Have you noticed how much more often ‘brand’ is being talked about on the socials and in campaigns? It never used to be like this in B2B tech. “Brand” was the preoccupation for B2C and the academics.
The trend we’re seeing now is Marketers retrofitting their strategies to optimize for GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), where brand mentions are the new keywords. SEO tools have adapted accordingly, updating their offerings and positioning themselves for ‘brand visibility’, as SEMRush have done. B2B Tech Marketers are all in this brand thing now that it’s a critical signal to have AI talk about you.
Better late than never. I’ve been going on and on about brand for a while now, so I’m happy its getting the attention it deserves. Early last year I made the case that WordPress businesses should invest more in their brand:
More competition, channels and access to more tools (see AI) have made Marketing hard. Brand is going to help you cut through the noise.
Do you agree with this take? Has it been your experience too?
If 2025 was about brand, 2026 is about creativity
Let’s assume everyone nails their brand strategy, positioning, messaging and executes professionally. Which is what AI allows anyone to do now. The problem now is that your competitors are going to look as good as you. How are you going to stand out?
For me the answer is creativity. I like to think of it as fairy dust that you sprinkle across all your business functions to give them superpowers. For Marketing, it’s like pheromone – chemical signal that will get folks to love your brand and products.
But what is creativity and what does it look like? Here are some of my ideas:
- Ditching the typical blue SaaS design for a website in favour of something bold
- Reaching prospects unexpectedly – sending them a letter rather than an email
- Truly original storytelling. In 1962 Avis admitted that they were #2 behind Hertz, and that that’s why they tried harder
- Not doing what AI suggests
As Seth Godin says, you gotta be remarkable. That is, interesting enough that people will remark on you. They will remember you too when they’re ready to buy.
Here’s to the crazy ones
These are the opening lines to Apple’s Think Different ad that many consider one of the most original campaigns.
This was at a time when ads for PCs were all about features and specs. Apple, instead, sold an identity.
The message for Marketers is that they should be thinking and executing differently too.
Too advanced, but not for everyone
I love this advert. Snowbird, a skiing resort, found that copy from a negative review is perfect for the type of customer they are after.
I think a similar advert would work for page builders too. .
Creativity is a bit amiss in the WordPress ecosystem
I don’t want to sound too negative, but Marketing in the WordPress ecosystem isn’t particularly exciting. It’s rare to come across creative or messaging that make you stop on your feet, and more importantly, be memorable.
Kinsta did something bold with their brand re-fresh a couple of years ago, but nothing else comes to mind.
It’s not all bad. There have been plenty of great initiatives and campaigns, and WordPress’ superpower is the people, that are connecting and collaborating more and more.
But the lack of creativity is a missed opportunity. To get noticed, remembered and create a positive brand narrative.
So, how do you do creativity?
I’ll give you two answers. The first one is from ChatGPT, and the second one is a quote that has stuck with me since I started out.
1. Prompt: “How can I be more creative with my marketing? I am a WordPress business”
This is a good answer by ChatGPT, tapping into the collecting wisdom of thousands of Marketers.
A lot of it is tactical, though. It doesn’t explain where the creative spark comes from, nor how to identify if it’s any good.
I do like the copy examples ChatGPT spat out though. A reminder that creativity is not just visual.
1. Market the Problem Identity
Most WordPress companies market features:
- “Fast caching.”
- “Better SEO.”
- “Advanced forms.”
Instead, market identity:
- “For agencies tired of client support chaos.”
- “For WooCommerce stores losing revenue to slow checkout.”
- “For non-technical founders who just want it to work.”
Creative move:
Create a named audience category:
- “The 3 a.m. Fixers”
- “Plugin Patch Survivors”
- “The Over-Plugin’d Site Owner”
This makes people feel seen.
2. Create a Contrarian Point of View
Most WordPress marketing sounds identical.
Pick a strong stance like:
- “You don’t need 30 plugins. You need 3 good ones.”
- “Stop optimizing Lighthouse scores. Optimize revenue.”
- “Your theme isn’t the problem.”
Polarization = memorability.
Look at how companies like Yoast built authority by teaching SEO philosophy, not just selling a plugin.
3. Turn Your Plugin Into a Character
This works extremely well in the WordPress ecosystem.
Examples:
- Your plugin “fights” bloated themes.
- Your plugin “guards” WooCommerce revenue.
- Your plugin “cleans up plugin junk.”
