ABM is still spoken about as a silver bullet. A way to open doors, personalise at scale and finally align sales and marketing. The problem is that most organisations expect it to behave like magic rather than work.

In this conversation, Benedict speaks with Lauren Daly and Andrew Shepherd from Palo Alto Networks about where ABM breaks down in reality. Drawing on experience running ABM in a large, complex organisation, they unpack the gap between how ABM is sold internally and what it actually demands operationally, culturally and commercially.

Rather than treating ABM as a tactic, the discussion reframes it as a privilege that requires clarity on account selection, shared ownership of outcomes and a willingness to confront uncomfortable trade-offs. From data fragmentation and misaligned incentives to the limits of personalisation at scale, the episode is clear-eyed about what works and what does not.

This is not a conversation about tooling or frameworks. It is about discipline, expectation-setting and why good ABM often looks a lot like good marketing done properly.

00:01:20 Why ABM is sold as a silver bullet

00:03:50 The biggest misconceptions sales teams have about ABM

00:06:55 Why ‘account’ thinking misses buying groups

00:11:00 Account selection as the real point of alignment

00:17:45 The data problem no martech stack fully solves

00:24:50 When ABM just becomes good marketing

00:33:10 Personalisation, AI and cultural readiness

00:41:10 Why incentives, not intent, cause misalignment

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In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict talks with Jigsaw's Head of Marketing, Jason Miller about the renewed importance of brand in B2B marketing.

Once seen as “fluffy” or reserved for consumer giants, brand is now the foundation for differentiation, trust and long-term growth. Jason argues that lead gen and performance marketing alone can’t cut it, and explains how clarity of message, consistency and community are what really drive results.

From defining a singular brand story to challenging the over-reliance on AI-generated messaging, Jason shares how B2B marketers can build lasting trust – and why those who ignore brand risk being left behind.

Highlights:

02:11 – Why the traditional B2B playbook is broken

05:20 – Brand as more than just awareness

07:23 – How to measure brand impact creatively

09:32 – Crafting a simple, powerful brand story

15:30 – Why events and community matter more than ever

21:13 – Persuading sceptics to invest in brand

23:21 – The future of demand gen vs brand

33:04 – Why protecting the core from AI is essential

🎙️ Tune in to hear why brand isn’t just a marketing exercise, but the key to surviving and thriving in B2B today.

Subscribe now and never miss an episode that challenges the status quo of B2B marketing. Listen to more episodes at www.alan-agency.com/podcast

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In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict explores a striking paradox with Nicole German, Global Chief Marketing Officer for Corporate and Institutional Banking at HSBC. His challenge is that despite having unprecedented amounts of customer data, many B2B organisations seem further away from truly understanding their clients than ever before.

Nicole refutes this assumption, articulating that the real opportunity lies in moving beyond raw data to decode the signals it creates. She reveals how HSBC transforms the complexity of multiple personas across multiple regions into meaningful client insights, turning data into actionable insights that drive trust and deepen relationships.

They discuss the evolution from campaign-driven marketing to always-on client engagement, why understanding business context matters in addition to having brilliant creative ideas, and how a global financial services giant moved the needle on share of voice from market insight to a podium position in just eight weeks during a period of trade uncertainty.

Highlights:

02:03 – With data comes signals and opportunity

05:40 – Managing personas across multiple regions and cultures

07:03 – Moving from campaign mentality to always-on optimisation

09:59 – The trade report that moved HSBC from 8th to 3rd in share of voice

14:16 – Know me, value me, service me: the client centricity framework

18:16 – Why great marketing ideas mean nothing without business sponsorship

21:46 – Balancing brand consistency with personalised relevance

26:22 – How global brands avoid tension between local and global messaging

Tune in to discover why signals matter more than data, and how speed can be your competitive advantage in client centricity.

Subscribe now and never miss an episode that challenges the status quo of B2B marketing. Listen to more episodes at www.alan-agency.com/podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.