Read Paul's Blogs
Insights, learnings and stories from the world of B2B marketing and communications, direct from Velo’s B2B agency team
Paul Crabtree
An IDM-qualified senior sales and marketing professional who has held board positions in various marketing agencies since 2005. Although he claims not to look old enough, the emerging silver locks tell a different story. As MD, founder and owner of Velo, his role is to lead the agency maintaining our quality standards to be the level that means we continue to be built on recommendation. He has a particular focus on new business, overseeing all our client relationships and leading our strategy function to make sure that our team has the skills and capabilities that our clients need, so we continue always craft great work to be proud of. Find him on LinkedIn here.
B2B Direct Mail is back. Did it ever go away?
“But is anyone in the office anymore?” This has been the standard objection to using direct mail over recent years. Mandated RTO policies are here. We know this as, in many places, it is causing conflict between management and employees. However, it feels like a one-way road, with some, like Publicis, going as far […]
B2B Marketing Agency Selection, B2B Sales Enablement
Why is it called “winning” a new client when a good client-agency relationship is a partnership?
The vocab is just wrong. If someone wins, someone else loses. To apply this vocab to starting a new business partnership exemplifies how the pitch process is broken. Most clients talk about appointing a new agency. Never winning a new agency. Why? In day-to-day life, you rarely speak this way. You don’t “win” a new member of […]
B2B Content, B2B Creative, B2B Marketing in Technology
What makes a creative B2B ad?
This article was prompted by a LinkedIn study into Drivers of B2B Ad Effectiveness. Using empirical data, it investigates what makes compelling B2B ads on LinkedIn. Of course, it has an agenda. Of course, LinkedIn is not the only channel used in B2B marketing. Of course, it has some flaws. But, it does have […]
Your competitors may be unwittingly cutting off their noses to spite their face.
The latest Gartner CMO survey reports that marketing budgets have fallen 15% YoY. Why? The adoption of AI and macroeconomic uncertainty. There are over 60 countries entering elections in 2024. Turbulence is an understatement. These factors are making long-term investments hard to justify. As a result, spending is falling and what remains is often […]
B2B Marketing Leadership, B2B Strategy
B2B marketing to a niche is harder than it looks – and under-appreciated
B2B marketers who promote a niche brand in a niche market are a rare breed. Quite simply, it is hard and demands one of the purest forms of marketing. With small audiences, each interaction and every message counts. You simply don’t have the gift of huge numbers to learn slowly. You need to plan, […]
B2B Branding, B2B Content, B2B ESG
How to calculate the footprint of your B2B website
At Velo, we’ve conducted a study into how to make a website as sustainable as possible. The reality is that carbon is emitted even just by hosting and serving your website. And, after all, we want people to visit our website and then engage with the content. It is not about zero emissions; it […]
How to measure your B2B brand strength
You might think your brand is powerful, but how can you be sure? Do you have a method for tracking it over time to effectively manage it? You might think your brand is powerful, but how can you be sure? Do you have a method for tracking it over time to effectively manage it? As a B2B […]
B2B Marketing Agency Selection
Is well-being in an agency the responsibility of the company or the individual?
Working in an agency can be hard, particularly at specific times of the year. We do our best to manage workloads and timelines at an organisational level, but with varied and challenging work, there is always room for improvement. Everyone has different needs and tolerances. Operating in a world where change is a constant simplifies […]
2024’s B2B marketing trends for those targeting a niche
We’ve sifted through over 75 individual trend reports to find what is relevant for B2B marketers, so you don’t have to! It’s that time of year when anyone providing professional services is sharing an opinion on the year ahead. And yes, we’re no different. What is different, however, is that we’ve identified what we […]
B2B Marketing Agency Selection
Absolutely (Christmas) Crackers!
2023 was crackers! We wanted to end it by putting a smile on all B2B marketers faces, with our Christmas Cracker hunt! The Velo team has hidden 12 crackers in our very own Christmas London festive scene for you to find. Each one contains some B2B marketing wisdom to help you in 2024 and hidden […]
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