Creative Marketing: Our 4-Step Guide to Perfect Campaigns

Marketing in the B2B world tends to follow a formula. Many believe that because they are selling to businesses, they must play it safe, offering assurances and efficiencies rather than risk-taking.

However, at the core of every transaction is a person, and people make decisions based on emotions, impulses, and feelings.

A study by Google found that B2B customers form strong emotional connections with their vendors - sometimes even stronger than those seen in B2C relationships. This highlights the need for creative marketing to foster these emotional bonds and drive engagement.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• What creative marketing is
• How it differs from inbound marketing
• A step-by-step process for implementing creative marketing

Campaigns with that "je ne sais quoi"

Explore some of our marketing case studies where we have generated revenue in innovative ways.

What is Creative Marketing?

Creative marketing is the process of using unique, disruptive ideas and techniques to promote a brand, product, or service.

It helps businesses stand out from competitors and deliver messages in a way that captures attention, creates engagement, and ultimately leads to conversions.

A creative marketing campaign should do more than just grab attention.

It should lead the audience to a point where they feel confident in making a purchase decision. It bridges the gap between curiosity and assurance, ensuring prospects take the next step in their buyer’s journey.

What is the Difference Between Inbound Marketing and Creative Marketing?

Here’s how we differentiate them:

Inbound marketing is a methodology coined by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah in 2005, focusing on content-driven strategies that attract and inform customers - letting them buy in a way that feels natural and non-intrusive.

It follows a structured approach, including top-of-funnel (TOFU) blogs, lead magnets, email nurturing, and conversion tactics.

Creative marketing, on the other hand, is the story behind your content. It creates memorable, compelling messages that inspire action.

Here's the truth though: We don't see it as an either-or situation.

We believe inbound marketing is most effective when paired with creative thinking. Testament to this is that 80% of marketers believe creative quality is key to marketing effectiveness (Marketing Week).

Inbound marketing builds authority and trust, appealing to the logical, analytical side of the brain.

Creativity, on the other hand, disrupts the status quo, sparking emotional responses that drive engagement and action.

Combining the two ensures that content is both strategic and emotionally compelling driving both a logical and emotional response from your audience.

Our Process for Developing Creative Marketing Campaigns

1. Plan Ahead

Successful creative marketing requires time, effort, and a clear vision. It’s not something that can be thrown together at the last minute.

Start planning at least a month in advance to ensure all necessary resources are allocated. This allows time for developing high-quality assets, refining the creative direction, and mapping out an execution plan that aligns with broader business goals.

Rushed campaigns often result in subpar creative that fails to resonate with the audience, so giving yourself this preparation period is critical.

Planning also provides the flexibility to adjust creative elements if necessary, ensuring that everything is aligned with brand messaging and audience expectations. Without careful planning, even the most promising creative concepts can fall flat due to execution challenges.

2. Brainstorm with Key Stakeholders

We believe that the best creative ideas come from collaboration. Bringing together key stakeholders from different departments ensures that a wide range of perspectives and expertise inform the campaign.

However, the focus should be on how to grab attention rather than immediately jumping into data-driven decision-making.

Creative marketing thrives on innovation and disruption, so a brainstorming session should encourage wild, unexpected, and even unconventional ideas.

Making sure when doing this to keep the customer at the centre of the discussion is crucial.

• Who are they?
• How do they consume content?
• What emotions can be triggered to drive engagement?

A well-structured brainstorming session should spark ideas that challenge the status quo, creating marketing that feels fresh and exciting.

One example of a creative campaign gone wrong is Burger King’s 'Women Belong in the Kitchen' campaign-  an attempt at promoting female empowerment that instead came across as misogynistic due to poor messaging.

This reinforces the need for careful audience consideration. Ensuring that every creative concept is tested and reviewed before launch can help avoid PR disasters and ensure the intended message is received positively.

3. Connect with Your Existing Marketing Strategy

Creativity should not exist in isolation.

As with every marketing tactic, creative marketing works best when seamlessly integrated with existing strategies. A campaign can generate buzz, but long-term success depends on sustained visibility and customer engagement.

Instead of viewing creative campaigns as one-off events, they should be designed to work alongside inbound strategies that nurture and convert leads over time.

For example, a company launching a new product might create a humorous social media skit that generates initial excitement. However, that campaign should be supported by a strong organic content strategy, targeted email marketing, and paid promotions to ensure ongoing visibility.

By layering creative elements on top of proven inbound marketing techniques, businesses can extend the lifespan of their creative efforts and maintain audience interest well beyond the initial launch.

4. Report and Scale

Once a campaign is live, measurement is essential.

Analysing performance metrics helps determine what worked, what didn’t, and how future campaigns can be improved.

You should focus on key B2B metrics such as ROI, revenue uplift, engagement rates, and sales pipeline impact. Success should not only be measured in terms of reach or impressions but also in terms of how the campaign influenced tangible business outcomes.

This is where talking with sales teams is critical in this process. They can provide insight into how creative efforts impact lead quality, conversion rates and revenue.

If a campaign shows strong results, the next step is scaling - expanding the reach, repurposing creative assets for different channels, and optimising future efforts based on learnings from the data. Through continuous refinement and strategic scaling, you can turn creative marketing into a repeatable and reliable growth driver.

Creative Marketing Strategy with Axon Garside

At Axon Garside, our methodology focuses on partnering creativity and knowledge with technology and methodology. By taking a strategic yet bold approach to marketing, we help brands break free from formulaic tactics and create messaging that resonates deeply with their audiences.

See where we have helped other businesses using this approach and driven real, attributable inbound marketing results by exploring our Inbound Marketing Case Studies.