Taking the fight for brand to the boardroom

There are hundreds of books on brand. But your MD hasn’t heard of any of them.
There are thousands of books on marketing. But they’re not on your FD’s reading list.

There are countless articles on brand strategy, advertising, media planning and measurement. Threads about design systems, audience segmentation, digital experience, user profiling and persona modelling. And none of the board have seen them. Or will ever see them.

You think ‘How Brands Grow’ is required reading.
Your C-Suite thinks that the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute is fictional, probably from one of the Mission Impossible films, where Tom Cruise breaks in to steal something nuclear.

If you’re a marketer in a B2B business, there’s a chance your board thinks your job’s about LinkedIn posts and circulating white papers (that nobody reads). So, getting ‘brand’ on the next SLT meeting agenda is going to be an uphill struggle.

To change minds and win hearts, it’s all about framing.

Brand as a growth lever, not a logo
B2B boards often think of brand as design and comms. And that you’re in the colouring in department. You’ll need to reposition it as a driver of sales, pricing power and talent attraction. Clearly connect brand to revenue and pipeline, using evidence to show that strong brands shorten the sales cycle and improve conversion rates. Do this by benchmarking competitors – knowing your enemy better than they do – and even using case studies of relatable adjacent categories that show how brand strength has directly impacted share of voice, win rates or valuation multiples (boards LOVE a valuation multiple).

Tie brand directly to business challenges
If the board sees brand as an abstract exercise in ‘woowoo’, frame it as a solution to pressing board-level priorities.

If growth has slowed you’ll need to display brand as a lever to entering new verticals. If the sales cycle is too long you’ll need to illustrate how brand awareness moves deals faster down the funnel (everyone likes a good funnel). If margin pressure is high, show them how brand justifies a premium and resists commoditisation. If they’re preparing for an exit or funding round, illustrate how brand equity improves investor perception and valuation multiples (as I said, boards LOVE a valuation multiple).

I hate to say it, but when it comes to providing evidence, McKinsey is going to be more help to you than the LinkedIn B2B Institute. We may think of McKinsey as the purveyors of very expensive, often vacuous PowerPoint decks, but when it comes to boardroom clout, they’ve got it. So do Accenture. But don’t tell anyone I said that.

Speak the language of risk
MD’s love waxing lyrical about burning platforms. Show them that if they neglect their brand they’re going to scorch their feet.

Present scenarios of potential revenue decline if competitors build stronger brand leadership. Highlight the risks of inaction – being seen as outdated or irrelevant in a fast moving, ever changing category. Introduce the term ‘Reputational Capital’ – underlining how a robust brand protects a business in times of crisis (during supply chain issues or security fuck-ups).

Go for quick wins
B2B brands are mostly always product, rather than market focused. They like sales. And graphs about sales. And sales conferences. And SalesForce. They like spreadsheets and pie charts because they’re tangible so, show them how brand improves the bottom line.

Pilot initiatives focused on a distinct vertical (expanding or entering), showing impact in 3-6 months. Get some KPIs in place and do an in-person report every month ie. brand tracker scores, share of search stats, inbound leads, NPS – all tied to financial metrics.

Make a proactive bet: Give me X budget and I’ll give you X returns in X timeframe.
Show them a phased roadmap to go with it – from insight gathering to strategy to activation to measurement. If you really believe in the power of brand, stick your neck out.

Boardroom storytelling
Humans understand and relate to their world (and their reality) through stories. Board’s respond best to clear, concise and strategic storytelling. If you’re sitting comfortably, then I’ll begin…

Use one strong narrative: ‘Brand is the multiplier on all our commercial efforts.’ Always come back this irrefutable fact. Make sure it’s irrefutable.

Combine data and anecdotes: Quote customers on why they chose you, and why they didn’t. Do this monthly. Do the interviews yourself. Make the customers real people, not just company names, not just data on a spreadsheet.

Make it visual: show the difference in funnel efficiency or valuation curves between commodity players and brand leaders. Show it, don’t just say it. You can point at an info graphic, not a LinkedIn comment by Byron Sharp.

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But if, after all this effort, your stories are still falling on deaf ears, try bringing in an outside authority. Like teenagers, the board might listen to someone who isn’t you.

I’ve been an expert outsider for 20 years, teaching B2B boards the lessons they refuse to learn from the experts who work in their own business. Because I’m not in the business I can be dispassionate about it. I can say the things that need to be said without internal politics getting in the way. I’m like a metaphorical flak jacket.

And I’m on your side.
I’m an expert in brand. I’m an evangelist.
And just like you, I know how powerful – and tangible – a strong brand is.
And it’s a hill I’m willing to die on.
Let’s go into battle together. I’ll go first.