How can brands get their audiences thinking differently? In this article, we explain how your businesses can change perceptions. Read on to find out more.
Brilliant B2B isn’t all about growing revenues or launching new brands and products to market. Sometimes, the challenge is a little more nuanced, calling for an approach that is focussed on winning hearts and minds, or shifting hardwired assumptions.
Changing perceptions is never easy. But nothing worth doing ever is. And with the right strategy in place, plus the right tools, businesses can start to address perceptions that are problematic.
For more than three decades, The Think Tank has been helping its clients change perceptions. We leverage PR, thought leadership content, brand development, design, advertising and any combination of the above to meet our client’s objectives. In this blog, we look at three specific examples and explain how we delivered success.
BSI: Helping small businesses understand the power of standards
The British Standards Institution (BSI) asked us to help them understand the way that small businesses thought about standards and address any challenging perceptions.
Our research highlighted several issues. Most significantly, while SMEs were aware of standards, many didn’t see them as relevant.
It was felt that standards are for large, complex corporations; that the content within standards is highly technical and difficult to implement; and that the potential benefits of standards – for example, a return on investment – are inaccessible to smaller organisations.
None of these perceptions are true. But the truth was useless unless we could get our audience to accept it. Here’s where the real work began.
Through testing, we established which kind of language would resonate and which types of content would be most helpful and effective.
This enabled us to create a highly targeted content campaign, with precise messaging designed to drive reappraisal at specific points within the marketing funnel. We created a range of assets to drive discovery, consideration, evaluation and intent amongst SMEs for certain ‘gateway’ standards. These included top level guides about what standards are and how they can help, through to frameworks for successful implementation.
Striking the right tone of voice was key: clear, concise, simple, natural and relatable communication – a shift from the jargon-filled consultancy speak that can hinder B2B – reinforced the idea that standards are accessible. Even to SMEs short on time and resources.
A conversion rate of 17.6 and more than 2,000 downloads confirmed that our message was landing. More importantly, we had helped BSI to better understand a huge portion of their audience and given a framework for how it could shift unhelpful perceptions through future campaigns.
Helping NBS become recognised as a SaaS brand
PR can be an extremely useful tool for any business seeking to change perceptions. Earned media provides inherent credibility and securing press coverage in publications that are read and trusted by your audience is proven to enhance reputation and build brand awareness. When it’s done right, it’s an extremely cost-effective way to get your message heard by the people who count.
Our work with NBS, a construction technology firm part the global company Hubexo, is a prime example . When it launched its new platform, NBS Source, the business was seeking to take a strategic pivot and position itself as a SaaS brand.
For almost half a century, NBS had established itself as the leading expert in architectural specification, and its solutions were heavily relied upon by architectural practices and construction product manufacturers.
With NBS Source, NBS sought to merge several solutions, including the RIBA Product Selector, NBS Plus and The National BIM Library, into one useful platform.
Media relations activity was a core component of the marketing campaign launch. We helped NBS secure significant coverage, which in turn fed into the success of the wider repositioning project.
The difficulties in securing coverage for product-focussed stories meant we had to think outside the box. At a time when building safety and changing regulations were top of the agenda, we saw an opportunity for NBS to offer an expert voice. Not only was this an important issue for the audience, it was an issue NBS could address.
We deployed thought leadership, tactically-timed news announcements and a newsjacking approach to make sure our client was part of the conversation. The campaign centred around the Construction Product Leaders’ Summit, which was well attended by industry professionals and received blanket attention across tier 1 construction media. Architect’s Journal, Building Magazine and Construction News were amongst the publications to provide coverage.
In total, 132 published articles and 60 thought leadership pieces reached an online audience of 37 million. The campaign helped reframe the way audiences thought about the brand. Since the launch of NBS Source, the brand has continued to evolve, and NBS is now part of the global construction tech company Hubexo.
Sigma Connected: Spelling out the importance of people-centricity
Every interaction and impression a brand makes helps shape what that brand is and what it means. But sometimes, brand aesthetics don’t do full justice to the brand in question. Like it or not, people judge books by covers. So changing design elements or playing with brand codes can be an effective way to convey ingrained truths about a brand.
It’s not all sleek logos, jazzy fonts and distinct colourways. There’s more to it. Strong creative design always reflects something deeper. Our work with Sigma Connected shows how brand development and design can work together to successfully shift perceptions.
A business process outsourcer, Sigma Connected takes care of calls, emails and other communications-based tasks for its customers. This means that people are at the centre of everything Sigma Connected does.
This people-centric approach is one of the core things that makes Sigma Connected different. So, the natural question for us to ask was: what does different look like? We worked with stakeholders to glean a deep understanding of the business, codify its voice and personality, and express its values and purpose.
From there we were able to start building out a manifesto, messaging and other tangible outward expressions for the brand. This all helped lay the foundations for a new look that would convey Sigma Connected’s unique essence across every touchpoint.
We created a striking visual execution, using people as letters of the alphabet. Bold colours, warm imagery and speech-bubble icons showed the business in a new, more relatable light. To those familiar with the business, the fresh design was more resonant. To those new to the business, it became easier to understand and more appealing.
Looking to change perceptions for your brand? You’re in the right place.
For B2B brands, changing perceptions plays a crucial role in driving long-term success. Whether it’s reputation management, repositioning, or challenging misconceptions, the process is complex and requires a tailored strategic approach. With the right tools at your disposal, you can influence thinking to win customers and build deeper, more enduring connections with your audience. Interested in changing perceptions for your brand? Get in touch.
