Finding Authentic Connections in a 126 BPM World

I'm just going to put this out there: in the symphony of B2B marketing, most of us are trying to hit the high notes without sounding like a cat walking across a piano. We’re aiming for that sweet spot—the rhythm that keeps our audience hanging on without confusing the daylights out of them. And guess what? It turns out that this magic zone might be around 126 beats per minute (BPM). Yes, the same tempo that a-ha used in The Sun Always Shines on TV. Coincidence? Maybe. Genius? More than likely.

Now, zip up your Members Only jacket for a minute —because we’re not just talking about music. We’re talking about rhythm, tempo, and keeping our audience engaged in a world full of B2B noise, jargon, and, if we're being honest with each other, more "synergy" than any sane person can handle. If you’ve ever sat through a webinar that felt like 10,000 PowerPoint slides had been crammed into your soul, you know what I mean.

So why 126 BPM? Neuro Scientists, who probably haven’t written much B2B copy but know a thing or two about our meat computers, found that people are naturally drawn to this tempo. It aligns with the pace of walking, crowd applause, and, apparently, the beat that keeps us human beings from collectively losing it. In B2B marketing, finding that tempo means hitting the perfect balance between educating your audience and drowning them in a sea of buzzwords and vague promises that might as well be made in Klingon.

Let's put a dab of Jovan?Musk for?men cologne behind our ears and consider this: marketing is like setting the beat for your customers. It’s not about creating some crazy avant-garde jazz where no one can follow the rhythm—no, no. We’re here to craft a tune that makes sense, feels familiar, and makes people think, "Hey, I could dance to this... if I weren’t at work."

Remember The Sun Always Shines on TV? (If you don't, stop reading right now, click on album cover and listen to it, and then come back because you'll thank me later.)

It’s upbeat. Optimistic. But when you look a little deeper, the lyrics tell a story of loneliness, longing, and the slightly absurd idea that life on TV is somehow more perfect than reality. Call me crazy, but does that sound like the B2B world or what? Customers—real, living, breathing human beings—are out there sifting through endless whitepapers, LinkedIn connection requests and immediate sales pitches, hoping for something real, something that doesn’t feel like yet another episode of "As the Corporate Buzzword Turns."

Our job is not to create a perfect TV version of our marketing. No one wants the Stepford campaign, do they? People see through that nonsense of "doing what we did last year" phoning it in marketing exercise. What they’re craving is connection. Something authentic. Something with a beat they can follow, a melody they can hum. When we hit that 126 BPM in our campaigns—when the messaging resonates and flows—we get people tapping their feet without even realizing it. That’s marketing magic.

And to top it all off: the haircuts. Yeah, a-ha had wicked cool haircuts back in the day, and there’s something to be said about the confidence to rock a certain look. Your marketing needs the same thing. Confidence. Not arrogance, but the kind of self-assured Norwegian synth-pop vibe that says, “Hey, we know what we’re doing, and we’re not going to shove it down your throat.” Trust me, your audience can smell desperation. They can also tell when you’re trying too hard. So, be like a-ha with their hair. Confident. Bold. But effortless.

When we keep our messaging at a cool 126 BPM—clear, rhythmic, and confident—we avoid the trap of overcomplicating things. We don’t want to overwhelm our audience with PowerPoints from hell or an endless parade of stats that no one’s going to remember anyway. What we want is a solid beat. A steady groove. Something that doesn’t just talk at our audience but invites them into the music.

Expectations we might consider: the sun might always shine on TV, but in marketing, it shines on good marketing efforts. Simple, confident, engaging, and with a rhythm that sticks in people’s heads. Our job isn’t to dazzle with complexity or impress with overly polished salesmanship. It’s to create something real, something people can connect with, something that makes them feel like, yeah, this company gets it. They’re not just selling; they’re creating a relationship.

And if we happen to hit that 126 BPM while we’re at it? Well, let’s just say our audience might end up dancing to the tune we’re playing—without even realizing they’re doing it. Because at the end of the day, isn’t that what good B2B marketing is? Hitting the right tempo, striking the right chord, and keeping the beat alive and kicking.

So, here’s to the rhythm, the marketing tempo, and—of course—the wicked cool haircuts. ??