The Marketing Millennials | Ep. 389
How to Build Brand in B2B with Marissa Kraines, VP and Head of Marketing at Webflow
Host: Daniel Murray
Guest: Marissa Kraines
Date: February 4, 2026
Episode Overview
In this episode, Daniel Murray sits down with Marissa Kraines, VP and Head of Marketing at Webflow, to explore the concept of "world-building" in B2B brand marketing. Marissa draws on her extensive experience, including a 12-year stint at Salesforce, to discuss how to humanize B2B brands, create memorable characters, and leverage humor and emotion to connect with modern audiences—even in highly technical industries. The conversation covers strategic approaches to brand building, the integration of AI in marketing, measuring brand impact, and the critical role of community.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Marissa’s Path into Marketing
- Marissa describes her journey as “natural”—rooted in creativity and a desire to connect people (01:08).
- Early experience in music journalism and multiple internships shaped her "connection-first" ethos.
"In marketing, it is that connection, it is bringing people together, it's creating emotional connection... that focus on the connection with people led me into marketing."
— Marissa Kraines (01:34)
2. World-Building in B2B Context
- World-building, while popularized by consumer brands like Marvel and Disney, should work no differently in B2B.
- Marissa advocates thinking of business as “P2P” (people-to-people), not just B2B (02:22).
"If you're in social media and you're scrolling on your phone, are you a different human because you work in B2B marketing or are you the same human...?"
— Marissa Kraines (02:26)
- Webflow’s “AI Guy” campaign: Embodies a character who personifies the frustrations and quirks of AI.
- Example from Salesforce: World-building started with Astro, and grew into a whole cast that practitioners deeply connected with—even inspiring tattoos and haircuts (03:31).
3. Practical Steps to Kickstart World-Building
- Marissa launched “AI Guy” soon after joining Webflow by leveraging both her autonomy and previous learnings.
- Brought in trusted creative agency, New Motion, to shape the character and narrative (05:44).
- The key is cross-functional buy-in and iterative feedback, but also “taking advantage of being new” to try bold ideas.
"I want this AI guy to be part of me, but I want him to be punchable... the inspiration was cousin Greg from Succession."
— Marissa Kraines (07:43)
4. Why Most B2B Companies Struggle to Build Worlds
- Many B2B marketers believe top-of-funnel content must be “demo-focused” or product-centric, which stifles creativity (09:43).
- Brands must capture interest by relating to the human experience—humor, emotional resonance—not 8-minute demos.
"At the brand level, they still think you need to give a demo… That, for me, hurts my soul..."
— Marissa Kraines (09:54)
- Reference to the LinkedIn B2B Institute’s “95-5 rule”: 95% of buyers aren’t in-market at any given time.
5. Bringing the AI Guy to Life Across the Brand
- Strategy involved creating a wide range of assets: video, memes, stills, for organic and paid channels (13:37).
- Focus on embedding the AI Guy across social, events, and even on-site photo opportunities.
"We actually created, I think it was like 37 assets with New Motion… but we're also thinking, what are the memes we can create?"
— Marissa Kraines (13:41)
6. Where AI Succeeds—and Where it Falls Short
- Marissa uses AI as a collaborative “partner,” not as an output engine (15:57).
- AI amplifies but cannot replace human taste and final judgement.
“Claude’s my buddy. I'm like working with Claude all the time.”
— Marissa Kraines (16:21)
"Taste matters more than ever. Even with Figma AI or Canva, you still have to decide: do I like this? Is it just easy or is it good?"
— Marissa Kraines (19:53)
7. Measuring Brand World-Building
- Success isn’t just about pipeline—also tracked are site click-throughs, content engagement, survey results, and perception shifts (21:19).
- For Webflow, a specific challenge: shifting perception from “Wix competitor” to an enterprise-grade platform.
"My job is not only to build the brand, but it's to change the brand narrative that it is an enterprise product."
— Marissa Kraines (22:18)
8. Communicating the Brand Vision with Partners
- Critical to equip partner agencies and external teams with correct messaging and assets (24:03).
- Messaging tailored for different audiences, e.g., agencies don’t want “Webflow is easy to use” since their expertise is required.
9. Humor & Emotion: The Heart of Memorable Marketing
- Emotion—especially humor—is essential to connect, cut through noise, and be memorable (26:34).
- AI Guy campaign built around relatable, laugh-inducing quirks of AI interactions.
"I think humor is one thing. I think it's emotion in general and it's understanding the human experience...” — Marissa Kraines (26:34)
- Examples: Characters requesting specific lotion or shoe recommendations from AI and getting absurd, irrelevant answers (27:18).
10. Brand in the Age of AI Search & LLMs
- With fewer users clicking on websites, both technical (Answer Engine Optimization) and brand awareness are now crucial.
- Presence in online communities like Reddit is increasingly important as these are scraped for LLM responses (33:20).
"We're seeing like huge dips in people going to websites... so you need to make sure [your content] is getting mentioned everywhere."
— Daniel Murray (32:52)
"It's not just the website, again, it comes back to that community."
— Marissa Kraines (33:24)
- Example: Sonos’s direct engagement on Reddit, signing off with names, as a model for B2B brands’ community involvement (34:35).
11. Community and In-Person Connection in World-Building
- Marissa highlights surging demand for in-person events post-pandemic.
- Webflow's upcoming conference is expanding to meet overwhelming demand (36:55).
“The in person element is bigger than ever before as well. How do you make that work experience community?”
— Marissa Kraines (37:05)
- Plans to bring AI Guy into IRL events as photo ops, keynote segments, and as a feedback/engagement device (38:49).
Notable Quotes & Moments
-
"You can't teach taste… my meme idea beats AI and I'm trying hard to beat myself..."
— Daniel Murray (19:00) -
“World building has to include community building. They go hand in hand.”
— Daniel Murray (36:24) -
"It is human to human. Even in B2B, you are not talking to a business; you are talking to a human."
— Marissa Kraines (40:05)
Important Segment Timestamps
- 01:08 – Marissa’s origin story in marketing
- 02:22 – Defining world-building in B2B/P2P context
- 05:44 – Launching a brand/world campaign as a new leader
- 09:43 – Why B2B gets stuck: The “Demo” trap
- 13:37 – Distributing world-building assets and strategy
- 15:57 – How AI fits (and doesn’t) into creative brand work
- 21:19 – How to measure world-building success
- 26:34 – Role of humor and emotion in B2B
- 33:20 – Importance of brand mentions in LLM/answer engine era
- 36:55 – Community building and event strategy
- 38:49 – Integrating characters/world-building into IRL events
- 40:04 – Marissa's “marketing hill to die on”: Human-to-human
The Tone & Style
The episode is fast-paced, candid, and laced with both practical advice and humorous asides. Marissa’s approach is creative, bold, and focused on emotional resonance rather than old-school B2B playbooks. Daniel adds practical perspectives and relatable humor, keeping the conversation grounded and tactical.
Takeaways for Marketers
- "B2B" brands must start thinking "P2P"—emphasize emotional connections and humor, not just specs and demos.
- Iconic characters can make brands relatable, memorable, and scalable across numerous campaigns and channels.
- AI is a powerful assistant, but human taste and creativity are irreplaceable.
- Community engagement and authentic presence in digital (Reddit, social) and in-person (conferences) spaces are vital for brand relevance.
- Successful world-building requires measurement: both short-term (pipeline, traffic) and long-term (brand perception).
Closing
To keep up with Marissa Kraines, connect with her on LinkedIn. Expect to see more of Webflow’s AI Guy—online, at events, and perhaps as the next beloved (or “punchable”) figure in the B2B marketing universe.