THOUGHT LEADERSHIP DISRUPTED:

NEW RULES FOR THE CONTENT AGE

Chris Shedd

@cjshedd

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

SEA OF CONTENT

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

THE ECONOMIST IS A SMART GUIDE TO THE

FORCES THAT SHAPE THE FUTURE

TRUSTED The Economist is

relied upon as a filter of

world affairs.

SMART Our readers turn to

The Economist to make sense of the forces that

shape our future.

GLOBAL The only publication with

a dedicated section covering every region in

the world, every week.

BOLD Founded to defend free

trade, The Economist is not afraid to advocate

for positive change.

WELL-WRITTEN Readers value The

Economist’s distinct style of intelligence

and wit.

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

WE’RE MORE THAN

A MAGAZINE

Research

Mobile

Content

& Events

TVC &

Films

Special

Publications

Apps

Data

Visualization

Podcasts

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

WE SURVEYED

838 business thought leadership consumers executives

<$500m

>$5bn

806 marketers

C-suite or equivalent

57% YES

43% NO

29% Western Europe

25%

Rest of World

21% North America

25% Asia

Geography

Samples annual global revenue

66%

15%

C-suite or equivalent

30% Western Europe

20% Rest of World

23% North America

26% Asia

Geography 41% YES

59% NO <$500m

>$5bn

Samples annual global revenue

53%

22%

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP \ˈTHÔT\\ˈLĒ-DƏR-ˌSHIP\

The practice of influencing a community of interest by

developing information, analysis and insight that helps its

audience understand its world and plan for

the future. It can be delivered in any medium, and can help

companies raise awareness, shift perception and increase

the status of their brand.

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

AUDIENCES ARE REACHING CONTENT

OVERLOAD

3 in 5 global

executives admit

sometimes feeling

confused or

overwhelmed by the

volume of content

they encounter

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

YET MARKETERS KEEP CHURNING OUT CONTENT

80% of marketers plan to

increase the

amount of thought

leadership content they produce

Half of marketers

believe

<20% of current output

gets engagement

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

AND WE CAN SEE WHY

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

z

83% would be influenced in

their choice of potential

business partner

76% of senior executives

are influenced in their

purchasing decisions

67% would be willing to

advocate for that

brand or organisation

externally

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN WE DO IT RIGHT

CONSUME

MORE SHARE

MORE

z

PURCHASE

MORE

ADVOCATE

MORE

z

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

BUT THE PROBLEM IS,

WE’RE DOING IT WRONG

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

‘The challenge for B2B content is that it competes in a huge array of

media fighting for time against other always-on entertainment.’

John Rudaizky, Brand & Marketing Leader, Partner, EY

WE STILL NEED TO FIND

A CONNECTION

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

SO HOW DO YOU MAKE THE SHORTLIST?

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

RULE 1: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT (AND NEED) NOT JUST WHAT YOU’RE WILLING TO GIVE

MARKETERS ARE NOT TRULY FOCUSED ON THE

AUDIENCE

Nearly half of all marketers (47%) cite differentiating their

company from the competition as a primary objective.

42% cite gaining recognition for their company or key

individuals as experts/authority in their field.

Only 28% of marketers cited helping their audience to become

more knowledgeable as a key objective.

Only two in ten cited social media shares or time spent with

content (24%, 21%) as a top measure of ROI.

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

AND LAY OFF THE SALES PITCH

#TLDisrupted #DSPDX

RULE 2: KNOW YOURSELF

FIRST, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF

OUR OWN WAY

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

INTERNAL ALIGNEMENT IS KEY

More than 60%

strongly agree or somewhat agree that internal alignment is a barrier to thought leadership production.

#TLDisrupted #DSPDX

WHO ARE YOU?

“It’s important for all companies to have a clear idea

of their brand internally before you go ahead and talk

about how that manifests itself externally. To be

credible you have to have a clear understanding of

what you want to portray.”

Hamish Rickman, VP Marketing, Virgin Atlantic

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

AUDIENCES ARE REACHING CONTENT

OVERLOAD

#TLDisrupted #DSPDX

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

RULE 3: INVOLVE OUTSIDE EXPERTS

When asked about who was NOT involved in the planning of thought leadership, but should be marketers cited:

Media partners

All employees

Customers/other outside sources

50%

49%

47%

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

RULE 4: LESS IS MORE

< = >

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

RETURN TO THE FUNDAMENTALS

55%

Trust is established through

the quality or nature of the research and whether the

data is ‘credible’.

‘Challenger brands’ who want to break through and make the shortlist must employ rigour: for an unfamiliar source to prompt engagement, it needs to be a ‘source of hard facts’ (47%).

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© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016

SURPRISE!

TEXT STILL MATTERS

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

RULE 5: THINK BIG & BUILD

A RELATIONSHIP OVER TIME

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

DESPITE THE NOISE, EXECS ARE STILL

HUNGRY FOR HELP

68% consume thought leadership on at least a weekly basis.

33% do so daily. 20% have increased consumption “a lot” over the

past 12 months.

< 5% have reduced consumption either a little or a lot.

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

RULE 5: THINK BIG & BUILD A

RELATIONSHIP OVER TIME

Executives and marketers agree: Compelling TL is ‘innovative’, ‘big

picture’, ‘credible’ and

‘transformative’.

According to executives unimpressive

TL is ‘superficial’, ‘sales-driven’ and

‘biased’

#TLDisrupted #DSPDX

RULE 6: BE A THOUGHT PARTNER

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

EFFECTIVE THOUGHT LEADERS

PUSH BOUNDRIES

of consumers like to

encounter thoughts and ideas that go

beyond current thinking.

96%

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

“It’s mindshare

before market share.”

Rebecca Edwards,

Chief Communications Officer, GE Oil & Gas

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

THE NEW RULES

1. Know your audience – put them first

2. Know yourself – know where you have a right to play

3. But don’t be limited – involve outside experts

4. Less is more – return to the fundamentals

5. Think big – build a relationship over time

6. Stop trying to be a thought leader – be a thought partner

WE MUST REMEMBER

IT’S THEIR JOURNEY THAT MATTERS…

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

SO WHAT ARE YOU

GOING TO DO?

#TLDisrupted #DSKC

#TLDisrupted

TLDisrupted.com

Chris Shedd VP, Brand Partnerships, Financial Services The Economist Group @cjshedd