Ian Bruce

I do not have to convince anyone today that generative AI (genAI) technology is a huge trend and a potentially massive disruption to the way work gets done. You know something is incredibly popular when your next-door neighbor stops you outside your door and starts talking about the out-of-the-world benefits (or their fears) of the […]

News organizations were early AI adopters. How AI evolves in journalism may hold lessons for other content-rich industries.

The advent of generative AI brings immense potential for the technology to aid in areas of environmental sustainability efforts. This incudes measurement and reporting, research and revolution, and design and manufacturing, among others. Find out the details in this blog.

The way in which buyers interpret and act on information is heavily colored by the source of the information. That has significant consequences for marketing and sales teams.

B2B marketing teams create messaging for brand and product — often separately — that attempts to articulate differentiated value to buyers, customers, employees, and other stakeholders. What is abundantly clear from our research is that there is a significant challenge to ensure that all this messaging is connected and consistent. The Messaging Disconnect In Forrester’s […]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) used to have a bad rap, often relegated to philanthropic largesse and entirely disconnected from the core business. Those days are over. Today, B2B buyers are making purchase decisions based on CSR criteria, the best talent gravitates to companies that live their values, and investors and other stakeholders are rewarding companies […]

In times of extraordinary political and social instability, consumers turn to brands they trust. Get a data-driven look at why that is and how to make the most of it.

A recent survey of B2B organizations shed light on what they have been willing to do in response to the war and what has driven those decisions.

One of the most consequential and long-lasting decisions a marketing leader can make is to change the organization’s brand. A brand’s messaging, positioning, and visual identity permeate all aspects of the company’s go-to-market activities and usually endure for many years. We frequently engage with clients on rebrands, helping them sort through the business justification and […]

New Forrester research illustrates how complex B2B buyers' decision-making processes are and the value of building trust with buyers.

Biased. Lacking substance. Dull. When we asked B2B buyers what they think about the content they receive from vendors, over 60% of respondents to Forrester’s 2021 Content Preferences Survey gave these unflattering opinions. Buyers are drowning in a sea of sameness. They fail to find any value in the content they receive, because much of […]

Buyers' motivations are often complex. Digging into our data yields clues about those who make decisions early in the buying process.

Trust is the single most important brand attribute for B2B buyers. It's time for B2B companies to close the gap between how trustworthy they believe they are and how buyers actually see them.

Storytelling is an essential skill that inherently engages audiences and makes content distinctive and memorable. Yet, B2B marketing professionals often struggle to create compelling stories.

• At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, GE Healthcare became the focus of intense media coverage
• Using elements of storytelling and brand journalism, the organization created a video series that showed how GE and frontline workers were responding to the crisis
• With 42 videos produced over 42 days, the campaign was one of the most successful in the company’s history

• August 18, 2020, marks the 100-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, which gave women in all states the right to vote
• Over the last 100 years, the percentage of women in the overall workforce has increased to 47% —consistent with many other western countries
• However, data from numerous sources shows that female representation in executive positions at B2B companies is still shockingly low considering these workforce changes

• America and the world have been shaken by protests against systemic racism and bias after the killing of George Floyd Jr. by police
• B2B corporate leaders have expressed support and solidarity with protesters and recognize the need for change
• Data gathered from numerous sources on levels of diversity and inclusion show that B2B companies need to take far more action on these issues

• Only 22% of B2B companies have fully integrated their brand and demand marketing functions
  
• Most organizations struggle to connect brand building to the revenue engine
  
• Demand teams frequently ignore the impact of brand on Demand Waterfall^® performance