Observed Signal · Aug 19, 2026 · Interview · Source: The Drum · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Katrina Kilgas: Trust Is B2B's Competitive Edge
Katrina Kilgas, B2B digital journey manager at Shell Lubricants and juror for The Drum B2B Awards, argues that earning buyer trust before a sales opportunity is the primary long-term competitive advantage in B2B. Drawing on 12 years at Shell Lubricant Solutions, she says marketers should measure influence over clicks, use AI to surface buying signals and prioritize human judgment for strategy, and protect brand investment while investing in end-to-end first‑party data integrations that unify CRM, intent data and analytics.
Provides practitioner-level guidance on B2B strategy, first-party data integration and AI use for marketers; relevant to B2B MarTech planning but not a major platform policy or industry-shifting event.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Katrina Kilgas is B2B digital journey manager at Shell Lubricants and a juror on The Drum B2B Awards Industry jury.
- She has 12 years’ experience building digital marketing strategy inside Shell Lubricant Solutions.
- Kilgas recommends investing in end-to-end data integrations and a unified first-party customer intelligence capability combining customer data, buying signals, CRM activity, intent data, analytics and AI-driven decision-making.
- She uses AI to analyze buying signals, predict account stages, prioritize sales actions and surface insights, but emphasizes humans remain responsible for strategy and decision-making.
- Her stated marketing priority for B2B is earning brand trust and shaping preference before buyers enter demand funnels.
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Related Market Signals & Shifts
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B2B Marketers Must Earn Professional Trust
Craig Duxbury's opinion piece argues that B2B marketers face a fundamental question: what are they trusted to decide? While they handle communications and campaigns, their professional judgment in growth strategy, market shaping, and investment recommendations is often not fully leveraged. The article highlights LinkedIn research showing 86% of US B2B marketers report younger buyers trust peer recommendations over branded content, underscoring a shift in trust dynamics. Duxbury advocates for building professional currency through deeper business understanding, commercial acumen, and the ability to bridge specialisms. He suggests that AI's role in providing information makes marketing judgment more critical than ever, positioning the professional's expertise as the key differentiator in a landscape where data is abundant but wisdom is scarce.
B2B Awards Juror Urges Brands to Stand Out
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B2B Marketing Mustn't Be Boring, Says Hillary Nussbaum
Hillary Nussbaum, director of content at The Ricciardi Group and a juror on The Drum B2B Awards' Creative Aces jury, argues that B2B marketing should avoid being dull and must instead surprise and engage real people. She warns that AI-driven sameness increases audience skepticism and that human creativity — specificity, humor and empathy — remains the differentiator. Nussbaum recommends deep audience understanding (beyond job titles) and advises focusing on delivering value in each piece of content. For 2026 she would invest in executive thought leadership and urges brand-building over short-term tactics. The article was published by Margo Waldrop in The Drum on 2026-07-10.
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