Read that again. In 2025, amid AI transformation, automation, and unprecedented global competition, more than half of B2B CMOs treat brand as optional. A nice-to-have. A soft investment for when budgets allow.
The rationale? They don’t see the return. Nearly two-thirds of senior marketers say brand building doesn’t deliver ROI. More than 40% admit their companies simply don’t understand what the brand is worth.
These are extraordinary admissions from the people responsible for driving long-term growth.
The short-term addiction
The modern B2B marketing machine runs on immediate gratification. Clicks. Leads.
Conversions. Metrics that prove activity, not impact.
The research bears this out: half of B2B firms focus primarily on short-term tactics like social ads, paid search, and email campaigns. Only 7% invest meaningfully in long-term brand building.
This obsession with what’s measurable has created a dangerous illusion of control. When results appear instantly on a dashboard, it feels safe. Responsible, even. But what’s really happening is that marketers are optimising for efficiency at the expense of effectiveness – trading lasting brand equity for fleeting visibility.
The irony? Brand is the most powerful multiplier of B2B marketing performance.
The B2B Institute at LinkedIn, alongside researchers Les Binet and Peter Field, has demonstrated that the optimal ratio of brand to activation spend in B2B is roughly 50:50. Most firms spend closer to 20:80. The result is predictable: growth stalls when brands stop investing in long-term reputation.
Brand equals business value
It is accepted wisdom in consumer markets that building brands powers business value.
Forgoing building a brand means that, as a CMO or brand owner, you are content to be a commodity rather than distinctive. And let’s face it, that doesn’t make sense.
Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung don’t just sell products; they sell meaning, status, and trust. But in B2B, there’s a stubborn belief that decisions are purely rational. Buyers care only about features, pricing, and specifications.
They don’t.
Every B2B purchase is a personal risk. A CIO doesn’t buy software; she buys confidence that her choice won’t fail. A procurement director doesn’t choose a logistics partner; he chooses predictability and peace of mind.
Brand is the risk insurance of B2B commerce. It’s what gives buyers the confidence to sign.
The data confirms this. McKinsey research shows that trusted B2B brands command up to a 20% price premium, while buyers are 2.5 times more likely to shortlist vendors they recognise and trust. Edelman’s Trust Barometer consistently identifies brand trust as one of the top three deciding factors in B2B purchasing.
The dividend of trust
Strong B2B brands generate trust, credibility, and pricing power, the three things every CFO should value. And, when CEOs react quickly in the face of a crisis, this engenders trust as well.
When B2B enterprises invest in their brands, they grow in business value. By making its brand synonymous with innovation, 3M turned risk-taking into a competitive advantage, earning consistent recognition among America’s most admired companies. The brand also sustained exceptional long-term profitability.
Similarly, Intel Corporation’s ground-breaking 'Intel Inside' campaign shifted buying behaviour dramatically, but also saw its market capitalisation rise from $10.2bn in 1991 (when the campaign launched) to $208.5bn by 1998. As of late 2025, the company’s market valuation is some $177,94bn.
Consider IBM, which has reinvented itself repeatedly without losing its aura of reliability. That brand credibility allows it to charge premium consulting fees even as smaller, nimbler competitors enter the field.
Or Microsoft, whose enterprise brand strength underpins Azure’s cloud market success. In a market where technical capabilities are often at parity, trust, not just technology, drives market share.
Then there’s Salesforce. Every time it launches a new AI or analytics product, enterprise buyers adopt quickly. The brand’s authority, built through years of consistent messaging and customer success stories, smooths the path to purchase.
Brand reduces cost, risk, and churn.
Beyond revenue and margins, branding delivers operational advantages.
A trusted B2B brand reduces acquisition costs because customers come to you. It accelerates sales cycles, as brand familiarity shortens the journey from first contact to conversion. It reduces churn because customers feel connected to brands they trust.
Branding also enables innovation. When Adobe shifted from boxed software to cloud subscriptions, its brand reputation carried customers through the transition. Today it’s a SaaS powerhouse – not because the business model was unique, but because the brand had earned the right to lead that transformation.
This is the unseen ROI of a brand. It doesn’t appear on quarterly dashboards, but it manifests in market share, talent retention, pricing power, and resilience during downturns. In other words, the fundamentals that make businesses truly valuable.
The long game wins
Brand building isn’t a campaign. It’s a commitment.
It’s about creating mental availability and ensuring your company is front of mind when a buying decision arises, which in B2B might happen once every three years. That’s why short-term metrics miss the point: by the time your lead data updates, the brand decision has already been made.
The IPA Databank proves that businesses balancing brand and activation outperform those focused solely on activation by up to 67% in long-term profit growth. The evidence is overwhelming, yet many B2B marketers continue to spend as if their buyers operate on six-month cycles.
The long game isn’t flashy, but it’s strategic. It’s what separates enduring companies from those that fade with their latest campaign.
CMOs must reframe ROI
If B2B marketers believe brand doesn’t pay off, they’re measuring it too narrowly.
ROI isn’t just a financial ratio; it’s a reflection of strategic patience. Trust isn’t built in a quarter, but through thousands of interactions over time.
Great brands understand this. They invest in distinctive creative work, storytelling, thought leadership, and consistent, emotionally resonant communication. Not because it’s soft, but because it’s effective.
In a world where algorithms commoditise everything and products are easily replicated, brand is often the only defensible advantage remaining.
The bottom line
Half of B2B CMOs say brand doesn’t matter.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
Brand isn’t the soft stuff – it’s the clever stuff. It’s why Microsoft, IBM, and Salesforce can charge premiums, attract top talent, and weather volatility. It’s why investors pay attention.
In B2B, performance marketing might win the sprint. But the brand wins the marathon.
And the marathon is where business value lives.
