The Need-to-Knows of B2B Marketing, with Simon Murphy
Simon Murphy, head of business marketing for Edelman APAC, has taken a unique journey through the world of advertising. Today, his 25 years of experience in corporate affairs and communications is his greatest asset and the source of his invaluable insights into business marketing.
From heading Edelman's corporate division in Hong Kong to spearheading B2B marketing in the APAC region, Simon knows the importance of cultural and regulatory nuances for B2B success.
Emphasising the importance of integrated marketing strategies, brand storytelling, and thought leadership content tailored to target audiences, Simon stresses Edelman's commitment to building trust.
Speaking to LBB’s Tom Loudon, Simon discusses the impact of the International Association of Business Communicators' Ethics Committee, emerging trends in B2B marketing, and the diverse APAC advertising landscape.
LBB> You've had a fascinating journey within Edelman, from heading the corporate division in Hong Kong to your current role as head of business marketing for APAC. How has this journey influenced your approach to B2B marketing and communication strategies?
Simon> Thanks – it’s been a blast!
My time in Hong Kong was formative in genuinely understanding the cultural and regulatory nuances that make this region such a diverse melting pot. Regional communications approaches – whether B2B or not – in this part of the world need to be able to connect and solve problems at the market level truly, and if they don’t, then you are wasting your time.
LBB> What innovative strategies do you plan to employ to drive reputation, business demand, and revenue growth for B2B clients in the region?
Simon> You won’t be surprised to learn that we are very much advocates for brand storytelling that engages audiences over the long term, and therefore, very much focused on thought leadership content customised for and delivered directly to target audiences to drive reputation and business impact.
Subsequently, we broadly take an integrated ‘OneEdelman’ approach to every opportunity that comes our way, and these span thought leadership, public relations, digital marketing, creative, advertising and demand generation – all of which I am pleased to say we can already offer our regional clients in APAC.
LBB> How has your global perspective shaped your approach to working with clients and driving impact?
Simon> While no two briefs will ever be entirely the same, our profession is ultimately responsible for problem-solving – even more so when you consider just how exposed brands are in today’s always online and polarised environment. So, whether it be brand awareness or crisis response, the mandate for the communications and marketing function is mostly now always a commercial as well as brand storytelling one. Therefore, as communications practitioners, we must be comfortable wearing multiple hats.
As a result, whenever Edelman partners with a client on a brief, we consider all aspects of how impact may be measured, our ideas are insight and data and where possible, we seek the input of other senior stakeholders inside the business to get as complete a picture as possible to understand the challenge we need to solve.
LBB> Trust and relationships are crucial in the business world. How does Edelman build and sustain conviction to drive long-term impact for its B2B clients?
Simon> We see ourselves as a trust advisory firm, and this is driven partly by our 23-year (and counting) Trust Barometer heritage. This annual benchmarking study is considered by many as the de facto authority in terms of capturing the sentiment and level of global public trust in government, media, NGOs and business.
The same philosophy sits behind our fundamental belief that action earns trust, and this will always drive our thinking across sectors and specialisms when it comes to promoting, protecting and evolving our client's social license to operate.
LBB> You also sit on the Ethics Committee of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). How does this role influence your approach to maintaining ethical standards in the communications and marketing industry?
Simon> This new role reflects my belief that the communications industry needs to work harder to be seen as credible at the strategic decision-making level.
With the IABC, I get to work with a diverse group of senior fellow committee members who are there to offer advice around members’ ethical concerns, as well as take a front-foot approach on moral issues such as defining the working with AI principles, which our industry should commit to.
LBB> Could you share an example of a particularly challenging B2B marketing project you've been involved in during your career and how you and your team successfully overcame it?
Simon> One of the most exciting business marketing assignments that has come my way recently was from a large global technology company that wanted to create direct brand awareness and consideration with professional Gen Z audiences in Indonesia as the COVID pandemic was ending.
At the time, the client’s hardware was unavailable in this market, which added to the lack of brand awareness challenge from the start. Nonetheless, our in-market team designed a targeted pilot driven by the insight that because of the pandemic, young Indonesian entrepreneurs and professionals sought extreme flexibility to work from anywhere rather than return to the office.
To prove this hybrid working lifestyle was possible, we teamed up with three young Indonesian business influencers to share their best places to work across the country in an experimental interactive social campaign focused on the themes of stability, well-being, and productivity, which are values that our research told us matter most to this audience.
With modest investment and positive return, this pilot validated to our client the potential of working with influencers as part of their ongoing business marketing strategy in other high-growth potential markets around APAC.
LBB> What emerging trends or technologies will significantly impact B2B marketing in the coming years?
Simon> Here are five trends which me are top of my mind right now:
- The B2B opportunity in APAC is a significant one, but it should be approached with eyes wide open, and a test-and-learn strategy is best suited for solving our target audiences’ needs head-on.
- To capitalise on APAC’s flourishing B2B e-commerce opportunity, careful consideration should be given to navigating the unique cultural and regulatory nuances of different markets.
- The region's diversity means that B2B APAC marketing success requires diverse engagement strategies and skills, including AI, to succeed.
- AI holds significant potential in helping B2B marketers form a more direct, transparent and compliant relationship with mobile-first customers.
- Marketing is, thankfully, gaining an equal investment footing with sales thanks to the growing belief among business leaders that brand-led value proposition (and even customer promise) is best for long-term advocacy and growth.
LBB> Finally, what excites you most about your current role as head of business marketing for APAC and its opportunities for driving growth and delivering meaningful impact to clients?
Simon> I come from a generalist background. I am a natural-born storyteller, so what excites me most is that B2B is sector-agnostic and opens new ways of directly engaging audiences in APAC.
This lends itself to broader, more impactful brand-led storytelling, commercial problem solving (like the Indonesian example provided) and the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies such as AI, which will ultimately be a positive game changer for my clients’ businesses and our own.
