B2B WorldFest 2025: Sports sponsorship, AI in action, B2B NOT versus B2C, and why the brand-performance debate is void

From sports sponsorships to AI-powered decision-making, here are the insights that are reshaping how we think about B2B marketing.

Why sports sponsorships are winning in B2B

Sports sponsorships are big business in B2B and as tech brands race to form true partnerships that show their tech in action across big screen sports you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all about visibility.  But the session featuring Iron Mountain and TCS talked more about an emotional connection. TCS's marathon sponsorships and Iron Mountain's McLaren partnership demonstrate how sports can bridge the gap that B2B brands face. As one speaker noted, "Tech is hard to explain, and we don't have the visibility of B2C brands. Sports brings connection to stakeholders." And that’s not just externally. When Iron Mountain announced their McLaren partnership, employee engagement soared. Brand building in B2B shouldn’t only be thought of as an external job to do - it's a rallying cry for your entire organisation.

The brand-performance debate continues (but we're getting smarter)

The perennial question of brand versus performance spend came up repeatedly, but this time with more sophisticated answers. EY's John made a compelling case that we're often miscategorising our activities. Events, for instance, are brand-building exercises, yet we frequently attribute them solely to performance. This misattribution skews our understanding of what actually works.

Sage provided the most compelling evidence for brand investment: they have data from periods when they cut brand spend and periods when they invested. The verdict? When brand spend drops, the cost of generating leads increases significantly. Their journey to prove this through econometrics took a year to convince finance, but the real challenge was broader organisational buy-in. Their solution? Stop talking about "brand to demand" and start discussing "pipeline today and pipeline tomorrow"—language that resonates with sales and finance teams.

Not all B2B decisions are created equal

AI as your strategy partner

It was good to attend some AI sessions that moved beyond the hype into practical application. Matt McNeaney from WPP suggested using AI as an executive coach: ask it 20 questions about your career, then 10 deeper ones, then request advice. Bernard Marr advocated for AI as a thinking partner rather than just a tool – an opinion I share.  For me AI is an extra avenue to bounce ideas off, a source of different perspectives, rather than the answer.

One suggestion I really liked in theory was a company who loaded all their marketing data into an AI agent and gave their finance director direct access. Instead of repeated back-and-forth requests for specific reports, the FD could simply ask questions and get the numbers they needed.

Thanks to The Drum and Worldfest– always a place for real world ideas rather than the same old discussions!