CIO Bulletin

Chris Wilson, CEO of Earnest – An Industry Leader with over a Decade of B2B Marketing Expertise, Elevating B2B Marketing to New Heights by Embracing Innovation

B2B branding helps in establishing credibility and trust among business partners and clients. A strong, recognizable brand signifies reliability and expertise, fostering confidence in the minds of stakeholders. Through effective branding and marketing strategies, businesses can extend their reach globally. A recognizable brand transcends geographical boundaries, making it easier for B2B companies to enter international markets. Investing in B2B marketing and branding is fundamental for building a reputable, trustworthy, and competitive business. Marketing and branding facilitate effective communication of a company’s values, mission, and offerings. Clear messaging helps potential clients understand what a business stands for, making it easier to forge meaningful connections. It's not just about selling products or services; it's about crafting a compelling narrative that resonates with clients and partners, fostering long-term relationships and sustainable growth.

Earnest is a specialist agency on a mission to chase the humdrum out of B2B marketing. In its eyes, B2B should be celebrated just as much as its B2C counterpart because, fundamentally, it's about connecting with people, albeit in a workplace context. Since its establishment in 2009, Earnest has been instrumental in building brands, devising strategies, crafting compelling content programs, curating exceptional experiences, and designing campaigns that not only achieve results but also captivate and delight their audiences.

Earnest's journey has been remarkable. The company has assembled a team of remarkable talents, garnered numerous prestigious awards, and is privileged to have renowned clients such as Samsung, Vodafone, and Instagram. In the challenging landscape of B2B marketing, Earnest thrives. It embraces the complexities of hard-to-reach audiences, demanding internal stakeholders, and intricate, intangible products. Earnest’s dedication is unparalleled, approaching each obstacle with passion, intellectual vigor, and creativity.

Earnest prides itself on elevating B2B standards both creatively and strategically. Their approach involves banishing the mundane and ushering in the unexpected, always relishing the unique challenges that B2B marketing presents. The agency's repertoire spans a wide array of disciplines, including branding, campaigns, strategic planning, content creation, and experiential marketing. Its accolades are a testament to its excellence in every area. Regardless of the challenge's size or shape, Earnest tackles it with unwavering standards and an open mind.

Brand Innovation

In the role as a B2B branding and marketing agency, Earnest collaborates with organizations to identify their unique strengths and transform these insights into compelling, commercially relevant narratives. They firmly believe that a remarkable B2B brand encompasses more than just a logo and a color scheme. Their suite of B2B branding services includes:

Creation: Crafting new brands and brand extensions.
Post-merger/acquisition: Developing brand strategies and fostering development in the wake of mergers or acquisitions.
Repositioning: Adapting strategies to seize new opportunities.
Rebranding: Strengthening brand identities to enhance their effectiveness.

In essence, their approach transcends the conventional, delving deep into the core of businesses to create brands that resonate and endure in the competitive B2B landscape. They initiate the process by delving into the client's narrative: exploring their origins, core values, relevance, and unique differentiators. This understanding is gained through comprehensive stakeholder interviews, including one-on-one discussions with key internal team members. Additionally, they seek external perspectives by engaging with customers, market analysts, and influencers. Following this thorough research, they organize a brand workshop where their findings are presented to a selected team of the client's stakeholders. In this interactive session, they collaboratively develop the foundational elements of the client's brand story.

Strategy

In their capacity as a B2B agency, Earnest engages in strategic consultations with clients, aiding them in formulating robust go-to-market strategies and making prudent marketing investments. Their expertise lies in assisting B2B brands in various areas:

Programme Creation and Management: They specialize in crafting and overseeing strategic, long-term programs designed to yield significant return on investment (ROI).

Messaging and Proposition Development: Earnest excels in shaping compelling messaging and propositions. This expertise allows products and services to be positioned effectively, distinguishing them in the market and stimulating demand.

In the realm of B2B research, the conventional approach often results in prolonged timelines and provides data without actionable insights. The Earnest IQ team operates differently. Their focus is on purposeful insight—insight that translates into actionable strategies. Their research efforts are always directed toward specific marketing objectives, whether it involves evaluating a brand's market position, comprehending audience drivers and motivations, or identifying and articulating disruptive thought leadership concepts.

In practical terms, this approach entails:

Assisting clients in tracking their brand (as well as their competitors) by modeling metrics like share of voice.
Monitoring industry trends by comprehensively understanding both emerging and enduring themes within industry discussions.
Creating audience maps to understand how different audience segments communicate, where they seek information, and who they trust.

The ultimate goal of these efforts is to provide B2B brands with a well-informed perspective, enabling them to make strategic decisions rooted in both data and valuable insights.

Chris Wilson | CEO

Chris is a business-to-business marketing specialist, with over 15 years in the industry. He has worked with companies as large as Google, Fujitsu, Oracle, BT, and IBM, to some fascinating start-ups that have frequently gone onto great things. It's a complex market, but he continues to love the challenge of bringing clarity and impact to how organizations in this space communicate and engage with their audiences. He's championing the use of behavioral economics in B2B - which is an ongoing battle.