Entertainment Marketing: The Midas Touch B2B Brands Can’t Afford to Miss

Entertainment marketing is the secret weapon CMOs at B2B companies need to start wielding. In a world of pitch decks and quarterly forecasts, B2B marketing often feels like it’s allergic to fun. But, a shift is underway—more brands are discovering that entertainment isn’t a B2C luxury but a B2B necessity.

So, how does a strategy that wears pink ties and cracks punchlines fit into a world obsessed with KPIs and quarterly forecasts? Simple: because people—even business buyers—are tired of being sold to. Entertainment marketing works because it bypasses traditional sales fatigue and builds emotional resonance, brand recall, and shareability. It doesn’t feel like a pitch—it feels like an experience. That emotional value is where long-term loyalty begins.

Let’s explore the psychology behind emotional connection in B2B and why entertaining your audience might be your smartest business move yet. 

Entertain to engage—why B2B needs to sell fun

Yes, the phrase sounds like it belongs in a B2C playbook—but business is business. Even the most buttoned-up buyer appreciates content that feels human. Speaking in corporate language doesn’t guarantee conversion. It might guarantee boredom. 

Industry insights from the Content Marketing Institute revealed that 70% of B2B marketers prioritizing engaging content saw significantly better lead quality. The message? People don’t just want information—they want connection. 

Entertainment taps into the emotional core of your audience. It compels action not by hard-selling but by being memorable, enjoyable, and relatable. And that works because buyers are still human. Human psychology thrives in emotionally open, engaging environments—not in cold, robotic sales pitches. 

In recent years, B2B brands have fully embraced entertainment marketing—getting bolder, more media-savvy, and more creative.

The goal? Keep leads engaged, leave a lasting impression, and ensure your brand is remembered and felt. 

Entertainment marketing 101: Back it with substance

It’s easy to assume that adding humor, flashy visuals, or a quirky tone will automatically make a B2B campaign feel fresh. But in reality, entertainment without substance falls flat—especially in B2B, where audiences are savvy, skeptical, and short on time. 

What truly separates successful B2B entertainment marketing from a forgettable gimmick is deep storytelling rooted in audience understanding. B2B buyers don’t just want to laugh—they want to feel seen. To achieve that, brands need to understand the nuances of their clients’ industries, pressures, and ambitions. You can’t just toss in a punchline and expect resonance—you have to build the story from the inside out. 

Unlike B2C, where broad relatability works well, B2B storytelling thrives on specificity. Not everyone is in on the inside joke because the inside joke often requires knowing how procurement cycles work, what SaaS pain points keep teams up at night, or how finance leads to thinking about risk. To tell a story that entertains and connects, you must understand those details like an insider. 

Take, for example, Mailchimp’s slice-of-life series that beautifully captures the small but meaningful moments in the lives of entrepreneurs and small businesses. They don’t just entertain—they reflect the audience’s world, using characters and situations that mirror fundamental B2B dynamics. That’s why it works. It’s entertainment that speaks the language of the people watching—and that language just happens to include acronyms, spreadsheets, and stakeholder politics. 

So yes, B2B brands can be funny, bold, emotional—even wildly creative—but only if they back it with deep audience knowledge.

The best B2B entertainment marketing doesn’t simplify the message—it amplifies the complexity with clarity and personality. That’s where the magic happens. And that’s how a B2B brand becomes unforgettable. 

How GoDaddy Airo nailed B2B entertainment marketing

GoDaddy is living proof of acing entertainment marketing. A brand that sells domains and hosting—arguably the most utility-based B2B product—has consistently used humor, bold storytelling, and campaign flair to stand out in a sea of sameness. It’s not about being loud—it’s about being memorable. 

GoDaddy Airo proved that B2B brands must think, specify, and create to connect.

With its Super Bowl campaign for GoDaddy Airo, the company didn’t just promote a product; it told a story that clicked with its core audience: small business owners and entrepreneurs navigating the chaotic world of “doing it all.” 

Walton Goggins, star of The White Lotus, might seem like an unusual pick for a B2B campaign. But he is more than an actor; he is a real-life entrepreneur with a business selling high-end goggles. That’s where GoDaddy’s campaign, “Act Like You Know,” hits its stride. 

The tagline, “Look like you know what you’re doing at GoDaddy.com,” is more than just clever copy—it taps into a real, relatable fear among entrepreneurs: the knowledge gap—that feeling of figuring things out as you go, while still needing to look professional and credible. Goggins, personified the many faces of modern business owners—confident, quirky, resourceful, and a little overwhelmed. 

The campaign was smart, culturally aware, and B2B entertainment wrapped in a consumer-style flair. The one-liners, the fast pace, the humor—it all worked because it spoke to people who knew exactly what that hustle feels like. GoDaddy didn’t just sell a feature; it validated a feeling. 

By using entertainment and storytelling, the band broke out of the beige B2B box and landed squarely in cultural relevance. It didn’t just promote GoDaddy Airo—it made entrepreneurs want to be seen using it. That’s the power of specific, creative, and emotionally aware B2B marketing. 

Cut to the chase

Entertainment marketing isn’t just window dressing—it’s a strategic lever that makes B2B brands more relatable, more memorable, and, ultimately, more effective. As B2B audiences grow more discerning and attention spans shrink, the brands that win will be the ones that not only inform but entertain with intent.

Humor, storytelling, and cultural awareness aren’t distractions—they’re differentiators. So yes, keep your eye on the ROI—but don’t forget to make them feel something on the way to conversion