This is the week that was: Revealing the new b2b buyer

It was the week that tens of thousands of public sector workers took to the streets in protest at changes to their pensions, Jeremy Clarkson wished he’d kept his mouth shut and YouTube decided to give its website a spit and polish.

Here at Earnest, the hangovers finally cleared after bagging 6 B2B Marketing Awards at last week’s celebratory do, allowing us to bring you another week’s finery in B2B marketing…

Frugal thinking of the week

…goes to ROI guy, Tom Pisello and his  fine blog post considering how economic pressures (frugalnomics) will define how people buy in 2012.  Tom outlines four tangible ways we can overcome some of the challenges through effective content marketing. From how to convince buyers of the cost of doing nothing to how to overcome scepticism and really engage those folk holding the purse strings, it’s well worth a read to help shape your strategy for next year.

Mobile web trend of the week

With mobile Internet usage set to overtake desktop Internet usage by 2014, Forbes looked at the implications for search. From considering how mobile users are more likely to conduct shorter keyword searches through to the potential of Geo-targeting, it’s a compelling read for us marketing folk.

Head scratcher of the week

Back to the buyer… Tony Zambito took a look at how buyer decision-models are changing and how marketing and sales need to adapt. Armed with the fact that buyers are typically 70% into their buying processes before encountering direct sales interaction these days, Tony argues that the stages of the buying cycle are not as clear as they once seemed. It’s all about understanding why buyer decision models are transforming, recognising that there’s more than one model and adapting accordingly. Easier said than done, but food for thought.

Deadline push back of the week

You know how it is. You needed that campaign out of the door yesterday. The brief’s out to the agency – but because the clock’s ticking you’re putting the squeeze on them to get those fab new concepts back over pronto. For Cafe Creative, an agency in Hungary – enough was enough. Sick of being asked to do more work in less time, they put together this video short. We know deadlines are tight but only getting 30 seconds to put together an ad campaign – well that really is pretty tough.

Tech launch of the week

…goes to Nokia and the launch of its Lumia phone in London,  with a light show extravaganza on the banks of the Thames. No burning platforms this time round but 800 windows of the Millbank Tower, former home of the Labour Party, were covered with vinyl to capture images beamed onto them by 16 projectors on the other side of the river. The result is pretty breath taking – but isn’t it time for a b2b brand to embrace the power of 4D projection and show them how it’s really done?

This was the week that was. And not an infographic in sight. We hope you had a good one.