The Hall of Fame of the B2B Marketing Award

The Dutch B2B Marketing Award is already going into its seventh year. Initiator SPOTONVISION puts B2B marketing cases and success stories in the spotlight: ‘Business-to-business still doesn’t get the attention it should in the Netherlands, that’s why we give the award and the winners of past years some thought.’

How it all started

In 2010 the first B2B Marketing Forum took place in the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam. The first B2B Marketing Award was handed out here. This is an award to stimulate innovation, efficiency and inspiration in B2B. Max Kohnstamm – lecturer at SRM and marketing columnist was President of the jury in 2010: ‘B2B marketing is a beautiful area to work in. It is a pity though that it doesn’t get much attention at all. A B2B Award therefore is a great initiative.’

Throughout the years the attention for B2B has been growing. We can tell by the amount of participants joining the B2B Marketing Award (and the B2B Marketing Forum). Ingrid Archer from SPOTONVISION coordinates the award: ‘the first year it was difficult to recruit participants. Nobody knew of the award and a lot of B2B marketers were busy with their daily work.

After several years the B2B Marketing Award has gained a permanent place in the world of awards and B2B marketers. And large companies like ING Commercial Banking, KLM, IBM, Philips and Océ are showing up on the long list of nominees.

Winners of past years

1.    Numac: Blimey it really works (2010)

Numac chose a new approach to reach a completely unknown target group. With their campaign ‘Blimey it really works’ recipients received a telephone by post. After a few days they received a call on this phone from Numac to make an appointment.

2.    Nationale Nederlanden: Nationale Nederlanden in conversation with the entrepreneur.  (2011)

With their campaign ‘Nationale Nederlanden in gesprek met de ondernemer’ (Nationale Nederlanden in conversation with the entrepreneur) the insurance company focused on entrepreneurs who run professional risks. Nationale Nederlanden organized 3-way conversations between entrepreneurs, experts and third parties to discuss reducing risks.

3.    Interface: Durability and innovation (2012)

Interface, world’s largest designer and maker of carpet tiles, knew how to anchor durability, design and innovation in company processes.

4.    DeliXL: Foodreporter.nl (2013)

Foodreporter.nl is an online platform managed by DeliXL. In a short period of time the platform gained a great reputation and it serves as a platform for users to talk about and discuss food. This way, DeliXL presented itself as thought leader in their industry against low costs.

5.    Philips: ‘Masters of Light’ (2014)

Philips Lighting used the newly opened Rijksmuseum as a showcase to promote LED lighting. Philips used an ‘outside-in’ approach and let others (the client) tell the story.

6.   Canon Nederland: The exceptional service battle (2015)

The marketers of Canon used their service department, who has daily contact with customers, to achieve ambitious sales targets in a short time. Their winning case: ‘The exceptional service battle’ stood out because of the smart objectives and amazing Return on Investment (ROI).

What’s in it for the winners?

We asked some of the winners what their biggest gain has been from winning the award: Sanne Kiel, Marketing Coordinator Benelux at Interface tells us that the award raised more interest in durability and the carpet tile products that Interface supplied. Sanne: ‘We also attracted a lot more media attention and we received more calls from companies who wanted information about us.’

Marco van Davenhorst, marketer and food reporter at DeliXL explains what the award brought them: ‘we received a lot of congrats and it showed us there is a lot of goodwill for our initiative. The award enforced the position of DeliXL as thought leader.

Your case in the race?

All in all, the B2B Marketing Award is a milestone you cannot ignore. Are you looking for prestige and confirmation? Confirmation that your marketing is successful and that it shows an example to B2B Netherlands? Would you like a place in the ‘B2B Hall of Fame’? Please apply and get a chance to win eternal fame with the B2B Marketing Award 2016.

N.B. Although applications can be send in English, please be aware that the B2B Marketing Award is a Dutch initiative, open to marketers based in The Netherlands. The deadline for application is 30 January 2016.