Thought leadership disrupted: New rules for the content age

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
DISRUPTED
New rules for the content age

2
The content landscape has exploded, with publishers,
brands and agencies all contributing to a very crowded
space. In this context does ‘thought leadership’ retain the
same currency it once did?
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in association with
Hill+Knowlton Strategies, conducted a wide-reaching piece
of research to answer this question and consider the
challenges marketers face today in the new content age.
DOES THOUGHT LEADERSHIP STILL HAVE VALUE?

3
“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

4
© THE ECONOMIST GROUP AND HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES 2016
Phase 1
An advisory board meeting comprising 10 senior UK
marketers to inform the focus of the surveys and shape
our thinking.
Phase 2
An online survey of more than 1,600 global
executives who either produce or consume thought
leadership content, on their motivations, actions and
perceptions.
OUR METHODOLOGY

5
The
Results

6
3 in 5 global executives
admit sometimes feeling
confused or overwhelmed
by the volume of content they
encounter:
with only 5% thinking it has decreased
56% think that intrusiveness has increased
Nearly 16% think the value of content has decreased somewhat or a
lot
68% agree that volume has gone up,
Audiences are reaching content overload

7
• In the last 12-24 months, nearly 75% of executives
became more selective generally about the thought
leadership they consume, with just over 80% citing
the volume of content as the reason for this change.
• 44% engage with less than 20% of the thought
leadership they see.
and, as a result, are refining their shortlists

8
After consuming compelling TL most respondents ‘do something’ as a direct
result:
70%
consume more
from that source
But there are rewards for getting it right
53%
sign up to a
newsletter
47%
share via social
media

9
z
76%
of senior executives
are influenced in their
purchasing decisions
67%
would be willing to
advocate for that brand or
organisation externally
83%
would be influenced in their
choice of potential
business partner
Thought leadership can build loyalty and sales
Big rewards…

10
• 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
• Less than 5% have reduced consumption
either a little or a lot.
And, the executive audience is still hungry

11
Executives and marketers agree: Compelling TL is
‘innovative’, ‘big picture’, ‘credible’ and
‘transformative’.
According to executives unimpressive TL is ‘superficial’,
‘sales-driven’ and ‘biased’
‘Sales driven’ does not make marketers’ top 3 as a quality
of unimpressive thought leadership. Instead they cite
‘jargon-laden’
The bar is set high and getting higher

12
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%).
55%
And ‘credible’ brands have an advantage

13
What’s
getting in
marketers’
way?

14
More than 60%
strongly agree or somewhat agree
that internal alignment is a barrier
to thought leadership production.
Mainly, themselves

15
80%
of marketers plan to
increase the amount
of thought leadership
content they produce
in the coming 12
months <20%
Nearly half believe that
less than 20% of their
current output gets
engagement
But marketers seem undaunted by poor results

16
Nearly half of all marketers (47%) cite differentiating their
company from the competition as a primary objective of
thought leadership.
Four in ten (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.
Yet, 82% believe that to create compelling thought
leadership, the content needs to centre on the
audience’s interest rather than profiling the brand.
Marketers are not truly focused on the audience

17
The top ROI measures are achieving policy/issues
objectives and citations in press or third party
publications (35%, 28%).
Only two in ten cited social media shares or time
spent with content (24%, 21%).
The disconnect between these measures and the goal
of creating content that is audience-centric
underscores a duality with which marketers are
struggling.
…and that’s a challenge for marketers

18
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%
And the right people may not be involved in planning

19
“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.

20
So what is effective thought leadership?
96% of consumers like to
encounter thoughts and
ideas that go beyond current
thinking.
96%
‘It’s mindshare before market
share.’
Rebecca Edwards, Chief Communications Officer,
GE Oil & Gas

21
Appendix:
advisory board
& survey
demographics

22
Aina Bolstad, Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Microsoft
Rebecca Edwards, Chief Communications Officer, GE Oil and Gas
Nicholas Graham, Global Director Digital Marketing, Huawei Technologies
Rachel Grant, Global Director of Media Relations, McKinsey
Sandra Higgison, AVP Product Marketing, Genpact
Hamish Rickman, VP Marketing, Virgin Atlantic
Severin Roald, SVP Corporate Communications, Telenor
Mark Rose, Brand Communications Manager Europe, BP
John Rudaizky, Partner, Global Brand & External Communications Leader, EY
Andy Weitz, SVP, Global Marketing & Communications, Aon
Advisory Board members

23
838
business
thought
leadership
consumers
executives
<$500m
>$5bn (very large companies)
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 (very large companies)
Samples annual global revenue
53%
22%
We surveyed

24
About us
About The Economist Group:
In an era of information overload, The Economist Group Content Solutions help organizations be
heard by the world’s most influential people.
With 60 years experience of delivering content to clients, bolstered by 650 expert analyst and
editors worldwide across 200 countries and underpinned by an unrivalled in-house survey panel
that bolsters the qualitative and quantitative analysis we undertake, we have the depth and
breadth to deliver vital business intelligence which can rise above the noise.
Learn more at http://ebrandconnect.economist.com/
About Hill+Knowlton Strategies
We help brands and the public communicate.
H+K offers senior counsel, insightful research and strategic communications throughout the world.
With over 85 offices in 47 countries around the globe, our teams collaborate across time zones,
languages, and cultures to help clients make solid decisions and craft compelling campaigns in
today’s measurable world.
Learn more at: www.hkstrategies.com/

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