Zoom Webinar
From
Content
to Influence
Do content and storytelling contribute to influence in B2B?
AIM B2B put that question to 152 business leaders in Japan and across Asia-Pacific. Despite some consensus, not all of the answers neatly align, raising important questions about how you brief, create and measure content. Robert Heldt will unpack the findings live and lead a panel discussion with two experts, Andreas Moellmann and Greg Story, and take your questions.
Most leaders say B2B content communicates, but relatively little of it meaningfully influences.
Hosted by
Robert Heldt
CEO and Co-founder, AIM B2B
Andreas Moellmann
Independent Advisor, Brand and Marketing Strategy
Dr. Greg Story
President, Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Japan
The research behind the session
say influencing business partners is essential or very important to their organization’s success.
say content has caused them to contact or connect with someone.
say their organization judges content by whether it changed perceptions, preferences or decisions.
AIM B2B survey of 152 business leaders in Japan and across Asia-Pacific, July 18–September 10, 2026. 56% are C-suite executives. The survey is exploratory and reports what leaders say.
The hour, in three questions
01
Can content change your mind?
63% of leaders have seen content influence a business preference or decision. Only 33% say it has changed one of their own decisions.
02
Does storytelling need insight?
Asked what makes content more effective, leaders put useful insight (48%) well ahead of telling a story (31%).
03
Why does most content fail?
Leaders who say most content fails to influence point to a lack of distinctiveness (50%) more often than competition for attention (39%).
Your hosts
Robert Heldt
CEO and Co-founder, AIM B2B
CEO and Co-founder of AIM B2B, an integrated B2B marketing and strategic communications agency headquartered in Tokyo, with offices in Seoul and Singapore. With more than two decades of experience across Asia, he helps global B2B brands navigate the region’s diverse markets and build trust, influence and relationships through the intersection of B2B strategy, brand, storytelling and localisation.
Robert is APAC President and a global board member of AMIN Worldwide, and serves as Secretary of the Board of PR World Alliance and Vice Chair of the PR & Marketing Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. He holds an MBA from McGill University and a qualification in Digital Transformation Platform Strategies from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Andreas Moellmann
Independent Advisor, Brand and Marketing Strategy
An independent advisor on brand and marketing strategy with more than 30 years of global experience across Europe and Asia. Having held senior strategy and experience leadership roles, including Chief Experience Officer and Global Strategy Lead, he works with leadership teams to connect brand, marketing and business strategy to drive measurable growth.
A regular jury member for effectiveness awards and a contributor to Campaign and WARC, Andreas focuses on how marketing creates and demonstrates value for business. He is particularly interested in how organisations can move beyond creative and marketing outputs to create greater strategic, commercial and customer value. He advises organisations across APAC and globally on making marketing more strategic, systemic and effective.
Dr. Greg Story
President, Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Japan
Holding a Ph.D. in Japanese organisational decision-making, and a 40-year veteran of Japan, Dr. Greg Story has broad experience, especially after being Country Head of four organisations in Japan. Dr. Story launched a start-up in Nagoya and completed turn-arounds in Osaka and Tokyo for Austrade. In 2001, he was promoted to Minister Commercial at the Australian Embassy and the Country Head for Austrade. In November 2003, Dr. Story joined Shinsei’s retail bank, which was a special combination of start-up and turn-around. He had 550 staff in his Platinum Banking Division, responsible for two-thirds of the revenue of the retail bank, and eventually became the Joint CEO of the retail bank. In July 2007, Dr. Story became the Country Head for the National Australia Bank in Japan. In October 2010, he became President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Japan. He is a Master Trainer and an international award-winning Sales Leader with Dale Carnegie. He is a thought leader and has written eight books: Japan Sales Mastery, Za Eigyo (The営業), Japan Business Mastery, Japan Presentations Mastery, Anata mo Purezen Tatsujin (あなたもプレゼンの達人), Stop Wasting Money On Training, Toreningu de Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo (トレニングでお金を無駄にするのわ やめましょう) and Japan Leadership Mastery (現代版『人を動かす』リーダー). He is an Adjunct Professor at the International Business Faculty of Griffith University. A 6th Dan in traditional Shitoryu Karate, he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business issues.
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Who should attend?
Marketing and communications leaders at B2B companies in Japan, South Korea and across Asia-Pacific who fund content and need to understand its impact.
Can’t make it live?
Register anyway. We’ll send you the recording after the session, and the full report is available to download from the report page. If the findings raise questions about your own content, you can also book 30 minutes with our strategy team.