Archive for August, 2009

Thought leadership case study - Dove

Dove - the quintessential thought leadership case study:

When Dove launched its Campaign for Real Beauty, little did it realize the global impact it would have on women and the debate around real beauty, let alone double-digit growth for the brand in the second business quarter of 2005, a sales increase of 11 percent in the first quarter of 2005 and a total US dollar sale increase of 6 percent to $500 million.

This was a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) product launched in a truly unconventional way, through a website that does not carry one advertisement nor mention any of Dove’s products. It took very brave marketing executives at Dove to make that decision and hats off to them, because this has to rank as one of the world’s best examples of a great thought leadership campaign.

Effectively what the campaign did was create a forum for women to participate in a dialogue and debate around the definition and standards of beauty. The campaign aimed to ‘change the status quo and offer in its place a broader, healthier, more democratic view of beauty’. The dedicated website http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com is a wonderful example of how to engage with a target audience online.

The campaign started with a research paper, ‘The US Dove Report: challenging beauty^’ ,  http://tiny.cc/Fu4Sf which was followed by publication of a second major research report: ‘The real truth about beauty: a global report’ http://tiny.cc/VTxv4 . And while there are many elements to the campaign, Dove initially invited women to the website to participate in a conversation about beauty stereotypes. Advertising, billboards and a PR campaign helped direct women to the site, but it was the website which became the spiritual hub of the campaign.

Thought leadership in action - engaging with your consumer

The site was designed to be a ‘starting point for societal change’ as well as a sanctuary for women, and it represents what Dove believes. Dove invited women to engage in a global dialogue about beauty stereotypes that it says had a ‘profound effect on the self-esteem of women’. The website is personal and private, and encourages women to express how they feel, while giving them the opportunity to have their voice heard through an online voting system. It also has a variety of tools to help improve the self-esteem of girls and women.

To this end, the Dove Self Esteem Fund was recently launched to help free the next generation of women from self-limiting beauty stereotypes. It aims to reach five million young women by the end of 2010.

Long-term thought leadership

Dove tapped into something deep and enduring. It engaged with its customers in a way it never has before and in a way many products never will. In so doing, it has created customer evangelists and great word-of-mouth for the brand. It is also used in presentations around the world as an example of a company truly engaging with its customers on issues which really matter to them.

The Dove campaign for real beauty is the quintessential thought leadership campaign for four key reasons:

• It taps into the needs and hits the hot buttons of its target audience
• It identifies the passion and emotion in the brand
• It readily provides great content
• It cuts the umbilical cord with its products and focuses on issues which matter to its target audiences.

The issue, real beauty and self esteem, became synonymous with the brand and Dove now owns that space.

The Dove campaign is a great reminder to all of us marketers, brand, advertising or public relation professionals about why we should be brave with our work.

A reader’s definition of thought leadership

An ex colleague of mine and respected South African PR practitioner, Merle O’Brien has sent me this definition of thought leadership:

I have a definition on thoughtleadership to toss in the ring - the strategic practice of cultivating market insight and building foresight using business management tools (media scans, market research, statistics, trend analysis, scenario planning, forecasting etc.) that INFLUENCES organisational change, sustainability and brand integrity. For me - leadership comes down to influence - a leader influences change - managers implement the change - but lack the skill to change direction - leaders who can influence a change in direction based on their intellect (not money, status, charisma, power etc)- are the ones who are ruling the meetings these days.      

Wisdom is the highest level to which we can mature ‘data’ - first into knowledge - then we develop intelligence - and using a time-series we can then build insights on which to develop strategies - the process deepens our understanding of the dynamics influencing the driving forces of our market / business. Only then, do we reach a point of being able to take a sound / wise business decision. Many problems were created in 20th century by management not maturing the data - and their decisions are now tripping them up because it lacked depth, creativity and a systematic approach. I think a thoughtleader must also be a good systems thinker - able to respond to situations analytically and creatively (to join the dots into intelligent patterns and also not react to situations according to prescribed patterns). It is also interesting that social scientists now promote the view that there are 3 stages ‘beyond Maslow’s hierachy of needs’ - when after we self actualise (stage 5), we become more fulfilled by helping others grow (stage 6), then we evolve our awareness of our eco-impact on the world (stage 7) and then we come into unity consciousness (stage at which level wisdom is acquired and for these individuals - fulfilment is found in daily solitary reflection on how s/he makes a positive influence in the world each day. I imagine that a thoughtleader of the 21st century would need to be at stage 8 in order to navigate an organisation to a sustainable better place thro the 21st century’s complexity, chaos and paradigm shifts.

 I love Merle’s thinking on though leadership, particularly the way she has linked to the three stages beyond Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. For it is here that the true thought leaders of the next few decades will emerge.

There are many different levels of thought leadership but the great thought leaders are the ones who take their stakeholders to a place they didn’t know existed or enlighten/expose an audience to new thinking in a way that adds unexpected value to their lives whether that be in a professional or personal capacity.

Why thought leadership for a brand?

OK I admit I haven’t exactly been the devoted blogger one should be when launching a blog but hopefully I have a good excuse.  We’ve just bought a house, moved in, been offline for days and had to deal with a client crisis at work.

Unfortunately my blog lost out in the process.

Why a thought leadership position for a brand?

I’d like to explore my philosophy of why brands and in particular, corporations, need to have a thought leadership point of view.

It is expected by society, regulators and government today that the products and services a company develops and sells need to be seen to support growth, not just financially but also personally, socially and spiritually.

It’s no longer acceptable for companies to merely sell their products without due consideration for the environment, the communities within which they operate and the way they source and dispose of their products.

This is not a new term but a company’s ‘social licence’ to operate is constantly being called into question as legislators, community pressure groups, social media commentators, non-government organizations (NGOs) and the media, focus increasingly on companies and their responsibility from ‘farm to fork’ or ‘factory to landfill’.

Focus your thought leadership around your values and those of your audiences

It’s my view that companies should be looking at opportunities to  establish connections with the values, dreams and aspirations of their customers if they are to remain competitive.

It is in these areas that companies will also find their thought leadership ideas. it is in these areas where companies should be focusing their thought leadership ideas - particularly if they want their brands to inspire their audiences and they want to differentiate themselves from their competition.

Companies serious about embarking on a thought  leadership campaign should be re-evaluating what their brand/company stands for.  Deep inspection of these questions linked to the aspirations, wants and needs of its customers should give you the clues to apply and deliver longer-term, strategic thinking to your thought leadership ideas.

I have already talked about the seven steps to great thought leadership (START IP), which if followed, will lead to more meaningful, strategic and values-based thought leadership campaigns.

I suggest you check it out - not only will it deliver better marketing and public relations outcomes for the company but it will help define a unique space for your brand and a great thought leadership position.  One in which  senior management and employees can believe.

I promise you that it’s not difficult and it is a very rewarding path to pursue.  All that is required is time, commitment and importantly a willingness at a senior level to engage with and deliver authentic, compelling content to your audiences.

In this way, you will engage with your customers/clients/stakeholders in a way you never have before.