Why brand awareness matters more than you think in B2B marketing
Martin Lindstrom’s book Buyology exposes a truth that’s as relevant to B2B marketers as it is to multinationals peddling fizzy drinks: memory sells.
Lindstrom, a Danish author and Time magazine Influential 100 Honoree, delves into the depths of neuromarketing and the study of how people’s brains respond to advertising and brand-related messages.
By scientifically monitoring brainwave activity, the book’s research demonstrates that the most reliable indicator of advertising effectiveness is whether consumers remember a brand. And, crucially, how the memorisation of a particular brand dictates the future buying behaviour of an individual.
If a brand stays in your head, it stands a better chance of staying in your basket — or, in the case of B2B, your shortlist of preferred suppliers. Logos subtly embedded in TV shows, Lindstrom found, weren’t just memorable; they actively suppressed the recall of competing brands.
This is less about loudness and more about presence.
It’s a principle that underpins a strategy I’ve been refining for years: the Activation Window. Here’s the premise. For 30 to 60 days, targeted prospects see brand-focused advertising with no direct response or lead-generation message in sight. Just the logo, the tagline, maybe a link to ungated content — a report, a blog, a podcast interview, anything with no strings attached.
LinkedIn, with its granular targeting, is the perfect channel for this. After this period of subtle exposure, a lead-generation campaign typically yields results that outperform non-Activation Window campaigns by up to 50%. Why? Because memory has been seeded, trust has been built, and resistance has been lowered.
And while this might sound intuitive — a warm-up act before the headline event — the Activation Window is a B2B marketing strategy with deep roots in the science of advertising and consumer behaviour.
The Science of Brand Building: Lessons for B2B
Memory as a market advantage
Binet and Field’s canonical research into advertising effectiveness is a masterclass in prioritisation. Brand-building campaigns drive long-term growth. Lead generation delivers short-term blips. Read my article on the impact of long-term brand investment for more information on the subject.
It’s not a competition; it’s a sequence. The Activation Window takes this sequencing seriously, ensuring the brand’s familiarity is baked in before any sales pitch is made. The result? Prospects don’t just notice your campaign; they’ve already decided you’re worth noticing.
The extra share of voice effect
John Philip Jones’s research from way back in 1990 delivers a neat takeaway: market share grows in proportion to Extra Share of Voice (ESOV). In other words, the more consistently a brand invests into advertising its brand relative to competitors, the more they’ll dominate the conversation.
The Activation Window amplifies ESOV where it matters most for B2B companies.
LinkedIn’s precision targeting lets you ensure that when decision-makers think of solutions in your category, your brand is the one they think of. And hopefully the one they trust.
Suppressing the competition
There’s a darker, sharper edge to Lindstrom’s findings. Memory doesn’t just build your brand; it erodes others.
If your logo becomes the visual shorthand for a problem solved, competitors’ logos fade into irrelevance.
The Activation Window leverages this suppressive effect by ensuring that your B2B brand’s presence saturates the prospect’s decision-making process before they even realise a decision is being made.
Where B2B meets the Activation Window
LinkedIn: The perfect incubator
In the B2B marketing world, LinkedIn isn’t just another channel; it’s the channel.
The ability to target by role, seniority, company size, or even account make it uniquely suited to Activation Window campaigns.
Simple, repetitive messaging like “[Your Logo] – Simplifying Procurement” is enough to stake your claim in a prospect’s memory.
It’s a long play, but one with serious dividends.
Account-Based Marketing: Memory meets precision
Account-Based Marketing is often heralded as the pinnacle of modern B2B marketing. But it’s only as good as the foundation it rests on.
The Activation Window primes your target accounts, ensuring that by the time your ABM campaign hits their inboxes or dashboards, they’re already predisposed to engage.
Email Marketing: Brand first, sell second
Email is often pigeonholed as a direct-response channel. But in the Activation Window framework, email becomes a brand-building tool.
Share thought leadership, offer ungated insights, and focus on reinforcing your brand’s value without pushing for immediate action.
Direct Sales: Warmer than a July heatwave
Brand awareness doesn’t just help marketing.
Anecdotally, sales teams report fewer objections and smoother conversations when prospects already recognise the brand.
The Activation Window ensures that by the time a sales rep calls, they’re not starting from zero.
The Bigger Picture
The Activation Window isn’t just a marketing trick; it’s a way of respecting how decisions are made in the real world. Memory matters. Familiarity breeds trust. And trust precedes action.
Binet and Field, John Philip Jones, and Martin Lindstrom all offer pieces of this puzzle. The Activation Window ties them together into a B2B marketing strategy that’s as effective as it is simple.
For B2B marketers tired of diminishing returns on direct-response campaigns, the Activation Window offers a way out: build first, convert later. Because in the end, the brands we remember are the ones we choose.
Hire me as your B2B marketing consultant
Mastering B2B marketing isn’t just about chasing leads; it’s about building the kind of brand presence that prospects can’t ignore. That’s where strategies like the Activation Window come in.
If this approach sounds like the missing piece in your marketing strategy, let’s talk.
As a B2B marketing consultant I’ve spent nearly two decades helping B2B tech companies craft campaigns that drive measurable results — focusing not just on immediate gains, but on building lasting momentum through smart, research-backed strategies.
Buy the featured book
If you’re ready to dive deeper into the science of what drives consumer behaviour, Martin Lindstrom’s Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy is a must-read. The book unpacks the hidden forces shaping how we make purchasing decisions, blending neuromarketing research with exciting real-world insights to provide genuinely useful takeaways.