Negativity Creep Is Marketing’s Biggest Buzzkill

B2B marketing teams are still feeling the squeeze. Economic challenges, rapid tech changes, and rising customer expectations are pushing everyone to the limit. But there’s another issue creeping in: negativity.

Negativity isn’t just a feeling. According to the Trades Union Congress, 1 in 8 workers now have insecure jobs, a number growing three times faster than stable employment. And what does insecurity lead to? Caution. Doubt. Negativity.

When people feel uncertain about their future, they’ll play it safe. But in marketing, where creativity wins hearts and minds, playing it safe means standing still. And standing still is a real problem when growth is already hard to come by. KPMG’s Global Economic Outlook predicts global growth will slow from 2.7% in 2023 to 2.5% in 2024, with only a slight rebound expected in 2025. In an environment like that, staying still is as good as falling behind.

Creativity Under Pressure

In a world where you have to fight for every percentage point of growth, creativity is one of your biggest assets. But creativity isn’t just about the big idea, the visuals, or the catchy line that helps you stand out. It’s also about how creative you are in orchestrating, actioning, and driving those marginal gains that turn average performance into exceptional results. It’s a constant not a momentary spark.

Yet, when uncertainty clouds decision-making, it’s easy to see why teams stick to safety first. After the brief boom post-Covid, where tech marketers hit a real purple patch, it’s hard not to feel like the best days are behind us.

Negativity seeps into everything - how teams work, the quality of output, and how marketing and sales interact. We’ve all seen it. When one team starts feeling the pressure, others follow, causing a 'negativity creep.'

Bold marketing requires space to think and experiment, but that’s exactly what’s being squeezed out. So, how do you stay bold and keep pushing for those marginal gains when everything feels like it’s shrinking, and you’re role feels uncertain?

Staying Nimble

Clear goals, using what you have smartly, and the ability to stay nimble isn’t new but it absolutely helps. And it’s not just about the numbers in front of you - it’s about the story they tell. Even when things look a bit grim, there are always small wins and lessons that can offer valuable insights that keep you moving forward and something to build momentum around.

Here’s a case in point and a story I love from a recent client report:-

We achieved a huge spike in performance here and it has given us more learnings to build from and explore. But what stood out wasn’t just the numbers. It was the process behind them:

• The consistent build of brand awareness with target accounts over weeks
• The testing and learning around what messages resonated with different stakeholder groups
• Using these insights to create personalised emails and landing pages that hit 91% open rate and 50% click-through, identifying nearly 100 highly engaged key individuals
• Equipping the sales team with insights and tools to continue the conversation with qualified leads
• Setting the foundation for even deeper personalisation and communication

By no means was this an overnight success, but it’s progress. For context, this example comes from a fiercely competitive sector, and it came at a time when negativity began to creep. We had already been hitting industry benchmark engagement and CTR but weren’t seeing the kind of traction we wanted. It was hard fought and gives plenty of reasons to stay optimistic.

Technology of course can lighten the load when used right. AI, for instance, helped me test potential messaging in the case study above. But at its core, it’s not about the tools- it’s about how we work together and bring out the best in each other, positively and with a determined focus on our shared goals.

Bold, Not Safe

Despite all the challenges, the basics of marketing haven’t changed. It’s still about knowing your audience and delivering genuine value. What feels different now is the environment-it’s relentless, and it demands constant adaptability.

Creativity thrives under pressure. It’s one of the most valuable assets we’ve got. At Seeblue we’re revisiting our own marketing, and the process has been incredibly exciting, with bold moves from Orla Murphy and Helen Brown . We can’t wait to show you what’s coming. *

We believe that by focusing on what matters and being bold when it counts, optimism will follow. It might not deliver 10x growth overnight (we wish it did!), but it’ll be worth it.

And it’ll feel good.

*PS. If you want first glimpse of our own bold moves, come visit us at The Global ABM Conference from B2B Marketing on the 6th November, where as they say ‘extraordinary times need extraordinary thinking’? https://events.b2bmarketing.net/b2babmconference

#performance #b2b #marketing #abm #creativity