Thinking outside the box: Bringing creativity to B2B PR

By: Leif Payne, Account Manager

B2B PR doesn’t have to live and die by structured press releases, whitepapers and industry interviews. Here’s proof. 

Too many PR strategies play it safe. They cover the essentials, but often at the expense of creativity – the very ingredient that can make a brand strand out in a crowded B2B market. 

Don’t get me wrong: the basics work, and they have a place in any solid B2B PR strategy. But too often we shy away from sprinkling in a bit of imagination.  

When we see a brilliantly creative campaign land, we can’t help but think: why didn’t I come up with that idea?  

I’ve stood on both sides of the divide – from strictly B2B PR to the more consumer-driven, creative campaigns that drop jaws. What truly helps a business stand out is finding a fusion between the two. PR pros should step outside the trade verticals every now and then and strive to bring fresh energy to their work.  

Here’s the thing: creativity doesn't always need to be award-winning or outlandishly bold to be effective. Sometimes it’s just about finding a spark that makes people look twice, and, hopefully, remember you. 

And yes, sometimes it takes metaphorically whacking a client on the head with a ‘creative PR hammer’ to get them to see it – but that’s part of the fun, and an earnest effort in helping to nurture your client relationship. 

Why creativity matters 

When you’re selling software, solutions or equipment, you’re not exactly competing with household brands. But B2B audiences are still human and every purchase carries an emotional decision. 

Creativity helps to differentiate you from competitors, connect with your audience on a human level and demonstrate that even the most traditional industries have imagination.

The challenge often isn’t coming up with the ideas – it's securing sign-off from the decision-makers. But gaining PR buy-in is a conversation for another day. 

That said, creativity doesn’t mean a PR Week-worthy stunt that lands you in the hall of fame of B2B case studies. When I started writing this blog, I did what most of us do: I went down the Google rabbit hole searching for ‘great examples of creativity in B2B PR’. And while there are plenty of impressive examples to share with you, dropping them in here didn’t feel authentic. Instead, I wanted to share something closer to home – a campaign we delivered, and quite recently (before all you journos went on holiday!)

Speaking it into practice 

We worked with a long-standing client in a traditionally B2B PR space on a campaign they had run year after year. The usual approach would have focused primarily on securing solid trade coverage, with only a modest ambition of landing nationals. Instead of repeating the standard playbook, we challenged ourselves to inject a layer of creativity into our newsmaking and take this campaign to the next level. 

First, we explored which elements of the story could resonate beyond the usual audience. We brainstormed angles that would appeal to national media, tested story hooks internally and identified a narrative that combined relevance, timeliness and creativity – especially in contrast to what competitors were doing in that space.

Convincing the client wasn’t as challenging as I had anticipated. Naturally cautious about deviating from a campaign that had always worked, they were initially hesitant - but we hadn’t discarded the original approach. Instead, we were building on it, developing the campaign into a more ambitious initiative to drive brand awareness. By being transparent about our thinking and confident in our strategy, we were able to move forward together. 

Then, it was a matter of execution.  

The result? 49 pieces of coverage, including seven UK national titles, a very prominent city mayor tweeting about our story and even better - the British public debating our headline on socials. 

Beyond the numbers, the real win was seeing how a fresh approach could elevate a long-standing campaign. By applying a more creative lens, we were able to secure national attention and make the story resonate beyond the usual outlets. Even better, it was incredibly rewarding to see the client blown away by the results and the new energy we brought to their campaign. 

That’s all, folks! 

Remember, creativity doesn’t have to be reserved for consumer campaigns or award-winning stunts. By looking beyond the standard playbook and challenging yourself, both PR teams and marketers can elevate their brand propositions, capture wider attention and make their brand memorable - at least for as long as your SEO rankings hold up.