Calling for confidence: why B2B needs to be bolder with creativity
When was the last time you saw a B2B campaign and thought: ‘Wow, that’s brave’?
If you feel like most B2B marketing is playing it safe these days, you’re not wrong. The State of Creativity 2025 report lays it bare: only 13% of companies describe themselves as risk-friendly when it comes to marketing.
That leaves a hefty 87% who are risk-averse — avoiding anything that might scare off prospects or dent their reputation, but in the process, shying away from real opportunity. The positive news? When everyone else plays it safe, boldness could become your biggest differentiator.
In fact, recent Deloitte research shows that brands that do embrace creative risk are far more likely to deliver long-term revenue growth. In other words: comfort zones might feel nice, but they don’t drive business. So why does confidence seem in such short supply?
The B2B confidence gap
Part of the issue is cultural. In B2C, boldness often feels expected – from splashy campaigns and daring taglines to collaborations that raise eyebrows. In B2B, the stakes feel higher. Buyers are spending company money, often on much bigger investments. No one wants to be the marketing director who gambled on a quirky idea and had it flop in front of the board. As a result, marketers often default into ‘safety’ mode and fall into a sea of ‘same’.
WARC reports that risk-taking brands generate four times higher profit margins while Deloitte states high-growth brands are significantly more likely to encourage risk-taking and creativity across teams.
And yet, half of brands admit their ability to develop high-quality insights is poor and 57% admit they lag in creating cultural moments. That’s not just a confidence problem — that’s a creativity problem.
The real cost of dull
Being boring isn’t just boring, it’s expensive. Amplified’s ‘The eye-watering cost of dull media’ report states that for every dollar invested in dull media environments, advertisers are, on average, surrendering 43 cents to a silent tariff.
For challenger brands, the cost of dull cuts even deeper. Unlike established players, they don’t have the luxury of coasting on familiarity or salience — every moment of attention is a make-or-break chance to build memory and momentum.
If your campaign blends into the noise, you’ll need to spend more to get the same cut-through. If your messaging feels generic, buyers won’t remember you. Safe marketing isn’t actually safe, it just silently drains your budget while making a marginal impact.
Lessons from bold B2B
There’s plenty of evidence that B2B brands can make boldness work.
MailChimp’s mispronunciation campaign is a great example of how creative risk can pay off. Sparked by a simple slip in the credits of the hit podcast Serial, the brand leaned into the mistake and built a whole campaign around it, using the blunder as a creative device.
They launched nine quirky projects with names that rhymed with MailChimp – from FailChips to JailBlimp – and backed them up with three short films. Each oddity was designed to spark curiosity, leading people to search for more. The payoff came with a clever redirect: ‘Did you mean MailChimp?’ It was bold, a little absurd and incredibly effective at making the brand unforgettable to new audiences.
Another example comes from IBM, which teamed up with WIRED magazine to make quantum computing approachable for everyone. The campaign features Dr. Talia Gershon, IBM’s quantum research expert, explaining complex concepts to a child, a teenager, an undergrad and a seasoned professional.
Rather than selling a product, IBM showcased its expertise, making the brand seem smart but relatable. The videos were highly shareable on social media, proving that sometimes the boldest move a B2B brand can make is to teach rather than promote.
So what’s holding B2B back?
It comes down to confidence – the confidence to trust your insights, your instincts and the ideas that stretch beyond a single campaign. Confidence to see risk not as the enemy, but as the alternative to stagnation.
Being bold doesn’t mean being reckless. It means stepping out of the comfort zone, trusting your instincts and remembering that even in B2B, buyers are human first. They want to be surprised, entertained and inspired.
With only 13% of companies embracing risk, the opportunity is clear for challengers. Because the real risk in B2B marketing today? It’s not taking one.