July 16, 2025
In the first of our events in partnership with The Washington Post at Cannes, the WMG hosted a lively panel discussion about how B2B marketing can be transformed by the power of storytelling. The session was moderated by WMG CEO Jamie Credland, with insights from Johanna Mayer-Jones, Global Chief Advertising Officer, The Washington Post, Michele Reale, Executive Media Director, Twogether, and Sarah Thomas Ph.D. Group CMO & EVP, Capgemini.
From boring to bold
Credland opened the panel by asking why B2B is suddenly getting so much attention. Michele Reale pointed to several forces including post-COVID behavioural shifts and a new generation of buyers, including Gen Z, who expect a different experience from brands, all of which means the old marketing rulebook is no longer valid. “I think there’s a stronger realisation that, with a bit of bravery, B2B brands can do amazing campaigns and have amazing stories to tell,” he said.
Sarah Thomas, Global CMO and EVP at Capgemini, agreed adding that her agency background fuels her drive to push creative boundaries. “As a B2B marketer, I don’t want to do boring stuff,” she said, stressing that “B2B doesn’t have to be boring.”
Storytelling meets strategy
Capgemini’s recent work with sports sponsorships illustrates how compelling narratives can intersect with strategy. From their America’s Cup sponsorship to the Tour de France, the brand has turned high-profile events into storytelling platforms.
Thomas recounted how Windsight IQ, a data tool originally intended as a marketing asset, became a commercial asset, attracting interest from aviation clients. “It’s turned into something more commercially focused, but was designed to enhance sailing fans’ experience so we could tell the story all the way through from the sponsorship. That’s the dream scenario that we all look for.” The compelling narrative succeeded in making people look at Capgemini and what they do in a different way.
Thomas also emphasises the human side of innovation. In campaigns, her team highlights their engineers, the real creators behind the tech, while mentorship programmes for female athletes in rugby link brand values with authentic human stories.
Human-centric storytelling from publishers
Johanna Mayer-Jones, Global Chief Advertising Officer at The Washington Post, emphasised that while B2B once veered heavily into bottom-funnel, lead-generation tactics, the pendulum is now swinging back to brand storytelling. What’s changed is “the insight that even the people you’re selling your B2B products to are humans, and so still love human-centric storytelling and want to feel connected to something and understand the mission.”
The Washington Post leverages its data insights to guide B2B clients toward creative solutions grounded in audience behaviour. “That’s the superpower of publishers, and always has been,” she said. “Based on all of our own first party data, we understand what these senior decision-makers are reading, why they’re reading it, when they’re reading it, and what they do after they read it. And that allows us to create much better proposals and strategies for our clients.”
From business problem to narrative
A recurring theme was that the line between marketing and business strategy is blurring. Today’s B2B campaigns don’t just sell features; they solve problems.
Reale noted how it was easier to show marketing impact now, thanks to the amount of data available now to B2B marketers. “I think marketing teams feel a little bit more empowered to do storytelling and build stronger brand recognition. Showing economic impact has become a little easier, although more work is required to bring data sets together to show causation as well as correlation. That said, we know that trusted brands tend to outperform weaker brands as buyers turn to those brands for complex B2B buying decisions.”
Thomas agreed, sharing that within Capgemini, she often faces pragmatic, data-driven stakeholders – mostly engineers. To win internal buy-in, she aligns every bold idea with clear business objectives and measurable outcomes. “That’s where the data comes in. Think like a commercial marketer, don’t make it fluffy. Make sure it’s anchored towards driving and supporting the business goals. We show how we are monitoring and continually improving feedback,” she said.
Data, AI and the complexity of B2B
B2B solutions are growing more complex, and storytelling has become essential in demystifying them. Whether it’s AI, data insights or digital transformation, our panelists stressed that marketers must translate abstract concepts into real-world stories. Buyers need to see the application. “You can’t just talk about AI. You have to show use cases, which will really help people understand the impact that this technology can have on their businesses,” said Mayer-Jones.
Breaking through internal barriers
One of the biggest roadblocks to great B2B marketing can be internal resistance. Thomas highlighted the importance of crafting compelling business cases, especially when trying to push bold ideas through ROI-focused leadership. Part of that is having agency and publisher partners who challenge you, push you further and bring in fresh perspectives.
”I would much rather go in with a big idea that’s way out there, and then rein it back into something that’s pragmatic and practical, than to go in small, because at the end of the day, we all want to do great work, and I want something that motivates and inspires me, as well as all my teams, and brings the best out of them.”
All three panelists agreed that the challenger role is critical. Marketers need collaborators who aren’t afraid to disrupt the status quo and provoke new thinking.
New KPIs beyond lead gen
The panel also discussed how success in B2B must shift from short term metrics to long term business outcomes. Brand-Value, business outcomes, talent recruitment and executive visibility are all key outcomes that rely on top-of-funnel storytelling. And while short term performance data still matters, fragmentation remains a challenge. All three panelists urged B2B marketers to develop more cohesive, long-term econometric models to prove impact and build trust with leadership.
Adapt or miss out
With digital behaviour shifting fast, especially with AI transforming search and content discovery, B2B brands need to rethink how they reach and resonate with audiences.
“C-suite buyers are under a huge amount of pressure to pick the right vendor, the right partner,” Reale said. “Storytelling has to be the backbone of your marketing if you want to be in the top three list in any type of complex purchase decision, especially now with things like conversational AI and peer-to-peer information factoring into purchase decisions,” he said.
A call to be bold
As the session closed, the panelists shared one piece of advice for B2B marketers:
Mayer-Jones reinforced the point about being disruptive and a challenger: “This could be the most exciting moment in B2B – everything’s up for grabs. So push harder with partners; be provocative, don’t settle.”
Reale warned “80% of buyers don’t want to talk to a salesperson on the other side. So with that in mind, how are you going to reach your audiences if you’re not bolder and more brave with your storytelling?”
Thomas’s advice was “Keep it human. Focus on the stories behind what’s going on. That’s what’s engaging and interesting because humans connect to humans.”
It’s clear that in a world where B2B products are increasingly complex and attention is scarce, storytelling is no longer a “nice to have”. Whether you’re brand-building, recruiting talent or demystifying technology, the narrative you tell can define how your company is viewed and whether your audience cares about you. The message from the panel was clear: the era of boring B2B is over – we need to tell better stories.