APAC B2B Report From
Content
to Influence

Leaders doubt most content can influence. Yet content still moves them.

An exploratory survey of 152 business leaders in Japan and across Asia-Pacific.

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Can content and storytelling create influence?

1

Content can generate connections

2

Storytelling can convert connections into relationships

3

Relationships create influence in B2B

We put this hypothesis to 152 business leaders. Their replies support the first and last steps. The middle step, storytelling, is plausible but not confirmed.

What leaders told us

Leaders Act on Content

say content has caused them to contact or connect with someone. Yet 69% agree that most B2B content communicates, but relatively little of it meaningfully influences.

Leaders put trust first

name trust and reliability as what turns a business connection into a relationship. Useful and relevant content ranks last of the named factors.

Generic content falls short

of those who say most content fails to create influence blame generic content. It ranks ahead of too much competition for attention.

Companies judge content on leads, not on minds changed, so the influence that leaders describe rarely shows up in a report. Leaders also measure content differently by role.

Among C-suite leaders, 25% judge it by the relationships it builds, against 6% of marketing and communications leaders. The full report asks who gets the credit when content works.

AIM B2B survey of 152 business leaders in Japan and across Asia-Pacific, between July 18 and September 10, 2026. More than half (56%) are in the C-suite. The 50% for generic content is based on the 105 respondents who say most content fails to create influence. The C-suite and marketing comparison is based on 85 and 32 respondents and is directional. The survey is exploratory. It reports what respondents believe and have experienced.

An emerging model

Influence develops through relationships, and relationships develop from connections. Content can help create those connections, and storytelling may help content create meaning. Leaders say business value and personal trust matter as much as content, or more. Influence cannot be attributed to content or storytelling alone.

  • “We set out to answer one question: can content create influence? Our research shows content can open the door, but influence needs more than content and storytelling. It needs people.”
    Robert Heldt
    CEO, AIM B2B
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From the Survey

  • “If storytelling creates memorable, relevant content, it leads to richer psychological closeness and connections between parties. That richness develops into relationships, and as those continue to be enriched, the trust and rapport that results leads to influence.”

    Ross Rowbury

    Senior Managing Director
    Nomura Holdings

  • “Content is useful so long as it is contextually relevant to the customer and demonstrates expertise.”

    Amol Oberoi

    Regional Marketing Director, APAC
    Enerpac Tool Group

  • “AI makes the production of content sludge at scale cheap, fast and nasty. Authentic storytelling written from our hard-won experiences, will be the one bulwark against this tsunami.”

    Dr. Greg Story

    President
    Dale Carnegie Training Japan

  • “Storytelling does not create influence, it creates understanding. It is valuable because it connects facts and data to a narrative the audience can relate to and place themselves within. This is the most effective version of B2B storytelling: where a strong narrative moves discussions away from specifications to business outcomes and strategy, and in the process builds trust and credibility over time.”

    Sakura Kawakami

    Founder & CEO
    Eveil Advisory

  • “Humans still make the decisions, and despite AI, we are still influenced the most by our emotions.”

    Leonardo Brems

    Managing Director
    Admark Asia Group

Download the full report

The 32-page report has eight chapters. Each finding shows the evidence first, with the number of respondents for every chart, then what it may mean.

Inside the report

  • Three ways storytelling may help, and the two things leaders say it depends on
  • The Content Influence Onion, which maps the roles content may play
  • How Japan-focused, regional and global leaders compare on what content can do
  • How many leaders have seen content shape a decision, and how few call it an important source of influence
  • Why C-suite and marketing leaders may measure content differently, and how to align them
  • Six things to change in how you plan, use and measure content

From AIM B2B, the Tokyo-based integrated PR and marketing agency for B2B companies growing across Asia.

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About The Study

Between July 18 and September 10, 2026, AIM B2B surveyed 152 business leaders and content decision-makers who work in or focus on Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region. More than half (56%) are CEOs, managing directors or other C-suite executives. Just over half (52%) work at organizations with fewer than 250 staff, and 23% at organizations with 5,000 or more. The survey was exploratory. It captures what respondents believe and report. It does not prove that content or storytelling caused an outcome.

About AIM B2B

AIM B2B is an integrated PR and marketing agency headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with offices in Seoul and Singapore, that is dedicated to helping B2B companies drive influence and grow across Asia through strategic storytelling, creative thinking and data-driven insights.