Last month, the sports world mourned the loss of John Madden, an iconic broadcaster who ֠for many of us ֠became the voice of NFL football.Overshadowing his illustrious career as a head coach, which included a Super Bowl victory, Madden is best known as a legendary color commentator ֠likely the most recognizable and beloved in the history of football, if not all of professional sports.What is it about Madden that made his voice and narration so resonant with fans? If you read through some of the various tributes to emerge since his passing, a few recurring themes stand out.He made things simple for his audience, while still managing to educate them on the nuances of the game.He connected with viewers and fans through enthusiasm, empathy and a distinctly human persona.He reached people in different ways, going beyond the television broadcast to become a figurehead for a video game franchise that helped engage a new generation with the NFL product.He plainly had fun, and made sure that everyone watching did too.Through it all, he brought a level of expertise and credibility that couldnҴ be denied or overlooked.For B2B marketers who wish to develop an effective and impactful brand voice for their business, there are important lessons to be drawn from the way Mr. Madden went about his.1 ֠Make Things Simple for Your AudienceFootball can be a complicated and esoteric sport, especially when viewed through the lens of a former NFL head coach. But Madden didnҴ fall into the trap of making viewersҠeyes gloss over with nitty-gritty Xҳ and Oҳ details. He translated things in a way that even the most casual fans could easily understand.As his former broadcast partner James Brown put it, Madden ӭade the game fun and simple to understand.Ԍikewise, the takeaway here for B2B marketers is simple to understand: donҴ drown your audience in complexity and jargon. A recent global survey found that 76% of consumers are more likely to recommend brands delivering simple experiences, up from 64% in 20182 ֠Be Human, and HumorousMadden had some interesting quirks. Among them: he was afraid of flying. While traveling all around the country to cover NFL games in various cities, week after week, he would opt for long bus or train rides over airplanes.Itҳ one of those things that made you see the human side in a larger-than-life figure. There was no shortage of them.As a headline in the LA Times last week put it: ӊohn Maddenҳ greatest gifts were humor, warmth.ԠHe had a way of talking to his audience, not at them. ӗhat made him so popular was that he was so genuine and so accessible,Ԡsaid Al Michaels, another former broadcasting partner.The article mentions that Madden was a Ӧount of funny stories and Jerry Seinfeld-type observations about human behavior.Ԉumanity and humor have clearly emerged as key traits for winning brands. In a new Ӕrust in AdvertisingԠstudy from Nielsen, humor joined brand values as top drivers of advertising response rates3 ֠Meet Your Customers Across ChannelsMany members of the millennial and Gen Z cohorts didnҴ become familiar with John Madden through his broadcasting work, but through his involvement with one of the best-selling video game franchises everMadden NFLHis name and face on the cover lent crucial credibility to this breakthrough football sim, which debuted in the late 1980s. Releasing new editions each year, Madden NFL drew in young audiences and helped them learn about the sport interactively, through channels that were popular with these emerging generations.As one newspaper column puts it, the Ӎadden video game changed football fandom forever.Ԃ2B marketers far and wide are grappling with the realities of a changing audience comprising younger generations with different habits and preferences. Millennials currently make up the largest buying audience, and Gen Z will quickly start claiming a larger share as these young adults (born between roughly 1995 and 2005) rise in the professional ranks.In this environment, itҳ critical for marketers to think beyond traditional static content and blog posts as ways to make their brand voices heard. We need to connect with them on their terms. That might not mean making video games, but it probably does mean more video, more interactive content, and more tailored digital experiences.Variety and versatility are key. According to recent research from McKinsey, ӂ2B customers now regularly use ten or more channels to interact with suppliers (up from just five in 2016)[bctt tweet=Ӊtҳ critical for B2B marketers to think beyond traditional static content and blog posts as ways to make their brand voices heard.Ԡ֠Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN username=toprank]4 ֠Have Some FunSports ֠and football ֠are inherently about having fun. Sometimes people lose sight of this in the seriousness of competition and win/loss ultimatums. Madden did a great job of keeping things light and reminding his audience why they tuned in to begin with.The casual, conversational language helped. So did his boisterous and energetic vibe. Maddenҳ catchphrase as a commentator was ӂOOM!Ԡ֠an exclamation heҤ excitedly belt after a big hit on the field. He used his telestrator to almost comedic effect. He championed the Ӕurducken,Ԡa strange turkey-duck hybrid that became a staple of Thanksgiving Day football.I mean, just listen to how gleeful and hilarious the man was riffing about Gatorade buckets on the sidelineOne might not characterize the B2B research process as Ӧun,Ԡbut why canҴ it be? Everyone understands the stakes and implications involved, but that doesnҴ mean it canҴ be enjoyable.DonҴ be afraid to lighten your tone, inject some levity, and remind customers why your brand is a different breed: itҳ not business as usual5 ֠Know Your StuffHis simplicity, his humanity, and his knack for having fun wouldnҴ have mattered much if not for this core trait of John Madden: he knew football. He knew it deeply and exhaustively, as well as anyone. Viewers implicitly trusted his insights because of this. And they learned from him because of how he conveyed his knowledge.An excellent write-up by Bryan Curtis at The Ringer sums it up perfectlyӍaddenҳ genius was how he taught football. Those booms, that unbuttoned aura of regular guy-dom נall of that was an invitation. It made Maddenҳ classroom feel like a safe place, where youҤ get a little smarter and the professor would never act like he was smarter than you.ԗhen it comes to establishing a stellar B2B brand voice, that really is what itҳ all about. You want to demonstrate your authority and expertise to potential clients, who need to believe in these things to justify a major investment with your company. But you donҴ want to rub how smart or great you are in peopleҳ faces.Invite them along for the journey. Talk to them, not at them. All of the qualities weҶe covered in this piece tie back to striking that crucial balance between relatable and reputable.The payoff will be there in the end, because if you successfully and consistently harness such a brand voice, customers will come to like and trust you, which will lead to sales.On that note, it bears noting as we conclude that in addition to his achievements on the field and in the booth, Madden was also a premier product pitchman. People were literally buying what he was selling.Adopt the principles that made him great with your B2B brand voice, and youҬl be on your way to the same outcome.The post Broadcast Your B2B Marketing with a Brand Voice that Rings True appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank