It's Not B2B
What the industry tells itself
We're a B2B business. We get on vendor lists. We submit to procurement. We wait for the RFP. We pitch. We win. We repeat.
What's actually happening
You could be on the roster, have done ten great jobs, and still get thrown into a three-way pitch for the next one. That's not B2B. That's retail.
The Thesis
Corporate film is B2C with a tie on.
Project-based. Taste-driven. Trust-earned. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you stop wondering why vendor lists aren't delivering sustained revenue.
The Vendor List Problem
"Preferred vendor" is just permission to pitch again.
In real B2B — SaaS, consulting, machinery — one contract means predictable revenue. You land the deal once and deliver for years. CRM software doesn't get rebid every quarter. Caterpillar doesn't re-convince construction firms to use their bulldozers.
In corporate film? No guarantee. No safety. No recurring revenue. You still have to win every project like it's your first. Being approved is merely a ticket to the game. Not a guaranteed seat.
How Decisions Actually Get Made
What procurement cares about
ROI. Day rates. Budget bands. Inputs, consistency, comparability. Numbers in boxes. This is fine — it gets you on the list.
Procurement was designed for buying printer paper and legal hours. Products that never change and can be benchmarked line by line.
What the comms director actually does
They pick the idea they like best. The one that feels right. The reel that makes them look bold, smart, or creative in front of their boss.
That's not a spreadsheet decision. That's emotion. That's taste. That's B2C.
Procurement gets you in the room. Creativity gets you the job. These are not the same thing and should not be treated as the same thing.
The Pricing Tell
The same video could be $20k or $200k.
In SaaS, a seat costs $X. In consulting, an hour costs $Y. The unit is fixed. The price is predictable. That's B2B math.
In film? The price depends on the ambition of the client, the taste of the creative, and the confidence of the pitch. It's not about units. It's about appetite.
That's luxury brand math. And shhhh — the rate card that goes to procurement is almost never what actually gets paid on set. Everyone knows this. Nobody says it.
The Fatal Flaw
Most production companies try to act B2B. Here's what that looks like.
What they do
Bank on vendor status delivering revenue
Crush day rates on a spreadsheet to make the list
Assume being on the list is enough
Never build a brand that attracts inbound work
Treat sales and marketing as beneath them
What actually wins work
A reputation that makes clients call you first
Creative differentiation that can't be benchmarked
Relationships built on trust, not approved rate cards
Content that demonstrates taste before the pitch
Acting like a brand, not a supplier
They never build the B2C-style marketing engine that wins work. Because they think they're in B2B. And because basic sales strategy feels gross to creatives. This is the fatal flaw.
The Hybrid Truth
B2B backbone. B2C psychology.
Corporate film has the structure of B2B: contracts, invoices, procurement gates, preferred vendor lists. That infrastructure is real and it matters. You still need to play that game to get in the room.
But the sales psychology is 100% B2C. Win the room with emotion, not logic. Taste and trust beat day rates every time. Every project is re-sold from scratch. Nobody owes you the next job.
Stop trying to act like Salesforce. Start acting like Nike. You're not selling software. You're not selling overalls. You're selling stories. And stories are bought on emotion, not spreadsheets.
The Reframe
Don't sell to businesses. Sell to humans inside businesses.
Look at your last three new business approaches. Ask yourself: did we lead with our reel, our rate card, or our thinking?
The answer tells you whether you're marketing like a brand or tendering like a supplier. Only one of those compounds over time.
Keep the B2B structure — contracts, professionalism, process. But sell like B2C: brand, point of view, creative edge. That combination is B2H. Business to Human. It's the only model that actually works in this industry.
MrMcK · It's Not B2B
Preferred vendor is just permission to pitch again.
Being on the list is a ticket to the game. Not a guaranteed seat. Not recurring revenue.
Procurement gets you in the room. Creativity gets you the job.
The comms director picks the idea they like best. That's emotion. That's taste. That's B2C.
The same video could be $20k or $200k. That's not B2B math. That's luxury brand math.
Stop benchmarking your day rates. Start differentiating your thinking.
Corporate film is B2C with a tie on.
B2B backbone. B2C psychology. B2H in practice. Sell to humans inside businesses.
mrmck.com
MrMcK · It's Not B2B
If this is
your business,
this is worth
a conversation.
Twenty years building and leading creative teams at the agency and corporate level — across London, New York, and North America.
Advisory work with agencies and production companies on positioning, creative strategy, and the problems nobody else will name out loud.
letsbefrank@mrmck.com · mrmck.com