When Invisible Companies Step Into the Spotlight: Why B2B Brands Need the Public Anyway

by Julianna Rogala, VI360

The business world likes to pretend that advertising is a B2C game. Consumer companies are expected to tug at heartstrings, sponsor halftime shows, and plaster cities with slogans. B2B firms, on the other hand, are told to stay in their lane: target decision-makers with white papers, trade shows, and LinkedIn ads.

But history proves that’s a dangerously small view of marketing. Some of the most memorable campaigns of the last few decades have come from companies the average person will never buy from. Why? Because in today’s economy, being invisible - even when you sell only to other businesses - is a liability.

Take IBM’s “Smarter Planet.” No consumer has ever bought a supercomputer or an enterprise analytics suite, yet the campaign became part of the public conversation about the future of cities, healthcare, and energy. IBM wasn’t selling to us, but it was asking us to believe in its vision. That public trust made boardroom buyers feel they were aligning with a brand that had cultural momentum.

GE pulled a similar trick with “Imagination at Work.” Most of its business happens far away from store shelves—in jet engines, medical equipment, and power plants. But by crafting stories about human progress, GE built emotional relevance for technologies that most of us will never touch.

Intel took a different approach. Its famous “Intel Inside” stickers weren’t aimed at you and me as direct buyers of microprocessors. Instead, they made consumers care about a component they couldn’t see or understand. Suddenly, people were asking for Intel by name when buying PCs, creating a halo of demand that pressured computer makers to choose Intel chips over competitors. It was a masterclass in using public awareness to drive B2B dominance.

Even Caterpillar - synonymous with heavy equipment - has leaned into public storytelling. Its ads and social media campaigns, often built around massive yellow machines, tap into something primal: the awe of scale, durability, and raw power. Few of us will ever buy a bulldozer, but we instantly recognize Caterpillar as a symbol of toughness and reliability. That reputation doesn’t just win contractors; it wins cultural cachet, which reinforces its status as the default choice in industries where reliability matters most.

Cisco, SAP, and DHL, all deep in the B2B trenches, have done the same. Their campaigns weren’t about pushing routers, enterprise software, or freight contracts directly. They were about shaping a story: “we are the invisible infrastructure of modern life.” That’s not a sales pitch; it’s myth-making.

And that’s the provocation: maybe B2B companies are wrong to think they can hide in the background. In an era where reputation is currency, every company is, in some way, a public company. Visibility attracts talent, deters competitors, shapes policy, and nudges buyers who want to be associated with winners. Public brand power is leverage, not vanity.

So the next time a B2B CEO scoffs at the idea of running a big public campaign, “why would we waste money advertising to people who can’t buy from us?” the answer is simple: because invisibility is more expensive.

The lesson from IBM, GE, Intel, Caterpillar, Cisco, and others is clear. You don’t need to sell sneakers or smartphones to justify a Super Bowl ad or a bold brand campaign. You just need the courage to believe that even in B2B, it pays to be unforgettable.