Why B2B Brands Are Taking a Page from B2C Marketing.

If B2B marketing were a person, it would be the studious, rational, and logical one. Meanwhile, B2C would be the creative, chatty one, full of emotions. But what if B2B and B2C become besties and learn from each other?

The reality is that business buyers are still people. They don’t switch off their emotions when making purchasing decisions for their companies. They crave trust, connection, and a sense of belonging – just like any consumer. The most forward-thinking B2B brands are taking notes from their B2C counterparts, investing in brand-building and storytelling to create deeper engagement.

Enter Payhawk, a B2B fintech company that’s rewriting the rules. Known for its streamlined payment solutions, Payhawk has traditionally relied on performance marketing and LinkedIn-driven lead generation. But now, the brand is shifting gears -borrowing from B2C’s playbook to craft a stronger, more relatable identity.

For B2B brands looking to cut through the noise, Payhawk’s strategy offers a crucial lesson: branding isn’t a luxury; it’s a competitive advantage.

Brand trust in B2B is no longer just about product

B2B brands have long relied on product superiority to drive trust. The logic was simple: offer a feature-packed, efficient solution, and businesses would buy in. But in an era where product differentiation is razor-thin, trust is built on something more human – brand perception, credibility, and emotional connection.

Payhawk understands this shift. As a fintech company competing in a crowded market of expense management platforms, it recognises that being the best isn’t enough – it has to be the most trusted. Trust isn’t just about what a company sells but also about how it makes customers feel.

This is where B2B is borrowing directly from B2C. In consumer marketing, emotional branding is a dominant force – Nike sells motivation, Apple sells innovation, and Patagonia sells responsibility. Payhawk is applying the same principle, moving beyond transactional messaging to create an identity that resonates deeper.

But trust isn’t built through slogans or polished campaigns – it’s about sustained credibility. Payhawk’s approach includes:

Thought leadership that feels personal: Executive voices, not just corporate branding, lead the conversation on LinkedIn.
Community-driven engagement: Prioritising customer stories and success narratives over traditional case studies.
Transparency as a differentiator: Instead of product-first messaging, the brand openly discusses industry challenges and inefficiencies, making it a trusted advisor rather than just a service provider.

The takeaway is clear: trust is now an emotional currency. Buyers aren’t just looking for vendors; they’re looking for brands they can align with – ones that don’t just sell solutions but embody values that matter.

Branding Vs. Lead Generation

The divide between brand-first B2B companies and lead-gen-focused B2B companies is widening.

Take Payhawk’s approach compared to Ramp – another fintech firm in expense management. While Ramp has built its growth through aggressive performance marketing, SEO dominance, and high-volume cold outreach, Payhawk has prioritised brand storytelling, digital engagement, and interactive campaigns to foster long-term affinity.

The difference?

Payhawk is shaping brand preference, while Ramp is optimising for short-term conversion.
Payhawk has a higher organic brand recall, while Ramp still depends on direct-response advertising to stay visible.
Payhawk is engaging decision-makers emotionally, while Ramp is pushing product-first messaging.

Which strategy wins long-term? According to McKinsey, effective pricing strategies and tactics can deliver a 2% to 7% increase in return on sales. Meanwhile, companies with strong customer loyalty programs can command 5% to 25% higher prices than their competitors.

As markets become more saturated, B2B companies investing in branding will command stronger pricing power and avoid commoditisation.

B2B buyers expect the same engagement as consumers

The traditional B2B sales cycle – awareness, consideration, decision – once followed a structured, predictable path. Buyers would engage with sales teams after extensive research, comparing features and pricing before making a rational choice. But that linear decision-making model is fading. Today’s B2B buyers expect a seamless, interactive, and consumer-like experience.

They are no longer content with cold outreach, gated content, or rigid sales funnels. Instead, they demand engagement, personalisation, and trust-building interactions that feel natural, not forced. Brands that continue to rely solely on performance marketing or lead-gen tactics are missing the bigger picture: B2B buyers now expect the same emotional connection and intuitive experiences that define B2C brands.

