Brandability and Buyability: How the Future of B2B Branding Took Shape at Fordham
Graduate | Nov 24, 2025 | Gabelli School of Business
On a crisp New York morning, Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus became a hub of marketing innovation as 197 industry executives convened to explore a concept gaining momentum in the business world: brandability and buyability. This emerging framework is redefining how B2B marketers think about value creation—and the Gabelli School was the ideal setting for such a forward-looking conversation.
The annual IAA Global B2B Brand Summit, which was hosted at the Gabelli School of Business’s Marketing Area in partnership with the International Advertising Association, brought together leaders from Amazon Business, WPP, LinkedIn, HSBC, and BNY Mellon for a full day conversation on the future of brand in B2B. The atmosphere inside McNally Amphitheatre was electric as a part classroom, part creative laboratory, and the setting could not have been more fitting for a business school that lives at the intersection of academia and industry. The Gabelli School is among the few institutions capable of convening nearly 200 top industry professionals all in one place, for dialogue and marketing thought leadership.
Twenty-five resilient Gabelli School marketing students had the unique opportunity to volunteer as event managers with the Summit hosts, event producer, and CMO speakers. Their involvement went beyond logistics – they were active collaborators in shaping the experience. Students reflected on what an incredible opportunity it was to work side by side with marketing leaders and help ensure the conference ran seamlessly while giving them the experience to take on a real event management role and work directly with CMO’s and marketing executives.
This sense of curiosity and collaboration was set in motion by Tara Fusco, global vice president of B2B at WPP Media and co-chair of the WPP B2B Council, who opened a summit session with a compelling challenge: “Brand isn’t the first step,” she said. “It’s the force that drives every step of it.” In one sentence, she captured the idea that would echo throughout the day: brand is not a prelude to performance; it is performance.
The sessions that followed expanded on that theme through data, design, and storytelling. Tom Stein, global SVP of the International Advertising Association (IAA) and chairman and chief brand officer at Stein Agency, shared findings from the Brand-to-Demand Maturity Study conducted with the ANA. His message was simple and resonant: “We can’t treat brand and demand as trade-offs,” Stein said. “They are interdependent investments that fuel one another.”
Heads nodded around the auditorium, with marketers, professors, and students all recognizing the significance of his words. The Gabelli School’s marketing programs have long emphasized the balance between analytics and artistry, and at this event, it unfolded in real time.
One dynamic session was, “Under the Influence: Has B2B’s Time Arrived?”, moderated by Aniko Nakazawa Delaney, IAA board member and lecturer of Marketing at the Gabelli School of Business. Panelists Janine de La Fuente, brand marketing manager at Cytiva, Chris Peters, global client partner at Wavemaker, and Colin Rocker, LinkedIn creator and founder of CareerColin, explored how B2B influencer marketing has evolved from an emerging tactic to a vital strategy for brand trust. They emphasized that success depends on choosing credible voices and proving their impact. As Rocker noted, “Decision-makers listen to people they trust — and that’s where B2B creators change the game.”
From there, the discussion turned to one of the day’s standout moments: BNY Mellon’s 18-month rebrand. What could have been a routine corporate update became a masterclass in internal storytelling and employee engagement. “The big part of our brief was evolution, not revolution,” the team explained. They shared how qualitative and quantitative testing, employee workshops, and even color-theory debates helped redefine one of the world’s oldest financial institutions. By the time BNY Mellon unveiled its new identity on the company’s 240th anniversary, 82 percent of employees had participated in at least one rebrand activity. As Richard George, head of brand strategy, BNY Mellon reflected, “When your people can tell your story better than any ad, that’s when a brand truly lives.”
Another session titled, “Investment to Impact: Closing the Loop,” led by Kate Rundell of Amazon Business, Marcelo Amstalden Möller of Wolters Kluwer, and Brandon Ortiz of Celonis, explored how creative strategy and financial accountability can coexist. “Our job is to connect belief with business,” Rundell said. “Brand drives results the way trust drives decisions.” Their conversation moved fluidly from AI-driven measurement to the human instincts that still guide every successful campaign, a reminder that even the smartest data begins with empathy.
The afternoon sessions reinforced a central theme of the summit: B2B branding has entered a new, emotionally driven era. Industry leaders – including LinkedIn’s Keith Browning, HSBC’s Nicole German, and Stanley Black & Decker’s Pat Petschel – emphasized that in today’s saturated market, clarity, credibility, and emotional resonance have become critical brand differentiators in a crowded market. This perspective was further sharpened by LinkedIn’s Jann Schwarz and Mimi Turner, who introduced the Five Rules of Buyability: relevance, reassurance, risk reduction, recognition, and reputation. Their research underscored a powerful insight—corporate buying decisions are not governed by logic alone, but by belief. As Turner put it, “Buying decisions aren’t just rational, they’re emotional and brand is what makes people believe.”
This annual IAA B2B Summit illuminated a powerful shift in perspective: in today’s evolving business landscape, brand is no longer a finishing touch – it is the driving force behind growth. Tom Stein reflected on Fordham University’s instrumental role in shaping this dialogue, one that seamlessly blended industry innovation with academic depth. “Rising marketing leaders are getting an education at Fordham,” he remarked. “And what better place to be than where leaders are created.” His words captured the essence of the summit: the Gabelli School was not merely a venue for discussion, but an active force in advancing the conversation.
As the university’s marketing community continues to ignite analytical insights with creative ambition, it reaffirms a powerful belief – education doesn’t just prepare students for the marketplace; it actively shapes it. At the Gabelli School of Business, that future isn’t just imagined – it’s already underway.
Written by: Harshi Jain, MSMI ’25
