Category Archives: Creative

creative brief

10 Must-Haves for Your Next Creative Brief

A good creative brief is the foundation for an effective marketing campaign. In the face of deadlines, however, and at the normal, torrid pace of modern marketing, creative briefs are often viewed as an extra step, an annoyance, and an unnecessary obstacle to getting content in market. Why are briefs… Read More

The Rise of AI & Other B2B Predictions for 2023

Each year, it seems there’s one topic that dominates marketing conversation, and 2023 is no exception.  In recent weeks, AI technology, and in particular tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney, have forward-thinking marketers devising entirely new approaches to their role, and others wondering if their job is about to be replaced… Read More

LinkedIn Ad

Infographic – Blueprint for an Effective LinkedIn Ad

LinkedIn ads have become a staple of the B2B demand generation playbook, in large part due to an ability to target a tightly defined audience.  However, whereas there’s plenty of information online about the mechanics of LinkedIn advertising (bid strategy, audience definition), it’s much harder to find proven best practices… Read More

Surprise: Most B2B Advertising Isn’t Good. Or Is It?

A recent report by LinkedIn and research agency System1 found that the bulk of B2B advertising is ineffective.  I’ve written elsewhere in this space about the sorry state of B2B creative in general, so the headline came as no surprise.  What was surprising, however, was the criteria by which the… Read More

A B2B Email Pre-Flight Checklist

Earlier this month I presented a standing-room only session at the B2BMX Conference in Scottsdale on key principles of B2B email creative. Part of that presentation was a “B2B Email Pre-Flight Checklist” – a list of questions an email marketer should ask, prior to pressing “send,” to ensure that a… Read More

7 Key Principles of B2B Email Creative

1.  What, Why, How. There are three things your email recipient should see almost immediately, and those are: WHAT the offer is, WHY it’s of value, and HOW to get it.  Don’t make the reader hunt or scroll to learn what exactly you want him or her to do, and… Read More

Marin Webinar Invitation

Why this Webinar Invitation Works

One of the real-life campaigns I included in my presentation last week – A Crash Course in B2B Email Creative – at SiriusDecisions Summit in Austin, was this Webinar invitation from Marin Software.  I’ve written often about the dismal state of B2B creative, so it’s good to see at least… Read More