We act like B2B decision-makers only exist on LinkedIn between nine and five. But buyers don’t turn off when they leave the office. They’re still decision-makers when they scroll Instagram, watch Netflix, or cheer on their kids’ lacrosse game.
Captive, but Ignored
Millions of professionals sit down at night to watch the game or their favorite shows. They sit through commercials, but B2B brands are almost never there. Marketers default to LinkedIn because it feels safer, yet their buyers are everywhere — TikTok, YouTube, sneaker drops, cooking tutorials. When a message finds them in those moments, it can hit harder because they’re not expecting it.
Most B2B marketers still play it safe. LinkedIn. Trade pubs. Webinars. Nurture emails. Familiar, predictable, measurable. But safe doesn’t always mean smart.
Three Strategies Worth Stealing for B2B
Swing Big with TV, Streaming, and CTV
What to do: Run 30 second spots on TV, streaming, and CTV where your buyers are tuned in as people, not just professionals. This is a big bet and the messaging and creative have to match. It needs the energy to stand shoulder to shoulder with beer, car, and consumer ads. Repurpose the spot across YouTube, social, and other digital channels so the idea travels.
Use case: Electroelsa, an industrial B2B company, ran a medieval themed TV commercial that completely defied category norms. Salesforce has placed primetime ads during major sports broadcasts, and IKM created a CTV ad for our customer Resonate to broaden their reach.
Why it works: Nobody expects to see a B2B brand between a beer ad and a car ad. That surprise creates recall, especially when the creative has the strength to compete for attention.
Take the Field with Sports and Sponsorships
What to do: Put your brand where your buyers are personally engaged. Stadium signage, sports team promotions, jersey sponsorships, even youth leagues. Look at regional pro teams, major college athletics, or the local fields where parents are screaming on the sidelines.
Use case: Our customer Appian sponsored the Washington Nationals, putting their brand in front of a broad DC-area audience with deep ties to government and enterprise. Tech companies like Oracle, AWS, and Lenovo have also attached themselves to Formula 1 racing to align with innovation and speed. As BrandingBusiness notes, sports sponsorships are increasingly becoming a strategic play for B2B brands, delivering credibility, visibility, and deeper client connections.
Why it works: Sports carry passion and community. When your logo is part of that environment, you gain attention and credibility LinkedIn posts can’t buy.
Own the Everyday with Outdoor Campaigns
What to do: Billboards, subway takeovers, bus shelters, and digital screens in office towers. The physical world is still a powerful media channel. Apps are used at lunch, in bathrooms, in cabs. Outdoor ads sync perfectly with those in-between moments.
Use case: Dropbox ran minimalist subway ads in New York that became iconic for their simplicity. Slack used outdoor campaigns in San Francisco and New York to drive awareness before its IPO, and Workday invested in large-format outdoor ads to establish credibility with enterprise buyers. BMOutdoor proves outdoor strategies can help B2B brands build trust, drive awareness, and increase brand consideration by reaching decision-makers where they commute and live their daily lives.
Why it works: Outdoor is about ubiquity. You stop being a vendor and start being part of the environment. Buyers can’t scroll past a billboard.
The Catch
Yes, B2B buyers are everywhere. Yes, there are countless untapped channels beyond LinkedIn. But here’s the hard truth: showing up in those spaces only works if you’re willing to be seen. Outside the business bubble the concentration of targets is lower. It’s harder to justify experiments to leadership and the competition for attention is brutal.
This means the creative has to be stronger, braver, and more human than anything you’d post on LinkedIn. It’s not about whether the channels exist. It’s about whether your brand has the will to take the risk.
The Takeaway
B2B buyers are everywhere and the opportunities to reach them are endless but the easy routes are already crowded. Stepping into unexpected channels isn’t just about budget or media plans, it’s about will. The will to take risks, trust your intuition, and show up with unshakeable purpose. In the end, brands that step outside the bubble will be the ones people remember when it’s time to buy.
