Mar 21, 2025
How can B2B brands use original research to drive thought leadership and marketing success? Todd Lebo, CEO and Partner of Ascend2, specializes in helping businesses create data-driven content that builds authority and engagement. In this episode, we dive into the top five marketing trends shaping 2025 and how research can be leveraged to craft compelling narratives. From starting with the executive summary to ensuring insights tell a clear story, Todd shares expert advice on how to make research more impactful and actionable.
Full Episode Details
As we close out the first quarter of the year, Todd joins hosts Zontee Hou and Jason Keath to not only explore the top 2025 trends shaping B2B marketing, but to also share insights on the ongoing challenges of unifying data across multiple sources and why marketers need to rethink their martech stacks to stay ahead.
Todd also dives into the role of AI in making data more accessible, how companies can maximize the value of research studies, and why marketers should revisit past ideas as technology evolves. Plus, he highlights the power of frontline marketers in uncovering real, actionable insights—and shares a great story about how a simple conversation reshaped the way a financial tool was marketed.
In This Episode:
AI-Powered Content
Marketing: Balancing Quality and Quantity (2:28)
Data Point: Only 32% of marketers consider their content marketing
strategy very successful, while 55% cite generating traffic and
leads as their biggest challenge. Source:
Content Marketing and AI Report.
Why It Matters: Marketers need to use AI, not just for content
creation but also for improving audience targeting and engagement.
AI-driven insights can help refine content strategies for better
results.
Influencer Marketing Goes
Mainstream in B2B (8:16)
Data Point: 49% of marketers cite integrating influencer content
into a broader mix of marketing tactics as a top trend for 2025.
Source:
TopRank - 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report.
Why It
Matters: B2B influencer marketing is maturing, and brands that
integrate influencers into their full marketing strategy will see
greater engagement and credibility.
Scaling Marketing Efforts
Through AI-Powered Automation (14:06)
Data Point: AI is being used extensively for content creation
(37%), social media management (35%), and chatbot automation
(25%). Source:
The Evolution of AI in Marketing.
Why It Matters: AI-driven automation enables marketers to scale
their efforts while maintaining high-quality engagement across
multiple channels.
The Data Confidence
Divide: AI, Authenticity, and Revenue
Growth (20:08)
Data Point: 46% of marketers confident in their data strategy
reported significant revenue growth, while only 15% of less
confident marketers saw the same success. Source:
Anteriad - 2024 B2B Marketing Outlook: The Data Confidence
Divide
Why It Matters: A strong data strategy is a key
driver of business growth. Marketers must prioritize data accuracy
and AI-driven insights to maintain authenticity and improve
engagement.
Data-Driven Marketing: Overcoming Integration
Challenges
Data Point: 63% of marketers rate their data-driven strategy as
somewhat successful, while integrating data from multiple sources
remains a challenge. Source:
Data-Driven Marketing Trends 2024.
Why It Matters: Data is critical for marketing success, but
fragmentation hinders performance. Marketers must invest in
AI-powered analytics and automation to streamline their data
integration.
Resources
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