MAM
GUEST COLUMN: B2B brands need to think beyond lead generation
New Delhi: In business-to-business (b2b), marketing often comes to a halt at the lead generation funnel. Given the economic environment created by the pandemic, the stress on lead generation is not surprising, but working on the lowest hanging fruit is not a long-term strategy.
In the aggressively competitive environment, B2B brands need to think beyond just lead generation for their content marketing strategy. Simply put, what is your answer to this? What are you doing to help your customers succeed?
Your content marketing needs to be a method of helping your customers succeed. Under the pressure of an immediate lead and conversion, we tend to lack business empathy, and thus our content intended to be educational ends up being more transactional. I encourage B2B brands to use content marketing as a tool to support and help meet customer goals. That is what the purpose of your brand is in the first place. Keep connected to the roots of why you thought customers would come to you and choose your product or service.
There is a specific problem that your business solves for your customers, and that should be at the heart of your B2B content marketing strategy. It’s a whole new ball game possibly from what most B2B organizations are doing currently. Here are a few things to consider. I have outlined must-haves, good to have, and great haves for your content marketing strategy.
B2B Content marketing ‘must-haves’
Blog: While all organizations have a blog on their website but usually, they are sparsely populated and more focused on SEO than on content value. The resources section is Important and needs its due.
Case Studies: I recommend case studies that are not just a synopsis of what the process was and what the ROI was but also a customer’s point of view. It may take a lot more work but in this case, it is an excellent differentiator, a brand will earn 10X in credibility vs the increase in effort.
White papers, guides, and research: What is on ‘top of mind’ for any business is ‘who else is in my boat’ and what are they doing to navigate a circumstance. White papers are must-have tools in the arsenal. Remember that being unique is the key. Creating content is fairly easy. Creating good content that isn’t ‘hard selling’ and provides customers with genuine value — that’s a tricky, time-consuming business.
B2B Content marketing ‘good to haves’
Webinars and events: Online webinars and events are a good way to get your product or service to your customers, it is also an opportunity to build an improved relationship with your customers, it can be the platform to create thought leadership. Profiling and targeted invites are a great way to reach customers with whom you may not have engaged in the past.
Training & courses: Training is an important part of the B2B marketing content strategy. If you understand your customer then I recommend that based on your customer persona, develop training and certifications which not just train customers on your product but also add skills and learning beyond your product.
Co-Creation & collaborations: Customers are in the same storm, and very slightly different boats; they are stressed for leads and under pressure to build engagement. Create a partnership with your customer, build value with combined resources, co-host events, webinars, build joint resources, create PR opportunities. You will be surprised that in addition to goodwill and visibility, the value it builds for your business in hard number crunched ROI.
No matter which tools you choose, remember the Everest of marketing is getting your communication right and that peak is scalable only if you know and understand your customer.
(Ambika Sharma is the founder & MD of Pulp Strategy. The views expressed in the column are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)
MAM
Barista partners Ginny Weds Sunny 2 with mango campaign
Cafe chain blends cinema buzz with summer menu and 20 per cent offer.
MUMBAI: Love may brew slowly, but marketing clearly doesn’t especially when coffee meets cinema and mangoes steal the spotlight. Barista Coffee Company has partnered with the upcoming hindi film Ginny Weds Sunny 2 as its official beverage partner, in a move aimed at tapping into youth culture through entertainment-led engagement. The collaboration is not just a logo placement exercise. Instead, Barista is translating the film’s high-energy vibe into its cafés with a themed summer menu titled “Main Hoon Mango”, accompanied by a limited-period 20 per cent discount on combo offerings across outlets.
Actors Medha Shankr and Avinash Tiwary feature in the campaign, seen engaging with the mango-themed menu inside Barista cafés, a visual cue designed to blur the lines between reel and real-life consumption moments.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how consumer brands are leveraging hindi film industry not just for visibility, but for immersive, on-ground engagement. By embedding the film’s narrative into its product experience, Barista is aiming to drive footfall, especially among younger audiences who increasingly seek experiential touchpoints over traditional advertising.
Barista Coffee Company CEO Rajat Agrawal described the partnership as both a branding and growth play, focused on expanding reach beyond the existing customer base and aligning with evolving consumer preferences.
The emphasis on a seasonal, flavour-led hook mango, one of India’s most culturally resonant ingredients adds a timely layer to the campaign, aligning with summer consumption trends while riding on the film’s promotional momentum.
For Barista, the move is part of a larger positioning shift. Rather than operating purely as a coffee retail chain, the brand is increasingly framing itself as a lifestyle destination, one that intersects with entertainment, conversation and shared experiences. By integrating cinema into its physical spaces, Barista is effectively turning cafés into micro-extensions of the film’s universe, where consumers do not just watch a story unfold but participate in it sip by sip.
The 20 per cent offer further nudges trial, lowering the barrier for consumers to engage with the themed menu while amplifying recall through a tangible incentive.
Brand-film collaborations are hardly new, but their execution is evolving. Where earlier partnerships relied on co-branded ads or product placements, the current playbook leans towards immersive storytelling and retail integration.
In that sense, Barista’s “Main Hoon Mango” push is less about promotion and more about participation inviting consumers to experience a slice of the film within a familiar, everyday setting. As the film industry continues to act as a cultural amplifier, such partnerships underline a growing truth, in today’s attention economy, it is not enough to be seen brands must be experienced.
And if that experience comes with a mango twist and a cinematic backdrop, all the better.
