quickly becoming a competitive advantage.
Innovative use of video pays dividends
Video has moved from the periphery of B2B marketing to the centre. It’s not just about top-of-funnel awareness anymore. Video now plays a critical role in every stage, from product evaluation to stakeholder alignment.
It’s borne out by the fact that, as Wyzowl reports, 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, and 84% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video content. Meanwhile, Demand Gen Report finds that 58% of B2B buyers watch product videos during the buying journey.
Through innovative use of the medium, smart marketers are finding ways to drive great ROI through video marketing. With relative ease, an hour-long webinar can be turned into five punchy clips.
But marketers are also exploring new formats, channels and strategies through video. Live streaming, short-form social and, in some cases, even big-budget Connected TV are being embraced by B2B brands.
Crucially, success isn’t about creating more video. It’s about getting more from video by making it work harder throughout the journey.
Marketers seek a balance between AI and human creativity
Generative AI is no longer an experimental curiosity, it has become a fundamental part of the workflow for much of the industry. SurveyMonkey found that 88% of digital marketers use AI in their day-to-day tasks.
But AI is not the silver-bullet solution that some imagined when platforms such as ChatGPT first burst on the scene. A recent LinkedIn report showed that 40% feel AI-generated content lacks a ‘human touch’, while a survey published by Forbes discovered that 38% of CMOs felt neutral or unsatisfied with their AI outputs.
The efficiency gains made possible by AI-generated content are obvious. But it’s equally clear that there are significant teething problems.
How can businesses best invest in upskilling? How can human oversight be effectively maintained? What kind of guardrails need to be put in place? How should stakeholder scepticism be managed? And how does the industry ensure the magic of creativity and originality are preserved?
In 2025, it’s how we answer these types of questions that really defines the AI trend.
Wrapping up
From the shift in how we use video and the operationalisation of ABM, to the GTM imperative and the growing pains of AI, this much is clear: in 2025, B2B is not really about tools, tech or tactics.
Strategy, creativity, timing and judgement are the things that really matter. In the months and years ahead, success will belong to the adaptable. Want to explore how you can put your B2B brand on the front foot? Let’s talk.
