The Rise of The

B2B BLOCKBUSTER

Let’s start by talking about the

true value of thought leadership

B2B Buyers Are ScaredB2B is not “rational,” it’s even more emotional than B2C

Jon MillerCEO & Co-Founder at Engagio,

previously Co-Founder at Marketo

“It’s not a big deal if you buy the wrong can of soda.”

Don DraperCreative Director at Sterling Cooper,

fictional character on Mad Men

“Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.”

…believe it increased trust

in the organization

82%Business

Decision Makers

81%C-Suite

Executives

…believe it builds trust in our

organization among potential clients

49%

Thought Leadership “De-Risks” The Buying ProcessIt establishes trust, which leads directly to sales

…believe it gets them more RFPs

17%

…believe it invites the organization

to propose on a project

37%Business

Decision Makers

41%C-Suite

Executives

Among Creators of Thought Leadership… Among Decision Makers…

But the current approach to

thought leadership is broken

Marketers Are Trying To Imitate NewspapersArticles are hard to monetize--- journalism is a tough business

We believe there’s a better

marketing model for B2B

We call it…

Blockbuster Marketing

S U M M E R

2 0 1 5

FA L L

2 0 1 5

W I N T E R

2 0 1 5

S P R I N G

2 0 1 6

S U M M E R

2 0 1 6

FA L L

2 0 1 6

W I N T E R

2 0 1 6

S P R I N G

2 0 1 7

S U M M E R

2 0 1 7

Hollywood Is Much Better At Monetizing ContentDisney is the first studio to make $6B, by focusing on “familiarity”

A B2B Blockbuster Monetizes A Brand’s ExpertiseFamiliar IP assets that get extended into many digital channels/formats

This Lenovo Blockbuster Drove $118M In SalesAnd turned Lenovo into an authority on Enterprise IT

Results

• $118MM generated in sales over first 13 months.

• 4.5k SQLs generated per month.

• 14.6k uniques per month.

Highlights

• Winner 2016 – CMI’s Content Marketing Program ROI/Program Measurement.

• Nominee 2016 – CMA’s Best Annual Content Strategy & Best Distribution.

Blockbusters

solve many

marketer’s

biggest

problems

1 They’re Easier: You’re focusing on fewer things

2 They’re Higher Quality: Fewer things can be done better

3 They’re More Effective: Better things breakthrough

4 They’re Sustainable: You can market them year after year

That’s why we’re investing in

“Blockbusters-As-A-Service”

M E A S U R E M E N T

D I S T R I B U T I O N

C R E A T I V E

A U D I E N C E

We Can Help Your Clients Build B2B BlockbustersA full-service solution that allows clients to own key business topics

Audience Insights1

First, We Analyze Buyer’s Topical InterestsLeveraging LinkedIn + client data to guide content development

Offshore Drilling

Climate Change

Reserves

Energy Efficieny

Energy Conservation

Renewable Energy

Sustainable Energy

Smart Metering

Smart Grid

Energy Audits

Oil & Energy EngagementClicks + Likes + Comments + Shares

Then We Determine Which Topics Are OwnableBy benchmarking clients’ SOV against the competitive set

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

Sh

are

of U

S E

nga

ge

ment

Professional Development All

En

ga

ge

ment In

de

x

Brands in this category attract significant

engagement but are underrepresented in

the marketplace – generating greater brand

awareness and advocacy makes them a

serious threat to competitors.

Quiet Threats

High engagement and topic ownership

means brands in this category are

natural thought leaders.

Thought Leaders

With little engagement and little topic

ownership, these brands do not represent

a significant threat to others.

Laggards

These brands attract significant mindshare

without much engagement – they’re

crowding the marketplace with noise

and should focus on building greater

engagement with key audiences.

Noisemakers

Ownership of Topic Index

Creative Strategy2

Your Blockbuster Should Follow This FrameworkIt connects content strategy to business strategy

MISSION

BUSINESS L INE

B L O C KBU STER

1Formulaic

Structures

2Touch

Points

3 Brand

Characters

4Social

First

B2B MARKETING

S O P H IST IC ATED

G U I D E

?

?

SUCCESS ?

?

