Well that happened.
Wednesday night saw the return of The B2B Marketing Awards – always the biggest awards night in our calendar – and it’s safe to say we surpassed all expectations.
In a highly competitive field, against the best agencies B2B has to offer, we managed to get our hands on not one, not two, not even three, four, five or six, but SEVEN gongs. That’s a lot of metal to carry.
These things don’t happen in a vacuum. There’s a lot of effort that goes into nights like this, and we think it’s important to acknowledge that. We’re so thankful, not only to our wonderful team, but to our amazing clients for having the bravery and conviction to sign off the kind of left-field campaigns that are capable of award wins. So, without further ado, here’s a look at 2023’s magnificent seven award wins – and something we learned from each…
B2B Marketing Awards 2023
What we learned: The value of perseverance
The Best Use of Creative award is the one we’ve been wanting to win for years, and we’re so pleased to finally get our hands on it. But like all precious things, it didn’t come easily. The original thought – ‘Life’s Better with the GC’ – went through so many different creative iterations before it was able to come to life, and there were times it felt as if it might never happen. In the making of this campaign, we learned how important it is to stick to your convictions – and to have a client that is willing to do the same. Have a nosey at the campaign here.
What we learned: Style is a universal language
A fun, high-octane campaign that came from a brief which could initially have been seen as restrictive. Why? Because it needed to be totally global. No wordplay, no colloquialisms – these videos needed to hit each of the various cultures the same way. So, as we approached the work, we decided to lean on our theme and editing style as a uniting factor. And, with these distinctive, movie-trailer-style videos, each edited in a way to echo a certain genre, we were onto a winner. Take a look at the campaign here.
What we learned: Sometimes it’s best to show, not tell
This campaign was a great example of overcoming a challenge we often face with our clients – explaining a complex, highly innovative tech product in a simple, clear way. Neo4j’s graph data technology allows its customers to draw new, hidden conclusions by connecting vast swathes of previously unconnected data – it’s really innovative stuff, but not always the easiest for salespeople to explain. So, to entice new sales, we created a stunning set of visuals that really brought the benefit of the tech to life. Why not see them for yourself?
What we learned: ABM still packs a punch
We’re always evolving our strategies to find real cut-through in the market. Our approach to ABM is no different. With Kelly OCG, our 1:Many campaign (which touched on everything from landing pages and email comms to exec-level experiences and roundtables) focused on creating differentiation for its newly launched flexible staffing service. We visualised the problem of its target audiences – mid-market businesses – as a tipping point, where runaway growth might easily collapse without Kelly OCG to lend a helping hand. You can see the results of that here.
What we learned: Challenging ourselves to be unforgettable pays off
Getting a Bronze for B2B Agency of the Year for the second year running, after winning Gold in 2021, is a huge deal for us. We’re obviously doing something right – and if we had to identify what that is, it’s our commitment to never settling for standard. We’re big believers in pushing unforgettable, one-of-a-kind creative – we happen to think it’s the best way to really connect with audiences and win them over. And it’s unbelievably rewarding to see our campaigns for Kelly Services, Neo4j and Addleshaw Goddard reflect the standards we set for ourselves. Long may that continue!
Raising our levels higher still
We’re really grateful to have picked up loads of gongs at the B2B Marketing Awards, and it’s fair to say we’re really proud of ourselves. But far from being satisfied, we think there’s plenty of room for improvement next year. To be the best agency we can be, it’s really important to keep challenging ourselves to be even better, and to never rest on our laurels.
If you like the sound of what we do, we’d love to hear from you – get in touch at hello@digitalradish.co.uk.
Selbey Anderson Group of agencies