Global Industry Bodies Come Together to Redefine the Future of B2B Marketing Success And Unlock Growth for the $19 Trillion B2B Purchasing Category
CANNES, FRANCE– June 18, 2025 : Today, the Global CMO Growth Council , the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), Cannes LIONS, IAA (International Advertising Association), and WARC have come together to unveil a new mental model for B2B marketing success that transforms the traditional B2B marketing playbook.
New research, ‘Buyability - The Future of B2B Marketing Success,’ created by LinkedIn in collaboration with cultural scholar and author Dr. Marcus Collins is a new industry-wide thought leadership initiative launched to better understand the real drivers of B2B buying and unlock new opportunities for the $19Tr B2B purchasing category. The initial findings from the research were unveiled in an exclusive CMO breakfast forum, followed by the Cannes LIONS Mainstage, earlier today, setting the agenda for B2B marketing to take center stage at the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference and the IAA B2B Brand Summit in October 2025.
The research, which surveyed 750 B2B buyers globally, demonstrates that B2B buying decisions are deeply influenced by culture, relationships, and organizational dynamics, and these factors give B2B buyers the confidence to buy. The data demonstrates that these emotional factors are ultimately more consequential on final buying decisions than transactional levers like product features and price. This insight challenges traditional B2B marketing playbooks, which focus on rational tactics, and underscores the need for a more human-centric, network-driven approach to growth.
Key findings from the ‘Buyability - The Future of B2B Marketing Success’ research include:
- The rules of influence in B2B have changed because of two reasons - generational and technological shifts:
- More than two-thirds of buyers involved in big-ticket B2B purchases are millennial or Gen Z according to research from Forrester. And AI agents are rewriting a marketer’s job today.
- Buyers today are consistently and predictably influenced by what is endorsed, trusted and used by people like them. Validation from people they can relate to is the ultimate decision-influencer and shapes buying decisions even more than the basics of product, price and brand fame.
- Relationships, recommendations and relatability are the 3Rs of Buyability — relational factors (recommendations from people I know) and relatability (customers from companies like mine) were much more influential that transactional dimensions like product, price, or marketplace position.
- When choosing from a list of vendors who already meet basic requirements,, the traditional sales and marketing dimensions – product features, price and big brand recognition - fall away: instead buyers look for cultural and social signals to validate their decision making.
- Recommendations from customers, like themselves, or colleagues who they trust are 3X more likely to tip the balance than products that are cheaper.
- Those recommendations are also 3X more influential than products that promise to perform better.
Jann Schwarz, Senior Director of Marketplace Innovation, LinkedIn, said: “Fundamentally, the aim of our research and this cross-industry effort is to empower B2B CMOs with insights that will help unlock growth in the $19Tr B2B purchasing economy. This is not about rebranding old ideas; it’s about unlocking a new playbook for B2B growth. The best way to drive buyability in B2B is to understand the importance of trusted human validation in making buyers feel confident to buy, driven partially by a cultural and generational shift happening in B2B buying. We are outlining this paradigm shift with data-backed insights to help brands reimagine marketing-driven success in B2B.”
Dr. Marcus Collins, marketing professor, best-selling author, and culture scholar, said: “When it comes to buyability, the functional job is just one third of the equation. What's the emotional job and the social job to be done? The branded products that perform best against those functions are the ones that are most likely to be bought.”
Nick Primola, Group EVP, ANA, said: “We have long discussed the untapped growth potential of marketing in B2B companies and brands. Now we are pursuing it with a level of effort that befits such a substantial opportunity for businesses to grow. The research highlights that in order to “be the brand that is bought in B2B” requires companies to invest more holistically in their marketing capabilities. Our presence here in Cannes and subsequently in October at the ANA’s Masters of Marketing will ensure that B2B marketing is no longer a peripheral discussion; it will be the central conversation.”
Paul Coxhill, COO, LIONS, said: “Creativity isn’t just for consumer brands—it’s the key to unlocking B2B’s full potential. Together with the Global CMO Growth Council and LinkedIn, we’re inspiring marketers to think bigger, act bolder, and embrace a more human-centered approach to B2B growth.”
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Methodology
LinkedIn commissioned NewtonX to survey 750 B2B buyers globally on B2B Buyability:
- 43% of respondents were VP level or above
- 41% of our sample were from large companies with 10K employees and above
- More than 25% of the sample were considering purchases of $5million and above.
All respondents in the sample played a significant role in buying decisions, including:
- Hidden Buyers, people who were from purchase functions like legal, finance, HR and procurement.
- Target Buyers, people who were product experts and users of the things they were buying.
About the ANA
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is the definitive voice of the marketing industry. Since 1910, we have set and advanced the agenda for marketing transformation, connecting over 1,600 member companies to an influential global network, insights and resources that drive growth. Our members represent 20,000 brands and $400 billion in annual marketing investment. Through industry-leading research, the CMO Growth Council, and our proprietary Growth Agenda and Practices, the ANA empowers marketers to shape the future of marketing and create lasting impact for their organizations and the industry.
About the ANA Global CMO Growth Council
The Global CMO Growth Council is a partnership between the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Cannes LIONS and represents over 1,200 chief marketers worldwide. Chaired by Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at Procter & Gamble, the leadership team includes 50 chief marketers from the world’s top brands. Since its launch in 2018, the Growth Council has mobilized thousands of CMOs and industry leaders around the world to transform marketing into a force for economic growth and a force for societal good. It is a community of influential and distinguished marketing leaders addressing key issues facing CMOs, their companies, and all of the stakeholders they serve. Chief marketers hold a privileged responsibility to accelerate broad and bold initiatives that will lead to lasting benefits for their brands, their customers, and our global society.
About LIONS
As The Home of Creativity, LIONS is the destination for those in the business of creativity. As the definitive benchmark of creative excellence and with unparalleled access to insight on how it works, LIONS provides those on the journey to creative excellence all they need, at whatever stage they are at and wherever they are. Our annual five-day Festival, Cannes LIONS, is the meeting place for the global creative marketing community and a celebration of the world’s most excellent and effective work.
About LinkedIn
LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the way companies hire, learn, market, and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has over 1 billion members and has offices around the globe.
About Dr. Marcus Collins
Dr. Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer, cultural translator, and best-selling author of For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be. He serves as Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing at Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and as a regular contributor to Forbes.
About WARC
For over 35 years, WARC has been powering the marketing segment by providing rigorous and unbiased evidence, expertise and guidance to make marketers more effective. Across its pillars - WARC Strategy, WARC Creative and WARC Media - its services include 100,000+ case studies, best practice guides, research papers, special reports, advertising trend data, news & opinion articles, as well as awards, events and advisory services. WARC operates out of London, New York and Singapore, servicing a community of over 75,000 marketers in more than 1,300 companies across 100+ markets and collaborates with 50+ industry partners.
WARC is part of Informa Festivals, part of Informa PLC.
About IAA
Established in 1938, the International Advertising Association is the global association that represents all areas of the marketing and communications industry. For over eighty five years the IAA has championed key industry issues such as freedom of commercial speech, self-regulation, responsible advertising, education and professional development.