The Long & Short of B2B

The Long & Short of B2B, pioneered by Les Binet and Peter Field, reveals that B2B growth requires a balanced investment between long-term brand building and short-term sales activation. Unlike B2C's 60/40 split, B2B effectiveness peaks at approximately 46% brand and 54% activation. This is driven by the '95:5 rule,' which posits that at any given time, only 5% of B2B buyers are 'in-market.' Therefore, marketing must build 'mental availability' in the 95% of 'out-of-market' buyers so the brand is the first one recalled when they eventually enter the buying cycle. Relying solely on lead generation (activation) captures existing demand but fails to create new demand, leading to diminishing returns and increased price sensitivity over time.

The principles of 'The Long & Short of B2B' were formally codified by Les Binet (Head of Effectiveness at adam&eveDDB) and Peter Field (Marketing Consultant) in collaboration with the LinkedIn B2B Institute and the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising). Building upon their seminal 2013 work, 'The Long and Short of It,' which focused primarily on B2C sectors, the duo published 'The Long and Short of B2B' in 2019. This research utilized the IPA Databank, an extensive repository of marketing effectiveness case studies, to analyze over 600 B2B campaigns. Their objective was to determine if the laws of growth identified in consumer markets applied to the complex, multi-stakeholder, and long-cycle world of B2B commerce. The findings confirmed that while the fundamental mechanics of brand and activation remain constant, the optimal ratios and creative strategies require specific adjustments for the B2B context.

The fundamental mechanism of the Long & Short of B2B rests on the temporal and psychological distinction between 'Brand Building' and 'Sales Activation.' Brand building works by creating and strengthening memory structures (mental availability) in the minds of potential buyers. This process is slow, emotional, and broad-reach; its effects are cumulative and decay slowly over years. In B2B, this is critical because of the '95:5 Rule,' identified by Professor John Dawes of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. In most B2B categories, approximately 95% of potential buyers are not 'in-market' for a solution at any given moment. Therefore, brand building's primary job is to influence the 95% so that when they finally do enter the market—months or years later—your brand is the 'salient' choice.

Sales activation, conversely, is designed to elicit an immediate response (e.g., 'Download Whitepaper' or 'Contact Sales'). It targets the 5% who are currently in-market. Activation is highly efficient at converting existing demand, but it has a high decay rate; its effects disappear almost immediately after the campaign ends. The mathematical tension arises because activation provides high immediate ROI, tempting CFOs and short-sighted marketers to over-invest. However, without brand building to 'prime' the market, activation eventually hits a ceiling of diminishing returns. Brand building lowers the cost of activation by making the brand more recognizable and trusted, and it allows for higher profit margins by reducing price sensitivity. The 46/54 split is the 'sweet spot' where these two forces work in synergy: the brand building creates a reservoir of future demand, and the activation efficiently harvests it.