So, how is Payhawk making B2B interactive?

One of the most striking examples of this shift toward engagement-driven B2B marketing is Payhawk’s recent Out-of-Home (OOH) campaign in London, which transformed traditional corporate finance messaging into an experiential brand moment.

Image Credit: Payhawk

At the heart of the campaign was the “Time Machine” – a giant interactive credit card installation designed to visualise just how much time businesses waste on manual expense management.

The concept: The installation highlighted finance teams lose up to 55,000 hours annually on manual processes, turning an abstract pain point into a tangible, relatable message.
The execution: Commuters at major London railway stations could press an oversized button on the installation, triggering a randomised generator of common finance team struggles – chasing receipts, reconciling expenses, or tracking missing invoices.
The impact: The campaign stopped busy professionals in their tracks, sparking real-world engagement and social media shares. By turning a mundane financial challenge into an interactive, humorous, and shareable moment, Payhawk redefined what B2B marketing can look like.

The campaign was designed to break the traditional mould of B2B financial advertising. The goal was not just to promote Payhawk’s solution but to create an immersive experience that resonated with finance and marketing professionals alike.

According to Payhawk’s CMO, Jack Cummings, the campaign speaks directly to professionals who manage international budgets, track team expenses, and juggle multiple financial responsibilities. By demonstrating the pain points visually and interactively, rather than through traditional messaging, the campaign created an emotional connection with the audience.

The Results

4 million impressions across London’s busiest commuter stations, reaching professionals in finance and marketing.
Direct engagement with thousands of business professionals who interacted with the installation and shared their experiences.
A shift in financial services advertising proving that even technical B2B offerings can be made engaging, relatable, and human.

Beyond OOH – A multi-touch approach to engagement

The “Time Machine” campaign was just one piece of a broader brand engagement strategy. Payhawk understands that building trust and loyalty in B2B requires multiple touchpoints beyond just one-off activations or static ad placements.

✔ Social engagement that feels authentic: While many B2B brands still treat LinkedIn as a corporate bulletin board, Payhawk engages in real-time conversations, shares user-generated content, and amplifies customer success stories, mirroring how consumer brands use social media to build trust.

✔ Customer journeys that don’t feel like sales funnels: Instead of aggressive retargeting or overreliance on gated content, Payhawk prioritises delivering upfront value through educational content, transparent discussions on industry challenges, and interactive digital experiences that help potential buyers form a connection before they enter the sales funnel.

✔ Experiential marketing that captures attention: Payhawk’s OOH activation is part of a larger strategy to make B2B interactive, memorable, and emotionally resonant. By using humour, human pain points, and interactivity, it avoids the stale, jargon-heavy approach still used by many in corporate finance marketing.

This shift is about rethinking how B2B brands connect with their audience. Decision-makers don’t want to be pushed through a funnel; they want to engage, interact, and trust a brand before they even consider a purchase.

The brands that understand and embrace this new reality will lead the future of B2B marketing. Those that don’t? They risk becoming just another forgettable vendor in an overcrowded market.

The Next B2B Battleground

B2B brands have spent years optimising for clicks, conversions, and cost-per-lead. But the companies winning today, and the ones that will dominate tomorrow, are optimising for something far more powerful: brand preference.

Payhawk’s shift isn’t just a marketing evolution; it’s a competitive strategy. Having good features isn’t enough to build trust. Digital ads no longer grab attention like they used to. Buyers want more than just a product; they want a brand they can trust.

The takeaway for B2B companies is clear:

Lead generation without brand equity is a race to the bottom. Companies that compete only on performance marketing will struggle to build lasting differentiation.
Emotional connection is a business strategy, not a marketing gimmick. Buyers don’t just evaluate solutions – they align with brands that reflect their needs, values, and identity.
The most resilient brands aren’t the loudest or the fastest-growing. They’re the ones buyers remember, trust, and return to long after the marketing campaign ends.

B2B isn’t becoming B2C, but the lines are blurring. The brands that recognise this shift first will not only set the standard but also own the future of business-to-business marketing.

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