Tell us about yourself. 

I’m Blayne Pereira, Head of Marketing at Tribe Payments. We were founded in 2018 and are a B2B payments fintech specialising in issuer and acquirer processing. We have around 220 employees globally, with our largest tech hub in Kaunas, Lithuania, and more recently we’ve expanded into Singapore and the UAE.

I’ve been working in B2B marketing and content for around 12 years. I joined Tribe four years ago, having moved over from the agency world, which definitely shapes how I think about marketing and how it should work within a business.

How do you see your role as a marketer in driving broader industry or sector change within your space? 

There are a couple of things here. One is that B2B marketing itself is incredibly varied. There’s always been this B2B versus B2C debate, but ultimately everyone consumes media in the same way. The difference really comes down to the industry you’re in

We operate within a niche payments sub-sector of the wider fintech space (paytech). We’re very much a B2B2B or B2B2C, and you’re not going to see us advertising on bus stops or in newspapers. A big part of our challenge is that we’re marketing a company where you don’t always have the freedom to market in obvious ways.

For us, partner marketing is key. We host breakfast events, we’re present at trade shows, and we work very closely with partners who effectively act as the bridge to our end customers. Brand visibility still matters, but it happens in parallel to the sales and product process rather than being front and centre.

Where I think marketing can drive change in our industry is helping sales, tech and product teams understand that marketing doesn’t always have to be loud or obvious. It’s often working alongside what they’re building and selling, rather than sitting on top of it.

What's the most provocative idea or strategy you've implemented in your b2b marketing, and what was the response? 

“Provocative” might be a strong word, but there are a couple of things that still feel needed in the industry. One is championing people within the company. I think there are three ways you go at marketing a company:

You market the product or solution. You use storytelling (so you use your customers), and you champion the people within it.

That third one comes with some risk. It can create a feeling that there are only one or two “brains” behind the entire company, and that’s not right for every business. But if you champion the talent you have, and those people can explain why the products work and who they’re effective for, that’s often just as impactful as external customer stories.

At Tribe, we’ve done this in two ways over the last two and a half to three years. First, we’ve clearly recruited people who are well known in the industry for their track record and what they’ve done. That, in itself, brings authority. I think you should shout about good hires in a strong marketing way.

Then you put those people in front of a camera – on panels, in written content – and let them explain how the product is sufficient for someone, or why it’s built the way it is.

The second piece is newsjacking. That’s huge for us.

We’re not afraid to go against the grain with certain things. When the Oasis concerts were announced and dynamic pricing caused a big outcry, Tribe was probably one of the few companies publicly playing devil’s advocate. We said: this is the purpose dynamic pricing serves, this is how it’s effective. As a consumer, you might not want to see it, but people accept it every day with Uber or airline tickets. So is there a case for ticketing to be the same?

That’s me speaking with my Tribe hat on. I obviously have my own opinions as a sports fan on tickets and pricing. But from a marketing and payments perspective, it was important that we explained the mechanics and the reality, rather than just joining the outrage.

We also pick our battles. When the Trump tariff situation happened, for example, we were approached for comment but chose not to speak about it because of the obvious potential pitfalls. 

Championing internal talent plus smart newsjacking have been key for us, especially as a smaller B2B player up against bigger fish with bigger budgets.

We’re also strong supporters of women in payments and women in business. We have women at C-level and in senior commercial roles, and we’re more than happy to support them – not just around International Women’s Day, but all year round.

Wherever possible, we’ll put our women on stage and on panels – not to tick a box, but because they’re actually the ones running departments, as is case, for example, in our Baltics commercial team. That puts more of a face behind the company and keeps that kind of industry activism more of an “always on” thing, rather than something you only talk about once a year.

Can you share an example of how you've used storytelling to shift perceptions in your industry? 

In my current role, it can often be quite difficult to explain what we do. That’s just the reality of our company and our space. Plus, it’s not lost on us that our USP – of being an issuer and acquirer processor – can be used as a ‘jack of all trades’ stick for our competitors to hit us with.

One of our customers serves online travel agencies. Using that story was brilliant for us because it actually helped people understand what we do. If you’re just throwing jargon at someone – and I know it’s my job to reduce jargon – it might not always land until you see it in action.

