New center will develop market-leading strategies focused on commercial impact for business-to-business companies
April 21, 2021 – Chicago – Edelman today launched a new B2B Innovation Hub, based out of its Chicago office, to accelerate growth in the firm’s award-winning Business Marketing division. The Innovation Hub leverages Edelman’s heritage in earned media and evolving capability in account-based marketing to drive more effective demand generation strategies for companies looking to attract business-to-business customers.
“Corporations of all kinds are increasingly seeking targeted programming that drives measurable reputation and business results,” said Lisa Osborne Ross, Edelman’s incoming U.S. CEO. “Edelman’s B2B Innovation Hub will bring the best of our heritage in reputation management, coupling it with the latest technology to build hyper-effective demand generation programs.”
The B2B Innovation Hub builds on the success of Edelman Business Marketing, the firm’s fast-growing line of business focused on helping clients reach their customers at every stage of the buyer journey. It will advance Edelman’s use of marketing technology and B2B audience data to accelerate commercial impact for clients.
Led by Jake Parrillo, Executive Vice President and U.S. lead for Account Based Marketing, the Innovation Hub will bring together a multi-disciplinary team of experts with deep sector expertise and the ability to drive a cohesive customer journey, applying its resources to integrated assignments that span the marketing value chain.
“Increasingly, clients are coming to us for integrated assignments where they need a tight-knit team that can activate quickly in a test-and-learn fashion against their business strategy,” said Parrillo. “They want a business marketing SWAT team that can complement their in-house resources to design and execute new ideas, not an army that’s difficult to practically engage.”
“Communications, marketing, and sales teams need each other more than ever, especially as the pandemic has accelerated B2B buying behaviors toward online research and self-education,” said Joe Kingsbury, U.S. Managing Director, Edelman Business Marketing. “Clients seeking to shift buyer perception and reach new audiences need nimble partners with deep understanding of their target audience and new ways to connect with them. This multi-faceted team will increase our ability to develop holistic solutions that solve our clients’ most pressing challenges.”
Edelman Business Marketing is an integrated team of communications, marketing and technology specialists serving business-to-business clients across a wide array of industries. Key clients include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shell Aviation and ViacomCBS. The new unit, officially launched in January 2020 under Kingsbury’s leadership, recently earned B2B Large Agency of the Year honors from the Association of National Advertisers.
About Edelman
Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. Our 6,000 people in more than 60 offices deliver communications strategies that give our clients the confidence to lead and act with certainty, earning the trust of their stakeholders. Our honors include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for PR; Advertising Age’s 2019 A-List; the Holmes Report’s 2018 Global Digital Agency of the Year; and, five times, Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work. Since our founding in 1952, we have remained an independent, family-run business. Edelman owns specialty companies Edelman Intelligence (research) and United Entertainment Group (entertainment, sports, lifestyle).
About Edelman Business Marketing
Edelman Business Marketing is part of Edelman’s U.S. Corporate Affairs and Advisory Services Practice. The integrated team of communications, marketing and technology specialists works with clients in business-to-business categories such as aerospace & defense, energy, enterprise technology, financial services, manufacturing, and transportation, among others. The team also publishes an annual Thought Leadership Impact Study with LinkedIn. The study examines the business-generating impact of publishing quality thought leadership. Edelman Business Marketing was awarded 2020 B2B Large Agency of the Year by the Association of National Advertisers. More information can be found here.