Why is experiential marketing exploding in B2B?

Experiential marketing isn’t just for B2C — and B2B brands are catching on fast.

So, what’s behind the shift? We caught up with Angelique Begarin, Marketing Director GWR for Business, to find out what makes this approach so powerful.

In B2B, we often struggle to create real emotional engagement and traditional campaigns can feel abstract. Why do you think experiential marketing is gaining such strong traction? Why now? Why B2B?

As obvious as it may sound, it all comes down to people.

In B2B and B2B2C, we often rely on rational messaging, but people will forget most of what we say, skim most of what we write, however, they will remember how we make them feel. This stays true for the professional audiences, and nothing sparks emotion like a shared experience — especially one big enough to break records.

By trying to reach the end customer, we’ve often overlooked the people and teams in between who brings ideas to life.

When you create experiences that make hearts race and build real connections, you’re not just breaking through the noise, you're building relevance and long-term recall. That sticks.

The brand able to make it work will be remembered, so will the people who made it happen. That’s incredibly powerful. No banner, or perfect AI generated caption can compete with this kind of impact.

How can this be effectively scaled in a B2B context, particularly for global organization?

It starts with acknowledging that every company is really unique in size, industry, audience, and priorities. Superlatives like biggest or first can apply in many different ways, so we take a tailored approach every time. Ultimately, it really comes down to the audience, so we focus on creating experiences for them, that align with each brand’s unique identity and needs.

Whether it’s for a product launch, employee engagement, global PR campaign, or anything in between, our service framework is designed to be creative and flexible. Basically, we’re proudly “anti–one-size-fits-all” when it comes to bringing ideas to life! And the bonus? These standout moments generate rich content that fuels marketing for a long time, making the GWR experience both memorable and measurable.

So Experiential = Emotional + Strategic?

In a way, yes, but Guinness World Records celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, and long before the reflection around experiential, emotional, or strategic, we’ve been celebrating superlatives that made people feel seen and valued for who they are. Over time, that naturally evolved into helping companies challenge their industries, and sometimes even the world in meaningful ways.
So yes, it’s "emotional and strategic", but it’s also so much more. I am not great at math, but we’d need a lot more variables added to "experiential = emotional + strategic" to capture it all!

It’s really about creating proximity and lasting memories while delivering real business outcomes and measurable results. When you make people feel something, you earn their attention, and that’s a great base to also earn – and deserve - true loyalty.

Many of the events we’ve seen so far feature both the partner brand and Guinness World Records at the forefront. How do you create experiences that feel truly shared and beneficial for both parties?

That’s a great question, and as our name carries a certain 'recognition power,' it’s something we’re very intentional about. GWR brings instant credibility, but it’s always the partner and the story that drive the narrative and take the spotlight.

We co-create experiences that amplify our partners’ identity, values, and messages, turning campaigns into shared moments of triumph that people truly care about.

Add to the “once in a lifetime” experience, the opportunity for custom certificates and record-holder memorabilia, and we help turn that memory into something physical, personal, and lasting. It’s not about competing for the spotlight, it’s about amplifying each other. That’s why these events resonate - it’s that shared value that makes them so powerful.

At Guinness World Records, we are extremely proud to be able to support brands that drive emotional impact and business results through unforgettable moments.