Archive for 2009

Podcast on 7 steps to thought leadership

I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Phil Dobbie last week and he has posted the podcast of this interview on his site BTalk Australia .  Phil has a wealth of radio and business experience. He started his career in commercial radio in the UK and has been in Australia since 1991.  BNET provides lively and insightful views on business issues.

Listen to the podcast here.

Is thought leadership really useless jargon?

My apologies for not posting anything for some weeks but I’m just back from a wonderful trip to South Africa after emigrating to Australia six years ago.   

I took a decision not to take my Blackberry, not to look at e mails, not to twitter and not to blog.  Pretty radical for someone who can never put his Blackberry down but I highly recommend it – it’s quite liberating.

Before I left, a work contact of mine, Glen Frost, who is rapidly emerging as a thought leader in his own right in the PR and Marketing conferencing world in Australia  www.frocomm.com/  alerted me to an article in Media Asia http://www.media.asia/ wherein David Wolf the CEO of Wolf Group Asia http://www.wolfgroupasia.com/  says that thought leadership should be declared useless jargon.  I attach a pdf of the article here - unfortunately you have to subscribe to Media Asia and cannot view the article online.

Well David’s article certainly raised the hackles for someone as passionate about the subject of thought leadership as I am.  Before I share with you my response to David’s article I would first like to say that I think it’s fantastic that people like David are even bothering to talk about thought leadership – it means it is a term and a practice that is well and truly alive albeit not always in a form that is palatable for people like David.

Why thought leadership should not be declared ‘useless jargon’ 

In his September issue article ‘Thought leadership should be declared useless jargon’, David Wolf raises some excellent points but fluffs his main line.  Just because people misuse the term Public Relations or Advertising doesn’t mean we should turn them into nebulous descriptors like: “How we help companies build their brand and engage with their stakeholders.”

In the same way nor should we dump the term thought leadership for David’s generic label:  “…help our companies and clients lead an industry agenda and deliver genuine insights”.

The fact that David has written about thought leadership is a good sign – it means it has traction, the industry is taking note.  I know a lot of clients are crying out for it.

But sadly David is right, it is often misused.  That, however, doesn’t mean you should suddenly declare it useless jargon.

A more constructive approach would be for the marketing industry to educate ourselves and our clients about the true meaning and value of thought leadership, how one can identify or best package the company’s IP or point-of-view and in the process add real value to the company’s stakeholders.

By taking the high road, recognising what true thought leadership is really about and applying tighter discipline and rigour around the term and its processes we can allow it to take its rightful place in the marketing mix.

There are too many great thought leadership campaigns out there for it to be dismissed so easily. 

Great examples of two different thought leaders

In the past 24 hours I have come across two great examples of thought leadership aimed at the SME market.

The first is blogger,  Chris Brogan  http://www.chrisbrogan.com/ I subscribed to his newsletter and in his latest article, he recommended a site called Small Biz Survival  http://www.smallbizsurvival.com/ .  What struck me about both these sites was the wonderful abundance mentality when it comes to sharing useful information.  Both characteristics of true thought leaders.

For all those aspiring thought leaders out there I suggest you visit these sites to gain a view as to how powerful a) online can be as  a repository for thought leadership content, and b) how generous both sites are in the way the discuss and share solutions with their target audiences – no strings attached.

Chris advises businesses, organizations, and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value.  Becky McRay started Small Biz Survival because as she says on her site, she is “a small town entrepreneur.  I write about small business and rural issues, based on my own successes and failures.”

Here are two thought leaders who have built a niche for themselves in their respective areas of expertise by following the basic steps of driving a thought leadership position.

If you have any other examples you’d like to share of people like Becky and Chris, please let me know.

Is thought leadership coming of age?

I would like to draw your attention to a post written by Blair Currie the CEO of Aegis Media in Japan at  http://tinyurl.com/lljhdg . In it he talks about his ten predictions for 2010.  But what caught my eye were two points in particular:

Disruption will be the norm. With an abundance of choice, products and services need to be even more extraordinary to stand out and succeed. More attention and reward will be given to those who can find greatness within or outside market norms. The need to be more inventive will make creative destruction the norm rather than the exception. Consequently, effective change agents will be in increasing demand.

 Brands will grow up. People will expect brands to do more than simply satisfy their basic needs. Brands will need to appeal higher up Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs. As a result, brands will take on different roles in society supporting an increasing range and depth of CSR programs.  

Both of these have serious implications for thought leadership and how a) one differentiates ones brand and b) the need to position it in such a way that at every level – consumer, government and employees - the company is seen to be striving to deliver to their audiences something of value beyond what they sell and something which aligns with the values and aspirations of society.

It’s what I call the social license to operate which is quite distinct from the regulatory license to operate.  Social license to operate signifies going beyond what is required by law.  It challenges companies to always go one step further, the extra mile. 

Why? Because that is what society has come to expect and that is what consumers are starting to demand of their suppliers of goods and services.  

The other reason is that if a crisis hits the company has some sort of responsible brand shield which can, depending on the crisis, to some degree either buy them time or soften the consumer/societal backlash.

What does this all have to do with thought leadership?

Precisely the point that great thought leadership ideas are vested in the values of the company which should these days be inextricably linked to the good of greater society, employees and the community in which the company operates.  We’ve all heard the expression ‘No man is an island’.  Well no company is an island either.

By understanding the needs, fears and desires of the society in which you operate and specifically those same issues with your direct target audience, you/the company are in a far better position  to delivering a thought leadership campaign which hits the mark.

If you’ve seen or had experience of this, please share it with me.

The evergrowing need for thought leadership

Strong opportunities for thought leadership

Today, more than ever, there is an even stronger link between management philosophies, company values and customer expectations, and how these impact company or brand marketing campaigns.

One of the questions you should be asking is whether your communication or marketing campaigns and brand strategies are delivering authentic, sustainable value to your brand’s audience?

If your campaigns are merely ticking the traditional marketing box the challenge is to find that true differentiator, something that will set your point of view and ideas apart from your competitors.

Corporations face a growing need among consumers for brand authenticity and informative content from which will help them make up their own minds. More and more customers and clients are wanting and, in some cases, demanding true engagement with their brands.

With the expectations and buying patterns of these customers aligning more closely with their values, it provides fertile ground for exploring your thought leadership campaigns.

True thought leadership can add real and sustainable medium- to long-term value to a company’s brand and its customers.  It presents the brand in a refreshing way and in turn sets it apart from its competitors. It also has the significant effect of gaining the long-term trust and loyalty of the brand’s audiences – a compelling quality in today’s highly competitive market.

Thought leadership should drive sales but not be its sole focus

Ultimately you want your thought leadership to drive sales but that shouldn’t be your sole focus.  It is my view that the focus of a thought leadership campaign should be to add value to your customers lives by doing something which aligns closely with your (the company’s) values and in the process touches a cord in your customers hearts and minds that says to them “I feel good doing business with these guys.  They add value to my life.  They get me.”

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 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.

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The characteristics of a thought leader

I have identified some of the broad characteristics of a thought leader as follows.

A thought leader is someone who:

1.      Expert – is an expert in their field and has a unique point of view

2.      Shares information – is willing to engage with and share insights and information with their audiences through speaking, social media, writing, mainstream media, etc

3.      Big picture – is refreshingly candid and understands the bigger picture and where they and their brands fit into their consumers’ lives and how they can add value or insights to their consumers beyond merely selling them a product or service

4.      Passionate – believes passionately in what they do or the space which they occupy

5.      Social responsibility – sometimes feels a moral or social responsibility to deliver something of value to the community in which they sell or operate 

6.      Expects nothing in return – Is prepared to engage with their stakeholders and share information and insights and literally expect nothing in return in the immediate future

7.      Values based – has long-term vision and often secures their space by anchoring their business in values-based behaviour which shows an understanding of their most important audiences

8.      Motivates – is able to motivate people to look at and to do things differently.

Please let me know if there are any other characteristics I should add to this list