Dentsu B2B has released its Superpowers Index 2025, the largest study of B2B brand performance behaviour ever undertaken, from a global perspective. The report is based on 16,000 interviews with decision-makers and 35,000 brand experiences across 21 markets and reveals what it takes for high performing brands to stand out in a complex business landscape today.
Rob Gold, Global President, Dentsu B2B, says:
“These rules of engagement have changed. AI insights are now paired with human judgement by buyers. Trust, speed and simplicity are not an option anymore, they define which brands survive.”
This year’s findings underscore a key message: B2B brand performance isn’t just about product features or specifications anymore. It’s about the confidence that a brand can earn, the smoothness of its interactions, making life easier for the people who buy it.
Understanding the Superpower Index
The Superpowers Index is a measure of brand performance across four major sectors – Financial Services, Technology, Professional Services and Manufacturing.
Brands are scored on more than 30 drivers including:
- Trust and credibility – reliability, ethics, and transparency
- Ease and speed – simplified processes, digital integration, and responsiveness
- Human connection – support, guidance, and shared values
Scores range from 0 to 100 and provide marketers a benchmark against how their brand is measuring up against their competition. Dentsu research indicates a 10-point increase in the Index score can lead to a 14% increase in deal value and top performing brands are able to close deals as much as 31% faster.
The Index also underlines how much more AI enabled buyers are becoming: 77% of B2B purchasing decisions now include AI insights, and 40% of buyers are considered heavy users. Despite the emergence of AI, human trust plays a central role — as winning brands understand well.
Three Superpowers That Drive B2B Brand Performance
Analysis of the data identified three obvious drivers that have led to high-performing B2B brands:
1. Trust Is Non-Negotiable
In every sector, trust is the number-one driver of brand performance. Buyers always quote statements like, “I feel safe signing a contract with this brand”, as pivotal. In a world where AI can help recommendations to happen faster, but cannot ensure ethical practice, brands that display credibility, transparency, and reliability always perform better than peers.
2. Speed Brings Competitive Advantage
Brands that make it fast and frictionless to buy don’t just make more deals — they make them faster. The Index finds top performers are able to speed up decision-making timelines by as much as four months in the market with a real edge.
3. Simplicity Is Good for the Buyer’s Experience
Ease of doing business — from the initial inquiry, through to post-sale support — became a winning factor. Buyers prefer brands that integrate technology tools, simplify a workflow, and make the more complicated processes seem effortless. Simplicity creates stronger loyalty and eliminates the risk of lost deals.
Other trends include:
- AI Adoption: There is a heavier usage of AI by tech buyers, which leads to certain expectations regarding speed and information accessibility.
- Brand Advocacy: Recommendations from peers, analysts and trusted sources as drivers of choices increasingly influence choices more than ever before.
- Sector-Specific Nuances: While financial buyers are stability-oriented, tech buyers are more eager for digital interaction.
Something marketing leaders can do: Actionable insights
The Superpowers Index offers concrete guidance for brands seeking to improve B2B brand performance:
- Invest in Trust building initiatives
- Boost thought leadership and public relations.
- Emphasize ethical standards, reliability and actual results.
- Simplify Every Interaction
- Make the process of onboarding, contracting, and support seamless.
- Remove friction points from demos, approvals and documentation.
- Embrace AI Without Losing Human Connection
- Utilize AI for insights and personalization and not lose transparency and empathy.
- Measure, Benchmark, and Iterate
- Compare performance to competitors.
- Monitor improvements in the buyer’s perception, speed and satisfaction.
- Tailor Strategies by Region
- APAC buyers focus on responsiveness and process efficiency.
- In India, digital adoption is fast; brands must also create a balance between speed and reliability.
Rob Gold emphasizes:
“Literally, the Superpowers Index is not only a measurement tool. It’s a roadmap of how B2B brands can flourish in an environment where buyers combine technology and human judgment.”
Regional Insights: APAC and India
The Index also gives attached specific regional variations:
- APAC: Buyers are more interested in fast response time and integrated digital experiences especially for manufacturing and tech sectors.
- India: Fast-paced digitization and increasing enterprise adoption has mean that brands need to be able to provide fast experiences that are seamless and trustworthy.
- Europe and North America: Trust and reputation still play an important role, but speed and the ease of the process are more important.
Brands that align global strategy with local expectations are best positioned to leverage the B2B brand performance advantage.
Challenges Brands Face
Even with these insights, achieving high B2B brand performance is not without hurdles:
- Balancing AI and Human Touch: AI makes the process of decision-making faster, but buyers are seeking reassurance and personal guidance.
- Measuring Intangible Drivers: Trust, simplicity and human connection are less easy to measure than product specifications.
- Competitive Intensity: Markets are fast evolving, rules in the region and new players exert undying pressure.
Brands that are actively working to meet these challenges, drawing on the Superpowers Index as a guide, can maintain high performance and bring in bigger, faster deals.
The Future of B2B Brand Performance
AI-enabled buy will continue to increase, but human trust, ease of doing business and speed of execution will be decisive. Winning brands will:
- Ensure visibility in AI assisted decision making
- Stream line the process and reduce friction
- Build and protect their reputation in different regions and sectors
The Index underscores that B2B brand performance is no longer just marketing–it’s a strategic business driver. Companies that invest in trust, make interactions easier and buyer journeys faster will continue to win.