Posts Tagged ‘CSR and thought leadership’

There are thought leadership lessons in Tiger’s tale

Gap analysis has been around for decades.  Simply put it is the expectation of a brand’s current level of performance and where it wants to be in the future. The difference between the two is the gap analysis.

In Tiger Woods’ case the gap has become a chasm.  However, it also begs the question as to whether his personal brand was built into something it was not.  Testimony to this is the website www.tigerisgod.com which was taken down a few weeks ago.

What has this got to do with thought leadership?

Put it this way.  If you are planning on using your thought leadership campaign to build you or your brand into something you are not you run the risk creating a massive perceptual gap problem – one which could be damaging to your brand.

Very few consumers stick with brands that overpromise and under-deliver.  So be wary of the PR campaign or thought leadership campaign that sets out to build you into something you are not.

Align your campaigns to your values

I am a firm believer in aligning, in particular your thought leadership but also other campaigns like your PR and CSR campaigns to your company values.

These values should be the compass by which to steer your profile building efforts.  But how often do you hear an advertising agency or PR company asking for a company’s values when designing a campaign?

True thought leadership campaigns need to be credible internally and across multiple external stakeholders.  The more your thought leadership campaign relates closely to the issues, trends or hot topics across your sector and the more it addresses the concerns of your clients or customers, the more authentic it will be.

Today more than ever, consumers are looking for authenticity in the brands they choose.  If you can achieve this there is far less chance that your campaign will create a gap between the perception of what you stand for and the reality.

A classic Australian example was a company called Firepower, a company which created enormous media hype around the promise of a fuel pill that would save motorists and transport companies a lot of money on their fuel consumption.  It has gone down as one of the biggest corporate scams this country has seen – a brand promise that missed the mark by a country mile leaving a litany of court cases and red faces and designated the brand to the bottom of the corporate scrapheap.

I would love to hear from you if you have examples of similar companies or campaigns that have overpromised and under-delivered.  

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.

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.