Human Digital Enters Final Stage of ANZ B2B Marketing Leaders Research

Human Digital has entered the final stage of its first ANZ B2B Marketing Leaders research report, following almost 18 months of research design, industry engagement and data collection across Australia and New Zealand.

The research was developed to better understand how B2B marketing is changing across the region, with a particular focus on three areas: people, process and technology.

The study explores the priorities, challenges and investment decisions shaping B2B marketing today, including talent development, customer relationships, customer journey optimisation, brand alignment, artificial intelligence, digital transformation and marketing effectiveness.

The objective is to create a practical benchmark for B2B marketing leaders across Australia and New Zealand, while also identifying the trends likely to shape the profession in the years ahead.

Research moves into analysis and report development

With the data collection phase now largely complete, the project is moving into analysis and report writing. Human Digital has been joined by two emerging marketing professionals who will support this next phase of the research.

• Finja Sophie Pott is currently on exchange at the University of Auckland Business School from the University of Münster in Germany.
• Rajat Bhatia is studying at Auckland University of Technology and is also part of the Marketing Association Top Talent programme.

Their involvement brings an important academic and emerging talent perspective to the project, while also creating an opportunity for students to contribute directly to industry research with practical relevance for B2B marketers.

A collaborative industry initiative

The research has been developed in collaboration with the University of Auckland Business School and supported by a number of industry partners across Australia and New Zealand.

Human Digital would like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr Drew Franklin and Tim Kalwey, who have played an important role in progressing the research from its early stages through to the final analysis. The project has also been supported by the Marketing Association, Australian Marketing Institute, The Marketing Club AU/NZ and Firmable.

Building a benchmark for B2B growth in ANZ

B2B marketing continues to evolve rapidly. Advances in artificial intelligence, changes in buyer behaviour, rising expectations around customer experience and greater scrutiny of marketing investment are placing new demands on marketing leaders.

At the same time, organisations are reconsidering how their marketing teams are structured, which capabilities they need internally, how technology should be used, and how marketing contributes to broader commercial growth.

The ANZ B2B Marketing Leaders research is intended to provide a clearer picture of how organisations across Australia and New Zealand are responding to these changes. Rather than focusing only on emerging trends, the report will seek to identify practical patterns in how leading organisations are approaching talent, technology, customer experience, investment and marketing strategy.

What happens next

The project team is now working through the research findings and developing the final report.

The next phase will focus on identifying the most significant insights from the data and translating them into practical findings that B2B marketing leaders can use to benchmark their own organisations and inform future strategy.

Human Digital expects to share further updates as the report progresses towards publication.

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