Guest lecture | 5 questions to Heiko Packwitz, Lufthansa Industry Solutions
Content is King! Under this motto, Heiko Packwitz, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Lufthansa Industry Solutions, gave a public guest lecture on 4th June on the opportunities and challenges of content marketing in B2B. Using selected approaches, he demonstrated that content marketing is more than just the creation of content and how to create exciting stories from complex topics.
Afterwards, hostess Prof. Ute Röseler invited to a summer get-together. The discussion continued with a view of the River Elbe on the balcony of Brand Academy.
We seized the opportunity and asked the expert five questions about B2B marketing in a short interview.
5 questions to Heiko Packwitz
Mr. Packwitz, what are your core tasks at Lufthansa Industry Solutions?
As Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, I am responsible for corporate communications, including internal communications and marketing, which are often separate in other companies. In marketing, we also have very strong ties with sales and sales management.
You say that the B2B sector should also deal with content marketing. Why?
I think that content marketing offers a very exciting opportunity in communication to draw customers’ attention to a company, to arouse interest and, what all companies ultimately want, to persuade them to buy. Compared to B2C, where this has been established for many years, B2B unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired. That’s why it’s particularly exciting for me to implement content marketing in a B2B company.
Why do you think content marketing has been neglected in B2B so far?
You can almost call it a historical separation – trenches that lie between B2B and B2C. This often results in an aversion to looking at how the other side works. Thus a completely different set of instruments has developed on the B2B side, which is very different from B2C. And content marketing, which was born in online marketing, I would typically also assign to the B2C world.
If companies knew more about the mechanisms and possibilities we have in B2B, we’d be further along. These are the biggest obstacles: Ignorance and this classic separation between the areas.
What is the No. 1 industry trend in B2B marketing for you?
The number 1 industry trend has actually been around for several years – and it surprised me when I started. A large part of the communication and marketing budget in the industry still flows into live communication, i.e. events, fairs and conferences.
Meanwhile, I am convinced that this is the right thing to do. When it comes to B2B services, personal contact is important, because know-how is tied to people. That’s why coming together at events is a constant success.
Of course, social media is also an important topic because the decision-makers on the buyer side are getting younger and the channel is becoming more relevant. But I find it exciting that the topic of live communication still achieves very good results.
What advice do you give our students to be successful in B2B marketing?
Just focus on B2B! When I interview applicants, I often notice that graduates are much more interested in social media and the influencer industry. This is also relevant for B2B, but less so.
In B2B marketing, you can make a lot of difference because a lot of ground hasn’t been covered yet. In my opinion it is more exciting to work for a special tool manufacturer than for a fashion brand. The development opportunities there are much broader.
We thank Heiko Packwitz for his visit and an exciting insight into the world of B2B marketing.
