1、TOP 100 MOST INSPIRING B2B BRANDS IN THE WORLD 2023Welcome to Inspired B2B 2023,Wunderman Thompsons latest update on the worlds most inspiring B2B brands.This report is grounded in our evidence-based Inspire methodology,a powerful tool that helps us deliver on our purpose of inspiring growth for amb

2、itious brands.B2B brands are seeing the power of emotion to drive growth and that is a key factor in creating an inspiring B2B brand.2what is inspiration?In a personal context,thats an easy question to answer.Inspiration is the feeling that new possibilities are in front of us and that we can make a

3、 change or do something exciting and personally meaningful.3Inspire is a global research initiative that uncovers a never-before-identified connection between brand growth and human inspiration.The foundation of Inspire is a rigorous,multidimensional research methodology that includes qualitative an

4、d quantitative research across four continents and sophisticated data analytics.Based on over 20,000 interviews,weve identified the qualities a brand must embody,the narratives it should weave and the experiences it can design to spark peoples inspiration.The platform launched in 2020 with the“Inspi

5、ring Growth”study that explored what makes brands inspiring and how inspiration drives tangible brand growth.The result?A now annual list of the Top 100 Most Inspiring Brands in the World,with a specific B2B Top 50 published in 2021,now extended to the Inspired B2B Top 100 in 2023.This study shows t

6、hat inspiration is a process,where the brand puts forward a new,positive possibility for people,one that they feel compelled to take advantage of.Based on research into inspiration in the field of motivational psychology,we determined that inspirational brands score highly on three factors:Elevating

7、.We feel good when we think and act in an altruistic way.Elevating brands demonstrate a positive impact on society and a caring approach to their customers.This in turn creates a sense that choosing them would help us be the sort of person we aspire to be.Its measured in our dataset by looking at sc

8、ores for“cares for its customers,”“socially responsible”and“helpful.”Magnetic.This speaks to the social power of a brand;people feel pulled to the brand.We derive the Magnetic score by using the scores for“leader,”“best brand,”“would recommend to a friend”and“gaining in popularity.”Motivating.Motiva

9、ting says that the brand offers something different that will help you accomplish your goals.The metrics that make up Motivating are“good value,”“high performance,”“simple”and“distinctive.”The study showed that a brands Inspiration Score,based on how strong it is across those three factors,is highly

10、 predictive of its ability to drive growth in market share and command a price premium.inspire what is inspiration in a brand context?4To succeed,B2B brands must engage and inspire diverse buying groups.Work done by Binet and Field,and the LinkedIn B2B Institute has identified that B2B brands that m

11、ake an emotional connection and drive“fame”are just as successful as B2C brands.Digging into the Inspire database,we see the same powerful relationships between B2B brands Inspire Scores(across the three key factors of Elevating,Magnetic and Motivating)and their ability to perform in the marketplace

12、,grow faster and command premium prices.brands outperformthe marketSource:Wunderman Thompson Global Inspire Study,B2B brands,2023.Top-quintile vs.bottom-quintile Inspire Score performers.why brands always win.2.7xmore likely to bepreferred2.4xmore likely to beseen as relevant1.5xmore able to sustain

13、 premiumpricing2.6xmore likelyto be bought3xmore likely to berecommended5 playbookThis latest Inspired B2B Top 100 update builds on a growing body of learnings about how B2B brands can inspire growth and win.We call them the three Ss.6123Stand out when others cant.Make distinctiveness a primary goal

14、.Too often B2B represents a sea of sameness in terms of what brands say and how they say it and if you cant stand out and inspire buyers in a company to think and talk about your brand or service,you face an uphill struggle to being chosen.Being memorable is the first step to getting there,which mea

15、ns that you need to present your brand or service in a distinctly human way.Start with a clear view of your customers needs and then simplify everything else.After all,51%of global B2B buyers say that B2B sellers dont understand the friction points in the online buying experience.Show up where other

16、s dont.Be known and notable before buyers need to know you.Just as with any other purchase,it matters that you have inspired B2B customers to consider your brand or service long before they make a buying decision-after all,only 5%of tech buyers are in the market in any given quarter.Stay in their vi

17、ew by showing your innovative spirit in what might at first seem to be surprising places,but where your important decision-makers spend their time.Say what others wont.B2B marketing has too long been an area where marketers have played it safe,to fit in rather than stand out and inspire.B2B brands s

18、hould have a point of view about the markets in whichthey operate and their role in them anything that lacks a unique perspective or repeats the current consensus is probably better left unsaid.There is of course a time to make a logical argument for your product or service,even if your competition

19、is making one thats remarkably similar.But that wont get your brand noticed,talked about or bought.Your customers are ultimately human,and you still need to meet them in human ways,to make a true emotional connection.Inspiring them with warmth,humor and creativity is just as important as making a so

20、und business case.7MOST INSPIRING B2B BRANDS IN THE WORLD891.6.3.8.2.7.17.4.9.5.10.11.16.13.18.12.14.19.15.20.21.26.23.28.22.27.24.29.25.30.31.36.33.38.32.37.34.39.35.40.41.46.43.48.42.47.44.49.45.50.51.56.53.58.52.57.54.59.55.61.66.63.68.62.67.64.69.65.70.76.73.72.7177.78.74.79.75.80.81.86.83.88.82

21、.87.84.89.85.90.95.93.94.99.97.98.100.91.96.92.9Perhaps reflecting the still-turbulent business environment,the established tech,tech services and logistics brands that provide dependable structure and stability continue to represent the B2B power brands dominating the Inspire Top 20.Seventeen of th

22、e 2023 Top 20 were also Top 20 in our last rankings in 2021,and positions within the Top 20 have been relatively stable.These brands remain the inspiration engines with the ability to place themselves at the center of business peoples lives,and stay there.But look more deeply into the Top 100,and th

23、e 2023 rankings show that its all to play for when it comes to inspiration.Many brands beyond the top 20 have dramatically changed their ranking,showing that these are metrics that brands can move,shifting the needle on growth.It reminds us that while established brands dominate,new brands have a un

24、ique window of opportunity to inspire,with two new brands(albeit restaged established businesses)going straight into the Top 20 Kyndryl(IBM spinoff)at No.15,and Meta(Facebook)at No.16.Other tech brands are among the big movers who are successfully inspiring business audiences to create the condition

25、s for accelerated growth.Dell moved from No.7 to No.3 overtaking IBM,HP,and Intel;Adobe leapt from No.98 to No.28 and Huawei took a massive leap-moving from outside the Top 100 to No.44.10A major trend this year is the rise of consulting and accounting businesses in part because of an economic envir

26、onment where businesses are increasingly looking outside themselves for inspiration,but also reflective of the sectors broadening offering and growing mission to inspire.Accenture leads this trend(No.29 in 2023),followed by EY(No.32),Deloitte(No.36),Boston Consulting Group(No.38),McKinsey(No.41)and

27、KPMG(No.50).All have significantly improved their inspiration status since 2021,with PWC(down from No.39 to No.66)the only faller.As the world opens up post-COVID,its also interesting to note the strong presence of travel brands in the InspireB2B Top 100.Of course,the long-established car rental bra

28、nds(Hertz,et al.)are still there,but 2023 sees the rise of primarily B2C travel brands among B2B audiences,as these brands increasingly ramp up their B2B offering to bring more inspiration to the business travel category.New top 2023 entrants include Airbnb(No.51),Expedia(No.56)and Tripadvisor(No.63

29、).11While the InspiredB2B Top 100 showcases success,its perhaps a reflection on the state of B2B brand marketing more broadly that the average Top 100 brand delivers four times the inspiration of the average B2B brand(across the total of 662 brands covered in 2023).In fact,about half of total brand

30、inspiration is delivered by the Top 50 brands.more inspiration:paths to growShare of inspiration(cumulative)B2B brands,global12So,for B2B brands outside the Top 100,the fundamental issue is how to address the failure to inspire audiences in any significant way or scale.Top 100 brands are delivering

31、inspiration the challenge is more strategic in terms of how best to grow their inspiration power.And its still a steep gradient to climb;within the Top 100 the power to inspire is heavily skewed to the Top 10,with the average Top 10 brand delivering 16 times the inspiration of the average B2B brand.

32、Its here that the more granular Elevating,Magnetic,Motivating data(components of the overall Inspire Score)can provide valuable,brand-specific insights.For example,the most inspiring B2B brand,Apple,has a 12%lead overall versus the second-placed brand,Microsoft,in 2023(up from 7%in 2021)this is larg

33、ely down to a 31%lead on Magnetic(leadership,etc.),up from a 19%lead in 2021.Microsoft is already relatively strong on Elevating,but has room to grow,on Magnetic and to a lesser extent,Motivating.Dells rise from No.7 in 2021 to No.3 in 2023 can be largely explained by a big increase on scores for El

34、evating(cares for its customers,etc.).Now it holds a strong lead versus IBM,HP and Intel on this Inspire factor,where it was well behind in 2023.Kyndryls ascent to No.15 has been powered by Motivating(understanding of the high performance it delivers).As a young brand,its relative weakness is Magnet

35、ic(leadership,etc.),and this will be the focus for further growing its inspiration power.13Inspire is a proprietary global platform that explores what makes brands inspiring and what inspires consumers,making Wunderman Thompson the worlds leading researcher into inspiration.The foundation of Inspire

36、 is a rigorous,multidimensional research methodology,including qualitative and quantitative research across four continents,and sophisticated data analytics that identify the qualities a brand must embody,the narratives it should weave and the experiences it can design to spark peoples inspiration.I

37、nspire has two core components:Inspire InFocus:the worlds largest social study on inspiration that maps the psychological link between peoples deep rooted,often subconscious value systems and their inspiration preferences,enabling us to predict how humanity will be inspired.Inspire InFocus feeds our

38、 proprietary syndicated motivational segmentation,which enables brands to apply these powerful insights to target audiences and strengthen their marketing strategies.Inspire Score:a proprietary brand diagnostic tool that identifies the brand attributes that fuel growth through their power to inspire

39、 people,culminating in an annual list of the Top 100 Most Inspiring Brands in the World.Validated by consumer analysis and powered by WPPs Brand Asset Valuator(BAV)database which contains more than 340,000 brand perception studies covering 63,000 brands worldwide,from over 1,000 categories across 25

40、 industries and 52 markets,over 30 years.The 2022-23 B2B data is made up of over 13,000 studies of over 600 brands among managers in 15 business-focused categories and 32 markets.At Wunderman Thompson we exist to inspire growth for ambitious brands.Part creative agency,part consultancy and part tech

41、nology company,our experts provide end-to-end capabilities at a global scale to deliver inspiration across the entire brand and customer experience.We are 20,000 strong in 90 markets around the world,where our people bring together creative storytelling,diverse perspectives,inclusive thinking and hi

42、ghly specialized vertical capabilities to drive growth for our clients.We offer deep expertise across the entire customer journey,including communications,commerce,consultancy,CRM,CX,data,production and technology.Wunderman Thompson is a WPP agency(NYSE:WPP).Contact us:aboutusaboutinspireinstagram facebook linkedin X14