So we’ve used storytelling more to shift perception and explain what we do than to be “provocative”. We’re in a heavily jargon-based industry, and if you’re new to it or unfamiliar with the intricacies, that’s where storytelling really helps.

In a previous role, the best campaign I worked on was with NatWest Group. We went out and championed almost two dozen small businesses around Christmas as part of a campaign. We put individuals on camera and gave them social media airtime. That’s much more common now, but back then banks were so risk-averse that doing anything like that was rare. I’m still really proud of that.

In your view, what do you think is the biggest change needed in b2b marketing right now? 

I can probably speak more from the tech side of B2B, but for me the key thing is making sure marketing and product are fully aligned.

There’s a tendency for companies to put marketing within sales or commercial functions, which makes sense up to a point. Marketing should definitely have a touchpoint there. But ultimately you’re marketing a product or solution. That’s where everything comes from and where you really understand not just what you’re doing, but why you’re doing it and how you’re helping your customer/prospect.

Last year we completely redesigned our product schematic to make it more user-friendly and easier to understand. We got great feedback, and that came from being generally product-led and making a conscious effort to present things in a clearer way.

Previously, when we were more heavily focused on fintech-to-fintech sales, we were probably more led by the sales team and what they were getting traction on in meetings. As we’ve grown up, we’ve taken more control of our roadmap and how we talk about it: this is what we’re doing, this is how we can help you now, and this is how we plan to help you in future.

So for any scale-up and beyond, I’d say it’s critical to align as closely as possible with your product team. 

How do you encourage your team or organisation to think boldly and embrace change in their marketing approaches? 

I’ve been lucky in that people I’ve worked with before have always given me a good amount of autonomy. I think autonomy is the key thing here.

For people in my team, I try to give them as much creative freedom as possible. Let them get on with tasks, be there for guidance when they need it, and give them the tools and support they need to flourish. If they need courses, support or new software to help them do their job better – within reason – that’s fine.

Marketing is very subjective, and that’s almost the point. You want people to put their own mark on a campaign and feel involved, whatever level of the organisation they’re at.

There are cultural nuances too. At Tribe we’re a global company. Marketing-wise we used to be more spread across Europe, and there was more of a feeling from some junior staff in certain regions that they preferred to be told very specifically what to do. Coming from the UK agency world – where you give people a brief and they get on with it – that was a surprise.

In some cases it got to the point where I was almost doing the job twice because they needed very prescriptive instructions. So it’s important when you hire to make sure people understand they’re stepping into an autonomous role, and to recognise that not everyone wants to be managed in the same way.

You don’t want someone who literally just wants to be told what to do 9-5 and that’s it. I’m not saying people should work late, but while you’re there, especially in marketing, you want people to use their own creativity. That’s the key thing.

What do you think in one word makes b2b marketing changemaking? 

Adaptability. You have to adapt constantly with consumer trends, media consumption and algorithms. In my world, roadmaps change, lead times get longer, approvals can feel like that Titanic meme – “it’s been 84 years” – especially when you’re dealing with partners! And that’s before you even mention the budget.

What is your one piece of advice to future change makers on how to be more effective in B2B marketing? 

Back in the agency world there was always this phrase that “everyone’s a designer, everyone’s a marketer”. It’s usually met with frustration, but I actually think there’s no reason you shouldn’t embrace it, as long as the group is genuinely diverse.

Groupthink can be useful if it’s coming from a mix of people. If it’s just three people who all think the same, it’s not going to work. So my advice is: drop the ego and embrace the opinions of others.

You’re not always going to agree with them and you don’t have to use every piece of feedback. But in marketing, if people disagree with you, it usually means they’re seeing something you’re not. What are you missing?

It helps you be more aware of your own blind spots in a campaign. It also puts you in a better position when you go back to people and say, “I did understand what you were saying – however, here’s the reality, here’s why we’ve gone this way.” You can’t take everyone’s feedback on board, but at least you’ve listened and considered it.

Changemakers spotlight innovative B2B marketing leaders who are driving industry transformation, where we explore bold strategies, disruptive ideas and the power of marketing. Meet more Changemakers here.

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