“Humour in B2B? Never!” Andisa Ntsubane on the Cannes Category
Responsible for leading a world-class brand, marketing and communications capabilities for the Vodacom Group Limited, Andisa Ntsubane is all too familiar with the Creative B2B Cannes Lions category.
Ahead of the 2024 Festival and winners being announced, Andisa sits down with LBB to hear about how he’s tackling the jury room and how he’s looking forward to being on the Palais stage.
LBB> How are you planning on approaching the Creative B2B jury and are there any preparations you go through before you sit down to see the work?
Andisa> The most important thing for me is to be fully present and focused when reviewing the body of work both in the build-up to, and at Cannes with all the judging that is required. Many people and agencies have put in a lot of time and effort to submit these entries, and therefore, as a Jury, we must honour their efforts by being fully present.
British author, speaker and international advisor Sir Ken Robinson once said, “Creativity is the art of original ideas that have value.” I really like the “that have value” part and it is critical for us as a jury to identify the value of the ideas in the 2024 entries, but more importantly, to have a lens, that asks whether each body of work(s) helps to move the B2B Category forward. It is the decade for B2B, and the quality and impact of the work must get better each year. In terms of preparations, I focus on immersing myself in the latest insights, themes, innovations and creative trends that are shaping the B2B landscape globally but at the same time, I am also a big believer in the importance of allowing ‘gut feelings’ about creative work, so I also like to relax let my mind be stimulated by being conscious about brand and marketing messages across different markets.
LBB> What are the current big debates within the category - or more generally across the industry - that you expect to see coming through in the jury room?
Andisa> You won’t believe me when I say that one of the debates, notwithstanding that we are in the third year of the category, is around the question of, ‘What is B2B?’. It can get confusing and there is no global standard definition that binds all of us, it gets interesting with concepts such as B2B2C, B2C2B and B2H so I fully appreciate why we can still have some of these debates even after we have been given the platform to truly build awareness and credibility around the art and science of B2B around the world. So, I intend to give clarity on this important question to ensure that we, as a Jury, are aligned so that we can single-mindedly focus on the task of judging the quality and standard of the work.
LBB> This category launched in 2022 and from then onwards, which campaigns in this category have stood out to you, and why?
Andisa> It was a privilege to see the great work in this category over the past two years and even though I really appreciate the 2022 Creative B2B winner, ‘Seeking In Colour’ by Sherwin Willians as it effectively and effortlessly demonstrated the importance of the blend between technological innovation with emotional storytelling. Having been on the Creative B2B Jury in 2023 I will say that I truly appreciated the ground-breaking work by, ‘Das Chair’ by VW, ‘Flock Freight’ by Flock, ‘Beer Power’ by Heineken, ‘Rockstars’ by Workday and ‘Certified Human’ by Intel, but there is absolutely no doubt about my favourite, which was the Grand Prix Winner, ‘Ert4 – The most urgent IPO’ by B3 and the UN Global Compact!
The most amazing part is that, despite the debates on all other categories, the jury was unanimous on the nomination for the Grand Prix. The power of an idea to change the world was so palpable! I truly believe that Creativity in B2B is one of the most powerful platforms to drive transformational change in the world and this campaign has set the benchmark and standard of how the opportunity and impact for B2B needs to be viewed. I still get goosebumps just thinking about it! Truly proud to have awarded the Grand Prix
LBB> Humour is the big new 'culture and context' subcategory this year - how do you think comedy could be better leveraged, specifically in the Creative B2B category you're judging?
Andisa> I beg your pardon - Humour in B2B? Never! Kidding, well… not, to be honest. The point is that there is a perceived convention that marketing in B2B has to be formal, serious and highly functional due, not only to the big financial decisions involved in B2B transactions, but also the technical nature of the propositions, services and solutions in this category, yet this could not be further from the truth because the reality is that the group of individuals making the decision are also human and therefore it is important that emotion is triggered as part of the process, and humour can play a big role within that. The only proviso is that the humour must be located within the context of universal human truth and be relevant for the brand. One of my favourite examples of this from one of last year’s B2B winners was a campaign from Workday called 'Rockstars'. Great insight, excellent creative idea, heartwarming humour, great relevance and fit for the brand, great execution and highly memorable! Having said all this, I would only caution that humour needs to be used wisely so that it enhances the creative concept and message without overshadowing the professionalism that B2B audiences expect.
LBB> How can clients enable their creative agencies to unleash better campaigns and projects?
