Most B2B marketers see value in ‘emotional storytelling’
Emotion is a hallmark of effective brand building, according to 85.8% of B2B marketers, second only to demonstrating a strong positioning.
· Marketing WeekBy Charlotte Rogers 21 Sep 2026 1:34 pm
What are the hallmarks of effective brand building? According to B2B marketers, adding emotion to the message is an essential part of the mix.
Most of the 300 respondents to Marketing Week’s exclusive State of Brand in B2B survey, say emotional storytelling (85.8%) is an important element of effective brand building, second only to demonstrating a strong positioning/differentiation (88%).
Over three quarters (78.6%) of B2B CMOs recognise emotional storytelling is a cornerstone of effective brand building, an opinion shared by most marketing directors (85.1%) and senior managers (89.6%).
Belief in the value of emotion is high regardless of business size. Most marketers (87.6%) within large companies (250 employees and over) and those working within SMEs (84.1%) agree emotional storytelling is a key component of successful B2B brand building.
Returning to the total sample, three quarters (74.2%) consider sharing details about product/service quality an important element of brand marketing, while 60.7% see the value in projecting an authoritative tone of voice.
Almost half (46.8%) of the sample believe bringing humour to an advertising message helps deliver effective B2B brand building. In fact, just a tenth (10.1%) of respondents claim humour isn’t important.
Even fewer don’t see the importance of projecting an authoritative tone of voice (6.4%), communicating product/service quality (3.4%) and delivering emotional storytelling (3%). Just 1.9% of the State of Brand in B2B sample believe having a strong positioning or point of differentiation is unimportant in brand building.
Differentiation vs authority
Indeed, the vast majority of B2B CMOs (80.4%), marketing directors (91.9%) and senior managers (90.4%) agree dialling up a brand’s point of differentiation is at the heart of effective brand marketing.
Regardless of seniority, more than two-thirds of CMOs (69.6%), marketing directors (71.6%) and senior managers (76.5%) see the value in communicating the product/service quality within brand messaging. This is more important to CMOs (62.5%), marketing directors (55.4%) and senior managers (62.6%) than displaying an authoritative tone of voice.
The data also finds CMOs (51.8%) are slightly more likely than marketing directors (44.6%) and senior managers (46.1%) to believe humour is a hallmark of effective brand building.
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When cutting the data by company size, there is broad consistency in terms of what marketers believe constitutes best in class brand building.
Most respondents working within SMEs (88.4%) and large B2B firms (87.6%) cite a strong point of differentiation as the key hallmark of effective brand work.
Marketers in both SMEs (75.4%) and large companies (72.9%) believe communicating the quality of the product or service is more important than demonstrating an authoritative tone of voice. Showing authority is considered more important within SMEs (64.5%) than large firms (56.6%), the data suggests.
There is greater variance, however, when analysing the role of humour. While over half of marketers in smaller companies (54.3%) consider comedy an important element of effective brand work, less than two-fifths (38.8%) of their peers in larger organisations agree.
Standout moment
The research suggests B2B marketers are firmly bought into the benefits of bold creative, for a variety of reasons.
Three quarters of the total sample (75.7%) believe standout creative drives awareness, while just under half claim it drives consideration (46.8%) and builds mental availability (46.4%).
More than two-fifths (44.6%) recognise the potential of bold creative to build trust, while under a third (31.8%) say a message that cuts through with audiences can nurture brand love.
According to the data, most B2B CMOs (80.4%) agree a bold creative message drives awareness. These senior leaders are almost twice as likely to say standout creative builds mental availability (55.4%), drives consideration (53.6%) and builds trust (50%), than they are to recognise its ability to foster brand love (28.6%).
More than three quarters (78.4%) of marketing directors claim bold creative drives awareness, while 60.8% recognise the potential to build mental availability. To a lesser extent they appreciate a standout campaign can drive consideration (45.9%), build trust (41.9%) and nurture brand love (32.4%).
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Similar opinions are held by senior managers, three quarters of whom (76.5%) see bold creative as a means to drive awareness. Under half of this cohort appreciate the ability of standout messaging to build trust (42.6%), drive consideration (41.7%) and build mental availability (37.4%). The potential to foster brand love (32.2%) is lower down their agenda.
Most B2B marketers working within SMEs acknowledge the role of bold creative in driving awareness (79%), an opinion shared by 72.1% of those in large organisations.
Half (50.4%) of marketers in bigger businesses agree standout campaigns build mental availability, while 42.8% of their peers in smaller firms agree. Just under half of SME marketers believe bold creative drives consideration (48.6%), as do 45% of their counterparts in bigger brands.
Bold creative builds trust, according to almost half (47.3%) of marketers in large B2B organisations and 42% of their SME peers. The ability to nurture brand love is a benefit noted by over a third (35.5%) of SME marketers and 27.9% of their counterparts in big businesses.
Marketing Week will continue reporting from the State of Brand in B2B research over the coming weeks.