You Can Create 100+ Assets With Minimal WorkThe same core IP gets re-used in a variety of formats and channels

2 Slideshares

6 Infographics

6 Blog Posts

1 Interactive Tool

One eBook 100+ LinkedIn Ads

1. The Blockbuster Has A Formulaic StructureChoose from a finite number of successful brand narratives

7 Basic Storytelling Plots

1. Overcoming the monster—Jaws

2. Rags to riches—Rocky (the original)

3. The quest—Star Wars

4. Voyage and return—Finding Nemo

5. Comedy—Annie Hall

6. Tragedy—Titanic

7. Rebirth—The Shawshank Redemption

7 Basic Plots in B2B

1. How-To Guide/Definitive Guide to [Your Take]

2. The State of [Industry Take]

3. The Annual Plan

4. The Trends Report

5. The Future of

6. The User Journey/Case Study [Client Take]

7. The Beginner’s Guide

2. The Blockbuster Will Be Designed For Social FirstInsights must come to life in the feed, not on a site or in a PDF

3. The Blockbusters Will Enable Touchpoint ConsistencyA unified experience across all channels improves recall + consideration

4. The Blockbuster Will Feature Brand CharactersPeople trust people more than faceless corporations

48Job Views

96Profile Views

48Company

Page Views

32New

Connections

16Company Page

Followers

100Employee

Shares

Distribution Tactics3

To Drive ROI, Test Our Newest ProductsUsing 1st Party data to guide audiences through the buying journey

MQ LNO YES REVENUESALESNURT URE

NO

BLOCKBUSTER

We Leverage Data Throughout To Reach Your AudienceRefining the parameters over time based on performance

19 MMSMBs

10 MSMB Managers+

5MMSMB IT Committee

Top-Funnel > Drive Awareness Of Your Clients’ ExpertiseDirect audiences to the central thought-leadership asset

NEW SFEED

PROGRAMMATIC

LI OFF NETW ORK

CAROUSEL ADS

Auto f i l l LP

1-Cl ick Lead Gen

Let Me Tell You A Bit More About 1-Click Lead GenIt’s a new product that capitalizes on “Social First” dynamics

▪ Capture up to 7 fields

▪ Recommend 3-4 at most

▪ Fields pre-filled with data

▪ All fields “required”

▪ User can edit fields

It’s A Fully Customizable Lead Capture SolutionBut best practices have started to emerge

Bottom-Funnel > Drive Sales Of Your Clients’ ProductsOnce audiences are exposed to central asset, push products messaging

NEW SFEED

RETARGETING

CRM MATCH

PRODUCT PAGE

CONVERSION PIXEL

Holistic Measurement4

Measure Quality Reach With Audience ValidationDid our blockbuster reach our most valuable buyers?

$17.19

$39.04$45.30

$78.33$82.83

$92.25

$113.78

LinkedIn (A) DSP (B) Publisher (C) Publisher (D) Network (E) Network (F) Publisher

Effective Cost per Supervisor + SMB Impression

Measure Quality Impact With Brand ResearchDid our blockbuster establish our brand as an expert on this topic?

Measure Quality Sales With Closed-Loop AttributionHow much revenue did our blockbuster-acquired leads drive?

01

02

03

04

Marketing

Qualified Lead

Sales

Qualified Lead

Cost Per Lead

Revenue

So, wrapping up…

We Can Do All The Work Required To Build A BlockbusterThe services are added value, but the media is not

AUDIENCE

• Insights Tag

• Trending Content

• Topical Ownership

CREATIVE

• Blockbuster

• Previews

• Brand Characters

DISTRIBUTION

• Sponsored Content

• inMail

• Programmatic

MEASUREMENT

• Validation Study

• Brand Study

• Closed Loop Attribution

Appendix

This Is How You Build A BlockbusterIt’s simple on the surface, but complex behind the scenes

BUSINESS LINE

BLOCKBUSTER

A U D IENCE

1.Original

Insights

2.Touch

Points

3. Brand

Characters

4.Social

First

C R EATIVE D I S TRIBUT ION M E A SUREMENT

B U YE R

I D E N T IF I C AT ION

TO P I C AL A N A LYSIS

1.Native

Formats

2.Targeted

Reach

3. Always

On

4.60/40

Rule

1.Qualified

Reach

2.Qualified

Impact

3.Qualified Sales