Trust & Influence in B2B
Trust & Influence in B2B
Podcast Description
Trust is the biggest challenge facing B2B marketers today. Buyers have always been cynical, hard to reach and even harder to convince, and increasingly expect to be self-directed in their research. In other words, they only want to engage with you on their terms. As if that wasn't bad enough, media and content channels are fragmented whilst AI is opening the floodgates to a tidalwave of content of questionable quality and veracity. It all adds up to a crisis of trust in B2B.
In this podcast, I'll be interviewing innovative and inspirational marketers in the front line of addressing this challenge, providing deep insights into the context of this challenge, exploring new insights about its implications and looking at real world solutions and success stories.
We'll focus in particular on the topics of thought leadership and influencer marketing, but inevitably brand, advocacy and demand generation, and much, much more.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores topics such as thought leadership, influencer marketing, and brand advocacy, with episodes discussing real-world campaigns like Capgemini's 'Building Trust in Data' and Circana's insights on turning data into strategic conversations, as well as the findings of Edelman's Trust Barometer report
I’m Joel Harrison, founder of B2B Marketing.net (formerly B2B Marketing magazine) Propolis and the B2B Marketing Awards. It’s been my mission for the past 21 years to recognise, celebrate and evangelise for the amazing profession that is B2B marketing, which has evolved beyond that recognition in that time.
In this podcast, I’ll be exploring what I believe is the biggest challenge facing B2B marketers today: Trust.
Buyers have always been cynical, hard to reach and even harder to convince, and increasingly expect to be self-directed in their research. In other words, they only want to engage with you on their terms. As if that wasn’t bad enough, media and content channels are fragmented whilst AI is opening the floodgates to a tidalwave of content of questionable quality and veracity. It all adds up to a crisis of trust in B2B.
In this podcast, I’ll be interviewing innovative and inspirational marketers in the front line of addressing this challenge, providing deep insights into the context of this challenge, exploring new insights about its implications and looking at real world solutions and success stories.
I’ll be exploring this topic from every relevant angle and perspective, but I’m going to focus particularly on thought leadership, influencer marketing and advocacy as they have particular relevance to this challenge.
In this episode of Trust and Influence in B2B Marketing, Joel Harrison sits down with Andrew Mildren, MD of Edelman Business Marketing for EMEA, to dig into the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer — based on nearly 34,000 responses across 28 countries. The headline finding is sobering: 70% of people globally now hold what Edelman calls an insular trust mindset, retreating into familiar circles and becoming reluctant to trust those who hold different views or values. And yet, businesses have held the title of most trusted institution since 2021. So what’s driving this contradiction — and what must B2B marketers do about it?
➡️ Andrew brings Edelman’s 26 years of trust expertise to the table and offers both clear diagnosis and practical direction. He explains the concept of “trust brokering” — where businesses act not as side-takers, but as facilitators bridging divided groups — and highlights examples from Microsoft and IKEA doing this credibly. He breaks down why insularity is no longer just a societal issue but a bottom-line business problem, affecting productivity, retention, and leadership. The conversation also explores local versus global trust dynamics, AI’s growing impact on how content and companies are discovered, and closes with five concrete actions B2B marketers should be taking now — including treating trust as a commercial metric and building a GEO (generative engine optimization) strategy.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction to the Edelman Trust Barometer
01:16 – What You’ll Learn in This Episode
02:14 – The Secret Behind 26 Years of Trust Research
04:36 – Evolving Themes: From Polarization to Insularity
07:59 – The Insular Trust Mindset: What’s Driving It
10:51 – Why Business Is the Most Trusted Institution
14:56 – Trust Brokering: What It Means in Practice
17:21 – Navigating Divisive Issues in B2B
21:00 – Local vs. Global Trust: Going Poly-National
24:47 – Insularity as a Bottom-Line Business Issue
27:06 – AI’s Role in Shaping Trust
32:19 – Five Things B2B Marketers Should Do Now
35:32 – Closing Thoughts & Where to Find the Report
Follow Andrew Mildren,
https://linkedin.com/in/andrewmildren/
If you care about making B2B marketing more meaningful, useful, and memorable, this conversation is for you. It’s honest, reflective, and packed with takeaways that can help elevate your approach to thought leadership — whether you’re a content creator, strategist, or brand leader.
🌐Visit Joel Harrison’s website to explore exclusive reports, upcoming events, and join the B2B marketing community ➡️ https://www.joelharrisonb2b.com/
💬What do you think comes first — rebuilding trust from the inside out, or leading with bold external communications? Let us know in the comments below.
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📲Follow Joel Harrison and Trust & Influence in B2B across the web:
LinkedIn ▶ https://linkedin.com/in/joelharrison/
Podcast ▶ https://trust-influence-in-b2b.captivate.fm/
Instagram ▶ https://instagram.com/joelharrisonb2b/
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