Give it:
- A personality
- A tone
- A mascot
- A villain (slow hosting, bad dev practices, abandoned plugins)
Think how Mailchimp made a chimp their brand identity — not email automation.
4. Teach Publicly (Build in Public for Marketing)
Instead of:
“Our plugin speeds up your site.”
Create:
- “We analyzed 1,000 WordPress installs. Here’s what’s slowing them down.”
- “We tested 12 caching plugins. Here’s what surprised us.”
- “Real WooCommerce store breakdowns.”
You become a research brand, not just a tool.
This is especially powerful on:
- X (Twitter)
- Indie Hackers
- Reddit (carefully)
5. Productized Content
Turn your marketing into tools:
- Free micro-audits (automated score tools)
- Free “WordPress stack analyzer”
- “Is your site bloated?” test
- Free mini version of your premium feature
Example: A speed plugin company could offer:
“Paste your URL and we’ll show how much money speed is costing you.”
Now your marketing is interactive.
6. Story-Based Marketing
Instead of:
“Version 2.3 Released”
Try:
“We almost killed this feature. Here’s why we didn’t.”
Or:
“A customer asked for this feature. We said no. Then this happened.”
Developers love transparency.
7. Create a Category
Instead of being:
“Another WordPress performance plugin”
Become:
- “The Revenue Performance Plugin”
- “The Client-Safe Plugin”
- “The Zero-Support Plugin”
- “The WordPress Stability Layer”
Own language that competitors don’t use.
For example, Elementor didn’t market as “just a builder” — they marketed visual design empowerment.
8. Make Your Pricing Page Entertaining
Plugin pricing pages are painfully boring.
Try:
- “For freelancers who hate recurring chaos”
- “For agencies scaling past 50 clients”
- “For side projects that just need to work”
Add:
- Comparisons against doing nothing
- A “what happens if you don’t fix this” section
- ROI examples
9. Create Villains
Villains create emotional energy.
Examples:
- Plugin bloat
- Update anxiety
- Abandoned plugins
- Theme lock-in
- Cheap hosting traps
Marketing becomes a movement:
- “End Plugin Bloat.”
Movements scale.
10. Leverage Micro-Influencers in the WP Ecosystem
Not huge influencers — niche authority figures:
- WordPress YouTubers
- Plugin reviewers
- Agency educators
- Dev bloggers
Offer:
- Revenue share
- Case studies
- Behind-the-scenes access
- Exclusive builds
The WordPress ecosystem runs heavily on trust.
11. Run Experiments in Public
Examples:
- “We removed our free plan for 30 days.”
- “We doubled our price.”
- “We killed a feature.”
- “We rebuilt our onboarding.”
Document the outcome.
This builds authority and curiosity.
12. Make Your Changelog a Marketing Asset
Instead of a boring changelog:
- Add commentary.
- Add why decisions were made.
- Add lessons learned.
- Turn major updates into mini-articles.
- Developers actually read changelogs.
A Quick Reality Check
Creative marketing in WordPress works best when it’s:
- Clear
- Opinionated
- Educational
- Slightly polarizing
- Not gimmicky.
2. Creativity the Anna Pavlova way
Anna Pavlova was one of the most famous and celebrated ballet dancers in history – a Russian prima ballerina whose talent and artistry helped popularize classical ballet all around the world.
The quote that stuck with me is, in fact, a combination of two of her quotes:
“Master technique and then forget about it and be natural”
“Where there is no heart there is no art.”
So yeah, I cheated a little, but developers will appreciate my concatenation skills :) Here’s the full version: Master technique and then forget about it, for where there is no heart there is no art.
The two points make a lot of sense to me. Much of the Marketing I see in B2B Tech clearly lacks a solid foundation: eg. brand, positioning, addressing the right audiences, etc…
It also lacks creativity, as I’ve said before. And to answer the original question – how do you do creativity? – I think Anna Pavlova wins over ChatGPT. The heart represents your brands values, experiences, emotions, curiosity, pains, successes, etc… and the art is expressing it honestly, originally but also to drive whatever outcome you’re after.
For your 2026 to-do list: do something purely for the sake of creativity
This could be a fun project. Ideally a campaign with a measurable goal, but not necessarily so.
Something unexpected and original. Even crazy. To make folks stop and think, and form a positive opinion about your brand too.
Let me know what you to.
I’ll do the same too and will post about it.
