Creativity – the Most Strategic Tool You’re Not Using Enough (Part 2… kind of)
If you read my recent thoughts on why creative thinking matters in business, you’ll know I’m passionate about reframing creativity as a strategic tool, not just window dressing. This time, I want to take that idea a step further and connect creativity to something we don’t talk about enough in B2B marketing: human behaviour.
Whether you’re selling to consumers or businesses, you’re ultimately selling to people. And people are not rational decision-making machines. We’re emotional, instinctive, and often irrational (even you engineers, even you!). That’s why the most successful brands, even in B2B, leverage creativity not just to look different, but to think different and shape perceptions. And when you shape perception, you influence behaviour.
Most of Your Market Isn’t Ready to Buy
There’s a common misconception in engineering and technically led markets. They think marketing’s job is mainly to generate leads right now. But the reality? Around 95% of your market isn’t ready to buy today (a concept highlighted by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute). That doesn’t mean they’re not potential customers, it means they’re just not in-market yet.
So what do you do?
You build brand salience, that top of mind awareness that makes people remember you at the point when they are ready to buy. And the key to building salience isn’t a a spec sheet full of features and benefits. It’s creative thinking. It’s ideas that make your brand stick in someone’s memory long before a purchase decision is on the table.
Distinctiveness and Differentiation: Two Sides of the Same Coin
There’s a lot of debate about whether distinctiveness (standing out visually) matters more than differentiation (having meaningful differences in what you offer). The truth? You need both.
- Distinctiveness makes you recognisable in-market. This comes from creative assets and consistent brand codes, your colours, logos, taglines, sounds, even a certain tone of voice. As Marketing Professor, Mark Ritson, often says, strong brand codes make your brand easy to spot in the wild, and that matters in a noisy world.
- Differentiation comes from positioning – how you define and communicate what makes your offer relevant and valuable. It answers the question: why should someone choose you over another option?
Creativity plays a role in both. It ensures your codes are memorable and your positioning is delivered in a way that resonates emotionally, not just rationally.
Why sometimes “A Little Bit Weird” works
Here’s where creativity really earns its keep. Standing out requires a degree of boldness. Sometimes that means being a little unconventional. Being just a little bit weird can help create that distinctiveness that gets you noticed and helps people remember you. Humour, for example, works in B2B because it aids memory and humanises your message. Neuroscience tells us that emotional triggers, laughter included, improve recall and influence decision-making later.
Think about it: when every competitor’s messaging says “innovation, quality, partnership,” do you really want to sound like them? Or do you want to create something that makes your audience smile, stop scrolling, and remember your name six months down the line?
Creativity Shapes Perception And Perception Shapes Behaviour
So here’s my train of thought: positioning is about perception. And perception can be influenced. If you can shape the way people think about your brand, what it stands for, how it feels – you shape the way they act when it’s time to choose. You’re essentially shaping buyer behaviour.
Creativity is the tool that allows you to do this.
It takes your positioning off the PowerPoint slide and embeds it in people’s minds in ways logic and bullet points never will. It’s the difference between saying you’re “innovative” and actually feeling innovative in the minds of your audience.
This is why creativity is not a fluffy add-on. It’s a strategic lever for growth. It helps you move from being a commodity to being a brand that commands attention, trust, and eventually, preference.
The Strategic Case for Creative Thinking
For senior leaders, creativity might sound like the opposite of strategy. In reality, it’s one of the most powerful strategic tools you have if you use it intentionally.
- It builds mental availability, so your brand is remembered when it matters.
- It creates distinctiveness and reinforces your brand codes, so your audience recognises you instantly.
- It amplifies positioning, which drives true differentiation and buyer behaviour.
Whether you’re targeting CEOs of global manufacturers or individual consumers, the principle holds: creativity works because it taps into human behaviour. And human behaviour drives business outcomes.
So next time you’re reviewing your marketing plan, ask yourself: Are we being creative enough to make people care? Are we willing to be bold enough to be remembered?
Because in a world where most of your market isn’t buying today, the brands that win tomorrow are the ones people can’t forget.
Ready to make your marketing unforgettable?
At CMB, we help brands in automotive, off-highway, and defence industries inject creativity into their strategy – not just for aesthetics, but to drive real business growth. If you want to stand out, stay memorable, and turn positioning into profit, let’s talk.
