Brand matters more than ever in B2B marketing. Why? Because too many B2B brands have been guilty of thinking that brand was only for B2C companies. They thought demand generation was more important.
The HR technology industry was one of the bigger laggards in B2B. There was an unspoken idea that because we sell serious, compliance-driven solutions, we need to present ourselves as serious and buttoned-down. The result? Boring brands, driven by bizspeak clichés and bad stock photography.
That attitude is beginning to change. At The Starr Conspiracy, our mission is to change B2B marketing forever. As a result, we’ve chosen to focus on brand to help companies in this industry connect to buyers better through effective, authentic brands. Because we do more market research in the HR technology space than any agency in the world, we know that the highest-performing brands gain and maintain market share, generate more revenue, experience better demand-generation results, retain customers longer, and attract more top talent.
We created the InfluenceHR Marketing Awards to recognize the best brands in HR technology and encourage the rest to up their game in the use of brand. At our InfluenceHR conference during the HR Technology® Conference & Expo, we honored 12 of the most powerful and fastest-growth HR technology brands with brand awards[SB1] . The winners were announced during an awards luncheon at the InfluenceHR conference, sponsored by HR Executive® magazine, on Oct. 18 in Las Vegas.
The InfluenceHR Marketing Awards are presented to recognize Brand Power and Brand Velocity in six different HR technology categories — Human Capital Management (HCM), Human Capital Management (HCM) for Small and Midsize Businesses (SMB), Employee Engagement, Talent Acquisition, Learning, and Benefits and Wellness. The 2015 winners are:
- Human Capital Management (HCM): Workday for Brand Power and Namely for Brand Velocity
- Small and Midsize Business-focused HCM: ADP for Brand Power and Zenefits for Brand Velocity
- Employee Engagement: O.C. Tanner for Brand Power and Glint for Brand Velocity
- Talent Acquisition: LinkedIn for Brand Power and Greenhouse for Brand Velocity
- Learning: Skillsoft/SumTotal for Brand Power and Udemy for Brand Velocity
- Benefits and Wellness: Fitbit for Brand Power and Virgin Pulse for Brand Velocity
The awards are based on quantitative and qualitative research conducted by The Starr Conspiracy Intelligence Unit to produce its Vendor Brandscape ReportsTM. The Brand Power Awards recognize the highest level of brand awareness, message focus, market position, and competitive strength. The Brand Velocity Awards recognize the brands that are growing fastest, building momentum, and disrupting industry categories.
Congratulations to the winners!