February 24, 2026
February 24, 2026
“I’ve always said it’s impossible to stand out if you spend all your time trying to fit in,” says Evan Shapiro, the digital cartographer known for his Media Universe Maps. “And now, when the middle-of-the-pack marketers incorporate AI slop, the need to be authentically different from everything else in the world becomes increasingly crucial.”
As B2B marketing continues its evolution from lead-gen tactics to content-driven thought leadership, few observers have tracked the transformation more closely than he has. Before he was CEO of strategy agency ESHAP, Shapiro helped shape the broader media landscape as an Emmy-winning producer and executive at cable channels IFC and SundanceTV.
With a background in consumer media, he moves easily between B2C and B2B, treating professional audiences like people, not job titles. His “Media War & Peace” Substack is a must-read for thousands of industry leaders that replaces dry data with visual storytelling.
Shapiro sees a tectonic shift coming for the industry, where AI-generated mediocrity makes “good enough” content a losing strategy.
If you were mapping the B2B landscape today, which brands would be dominant?
The gold standards now are Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. They’re the three largest B2B brands in the world just by total revenue. But they’re also three of the most trusted and most used brands. Take Google, which recently announced it had three-quarters of a billion users on Gemini, on top of 2 billion users on YouTube, 97% of search, and 67% of web browsers. But people sleep on how much B2B they do.
What makes them trusted?
Literally, you’re trusting them with everything — your company infrastructure in many of these cases. Scale definitely does help. The brand recognition absolutely helps. But also, their tech just works. I mean, when [Amazon’s] AWS goes down, the whole world goes down.
Where is B2B heading in 2026?
B2B is going the way of most marketing — more socially and content-oriented than purely tactical. You have to remember that the main consumers of B2B marketing these days are millennials and Gen Z. They grew up online and on social media, so they’re looking for influencer-led content. So, thought leadership is probably the fastest-growing segment of the B2B marketing economy.
You have to remember that the main consumers of B2B marketing these days are millennials and Gen Z. They grew up online and on social media, so they’re looking for influencer-led content. So, thought leadership is probably the fastest-growing segment of the B2B marketing economy.
Does LinkedIn continue to dominate as the B2B platform?
That’s probably true for me, and it’s true for certain sectors. But many brands do a ton of B2B business on Facebook. And then there’s a shit-ton of B2B business being done on Twitter and YouTube.
Which B2B brands are doing well on short-video apps like TikTok?
One is PwC Luxembourg, which produces great viral videos. They made their version of “The Office,” but with music videos. It is really inventive and fun. B2B and culture are tracking more closely together.
What’s your advice for a startup marketer who is trying to navigate so many digital channels?
Follow your audience. Most good startups are meant to solve a problem. What problem do you solve? And then part of that is: Who are you solving this problem for? What’s the size of the total addressable audience? Once you size your audience and understand exactly who they are, choosing the platform becomes a little easier because you'll have a clear profile. Are they LinkedIn users? Are they podcast listeners? Are they Substack users?
Once you size your audience and understand exactly who they are, choosing the platform becomes a little easier because you’ll have a clear profile. Are they LinkedIn users? Are they podcast listeners? Are they Substack users?
What happens to old-school B2B tactics like white papers and gated content?
The podcast is the new white paper. If you look at my podcast, it’s a series of case studies, frankly, for my clients. For instance, I consulted the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company), which changed its YouTube strategy. The effort was very successful, so they came on the podcast, we talked about it, we published it; it’s a great loop.
Do white papers still have a place?
I do partnership white papers with folks all the time. It’s all about updating the distribution, language, and tone to reflect today's consumption patterns and buyers. If your potential buyers are millennials, you can’t talk to them the way Bain & Company talked to the market back in the day. It's not gonna fly.
If your potential buyers are millennials, you can’t talk to them the way Bain & Company talked to the market back in the day. It's not gonna fly.
What can B2B marketers learn from your success?
I worked with Kantar on a survey in which they asked senior leaders what they’re looking for right now. No. 1 was taking complex information and translating it into easily accessible narratives. That’s what I do. Find as many different sources as you possibly can, and gather many points of view to grow a point of view that only you can have. Put that into a story that people can understand quickly and easily, and share. That cycle of skills will never go away, no matter what sector you’re in: automotive, finance, education, healthcare, media, or advertising. It’s a powerful tool and what most people are looking for right now.
