✍️ We’re About to Give You a Needlessly Complex Metaphor About B2B Advertising
Remember that scene in The Lion King when Simba’s dangling off a tree and a stampede of wildebeests come marching in? Luckily, Mufasa (the absolute unit) comes in and saves him, only to be murdered by Scar, his dickhead brother, shortly after. Remember that? It would be weird if you didn’t.
Now imagine that Simba is a B2B brand; the wildebeests are shows on streaming platforms; Mufasa is broadcast TV; and Scar is the embodiment of streaming services (bear with us, this metaphor is about to get stretched super thin).
The stampede of streaming shows doesn’t allow B2B brands to market to their audiences, leaving them no other choice but to be rescued by the TV, or in the case of the metaphor, Mufasa.
📈 Some Cheeky Facts and Figures
Let’s return to reality for a second…
B2B brands are spending a bloody fortune on TV advertisements, doubling in numbers since 2018. According to the latest AA/Warc ad spend report, total spend in 2018 was £51m, and rose to colossal heights of £4.73bn as of 2021!
📈Here are some 2022 figures from Matt Hill, Research & Planning Director at Thinkbox, to back it up:
-
- Ionos by 1&1 spent £13.5m, an increase of 194% since 2021… crikey!
- Sage Group spent £13.4m, an increase of 39% (okay, compared to the last one that seems a bit more tame, doesn’t it?)
- Intuit spent £11.2m, an increase of 30% (maybe 194% was a fluke number)
- Xero spent £8.4m, a reduction of 7% (a reduction!?)
- Natwest spent £7.2m, an increase of – hold on, let me check my notes – 391%! (Eat your heart out, Ionos)
What does this mean for the future of B2B advertising? Hill says that TV advertising has ‘opened the doors’ for all sorts of businesses, and that it’s a long-term growth investment. But we can’t help but ask ourselves: aren’t they a little late to the game?
Ofcom themselves reported that the amount of people watching broadcast, on-demand, and catchup has declined by 20% since 2020 across all UK age groups. There is no denying that TV advertisements are working for brands, but how long until it’s a waste of time?
🦁 Aaand… Back to The Lion King
We ain’t done with the metaphor just yet. There’s still the matter of Scar (AKA the streaming platforms themselves), who, by the way, is still a dickhead, killing his brother.
It hasn’t happened yet, TV is still alive, but everything is finite. Streaming platforms may one day look down on their TV relative in its helpless old age, hanging off the edge of a cliff, and throw it into the stampede leaving B2B brands to fend for themselves. Does this mean B2B brands will have wasted their time? Maybe a little.
But remember this: B2B marketers are not stupid, they will adapt to the changes that come their way. Marketers in all industries are constantly finding new, innovative ways to change and reach audiences. And much like Simba, they will come out on top and become king… maybe.
Probably.
Actually, yeah, let’s not double down too hard on predicting the future just yet.
Sam Hollis is a Writer for Fame, SaaS Marketer, as well as his own fictional short stories. He lives and works in Birmingham with his three cats and his dog (way too many pets, if you ask us)