Marketing Communications

ADVERTISING IN A BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS CONTEXT 231

On the other hand, there are a number of reasons why business advertising should not

be so diff erent from consumer advertising. Aft er all, the human element is present in both

situations, and some of the functions of advertising are common to both markets. As to the

second factor, in business-to-business communications, advertising is used to create aware-

ness and interest, and to build preference or reinforce the attitude aft er the customer has

purchased the product. As far as the fi rst factor is concerned, people are not all that diff erent

on and off the job, and are always subject to emotions, values and even biases. Some studies

even suggest that once basic performance criteria are met, business decisions are largely

based on psychological factors, such as earlier experience with a vendor, vendor credibility,

experience, fl exibility and reliability to serve customers in the future, and vendor commit-

ment to a particular technology.

In recent years, the consultancy industry has witnessed important mergers and acquisitions, accompanied by

renaming and rebranding of the companies involved. Rebranding and repositioning tasks are always accompanied

by major communication campaigns in which a variety of tools can be used. This is illustrated by the story of PWC.

In 1999, a number of companies merged into PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). The merger was accompanied by

a creative advertising campaign intended to build brand awareness and brand image among its high-profile busi-

ness customers worldwide. The 2001 ‘PWC Corporate Finance and Recovery’ campaign in the European business

press was shortlisted as Best Business Press Campaign for the prestigious European Media and Marketing Awards.

The company supplements its advertising efforts by sponsoring various initiatives, such as the Fast Track 100 and

Profit Track league tables, which identify the fastest-growing and most profitable UK companies. PWC also pro-

duces reports and survey results that are of interest to the boardrooms of its clients, and is strongly involved in the

World Economic Forum at Davos and the European Business Forum. PWC’s website is used to promote stakeholder

dialogue and supports the company’s extensive community programme, such as sponsorship of the Web-based

Maths Enhancement Programme with the University of Exeter. PWC also places a lot of importance on internal

marketing to inform and motivate its 20 000 employees.^128

BUSINESS INSIGHT

Advertising business-to-business consultancy services: PWC

All in all, studies show that the content and format of business ads are signifi cantly diff erent

from consumer ads in a number of ways. Th e most striking diff erences seem to be that fewer

people are depicted in business ads, the proportion of advertising space devoted to copy tends

to be greater in business advertising, product characteristics are more frequently mentioned and

psychological – as opposed to functional – appeals are seldom used in business advertising.^129

What are the dimensions of an eff ective business-to-business ad? Research shows that a

successful business ad should score on four dimensions: characteristics of the ad, the reader’s

feelings about his or her relationship with the ad, the selling proposition and the company’s

orientation or visibility. To score positively on each of the dimensions, business ads should

clearly use a rational approach. Th e ad should explain the product and the benefi ts of the

product, its quality and performance. Th e information should be presented in a logical order.

On the one hand, the size of the text should be closely monitored. Too much text and too

much information decrease ad eff ectiveness. On the other hand, the use of illustrations and

pictures, as long as they are relevant to the target group, enhances ad eff ectiveness. Including

too many people in the ad reduces its impact and, when people are shown, the target group

should be able to identify with them. All in all, business ads diff er and should diff er from

consumer ads, but there is no reason to assume that business ads should be dull, and packed

with text and information overload.^130

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