Andisa> Most clients want innovative, bold, compelling, differentiated (and award-winning) campaigns but they do not always create the enabling structure, processes, capacity, and freedom for agencies to deliver on these campaigns. My view is that it is important for clients (B2B and B2C by the way) to have a vision to create businesses and brands that are “worthy of emulation”. They should seek to be so leading-edge that they set the benchmark and standard for others to follow. Agencies cannot be inspired if they do not have an inspiring brand ambition that is set by the client. This is the foundation and platform from which an agency can create compelling, differentiated, and inspiring work. Agencies need to have a deep understanding of their clients’ businesses, know the levers that drive growth, create creative bold and breakthrough ideas that enable a stronger connection with buyers in order to drive business results. If agencies are intricately intertwined in the client’s business and propose great ideas, what is left is for clients is to be brave enough to work the internal systems to get these ideas approved. That’s how we create the magic required to build brands that are worthy of emulation.
LBB> What are some of the considerations of Creative B2B which make it different to B2C advertising and how does that impact the work?
Andisa> If I were the author of the global definition of B2B, it would be, “a business product, service, solution, proposition or experience whose primary buyer is a business decision-maker or group of business decision-makers who make/conclude a purchase/transaction on behalf of another business”. If this is true then any insight and creative insight needs to address the problem the business is trying to solve for and because there are multiple stakeholders and a longer sales cycle in B2B, it requires a more nuanced approach to messaging, balancing technical information, branded experiences with strategic storytelling that connect emotionally. Business decision-makers are not going to make a billion-dollar decision without understanding all the technical information, insights, and commercial value.
B2C on the other hand has multiple dynamics that impact on a consumer’s perception, experience, and love for a brand. We also know that consumers are often influenced by other consumers too which is a critical part of the positioning role. The task therefore is to capture the imagination and attention of the consumer, clearly articulate the value and create an emotional connection to create brand love. Because in B2C, you are talking to an individual consumer, the communication channel strategy will be different, and you may not need to go into all the technical details in terms of the proposition, service, or solution. Having said all this, I believe that B2C Marketers have a lot they can learn from B2B Marketers. Some of the leading Marketers come from B2B but they do not always get the credit they deserve. B2B can help move the Marketing profession forward
LBB> How do you expect AI to impact the Creative B2B category? How will the judging process consider this aspect of the creative process?
Andisa> AI's impact on B2B is profound, from personalised marketing to creative automation to efficiencies in Account-based Marketing to Lead Generation to predictive analytics. Our judging will critically assess how AI is used to create more meaningful and effective customer engagements without diminishing the creative quality or strategic intent of campaigns. The only risk marketing practitioners run when it comes to exploiting AI is falling in love with one of these systems, like that Korean guy. Have you seen that? There may be polarizing views on AI but my one thing is for certain and that is that it that it is an integral part of our future. My view is that we need to think about it as a tool to enable Marketers to become more efficient and effective at creative resonance, production efficiency and commercial impact.
LBB> Other than this category, which others are you keeping an eye on?
Andisa> Given the ever-evolving nature of our creative profession, I am particularly keen on seeing what the creative data, creative business transformation, and creative commerce categories have to offer this year. These categories are the proof that our industry is truly connected to the technology transformation happening around us but more importantly, are stepping up to the challenge and responding accordingly. Finally, in the Good category, I am particularly excited about the Sustainable Development Goals category. This SDG category celebrates creative problem-solving solutions that harness creativity and seek to have a positive impact on the world. I am more and more convinced in the transformative power of Creativity to solve some of the largest social and environmental challenges that we face across the world.
LBB> Outside of the jury room what are you looking forward to learning or doing at this year’s Cannes Lions? What’s your favourite part of attending?
Andisa> 2024 is going to be a truly special year at Cannes. As president of Creative B2B, I am most definitely looking forward to being on the Palais stage, representing the Jury and the B2B Industry around the world, to announce and award the winners of the B2B category this year. In addition to that, under the visionary leadership of Jim Habig, Keith Browning, and others at LinkedIn, they are launching a B2B Film on Monday the June 17th at Cannes, called 'Everybody’s Business', which is the story of B2B. A global first, and a project I am truly proud to have been a part of, so I am excited and looking forward to being there for the Premiere. I look forward to the opportunity to learn from global creative leaders and experience diverse perspectives and inspiring discussions that challenge and expand my own understanding of what’s possible in our creative industry. Lastly, I have always been a strong advocate of the African continent at this global platform as I truly believe that the world has much to learn from Africa from a Creative point of view. I am excited to see what the continent has been up to this year. It’s Africa’s time at Cannes!
LBB> Do you have any top tips for jury presidents or people sitting on any award show juries? Can you share them with us?
Andisa> Our greatest responsibility is leaving things better than we found them and so I would say that the main task is to move each and every category forward, every year. We must continuously improve on the quality and standards that were set before. It is a responsibility that I take so seriously that I have said to my jury members, that we should rather not award a category where we do not feel that there is a body of work that meets the standard and benchmark for moving the category forward. For other award juries, I would say, stay curious and open. Each entry is a learning opportunity, and it's essential to appreciate the context and the creative journey behind each submission. Encouraging open discussions and multiple viewpoints enriches the judging process and ensures fair and insightful evaluations.
