How can businesses create great thought leadership? 

By Jack Storry, Head of Corporate

Creating great thought leadership has arguably never been harder. A decade or so ago, a business undertaking thought leadership campaigns may well have found themselves at the leading edge. Now there is hardly an organisation that isn’t doing thought leadership and work is frequently high quality featuring extensive research, expert insights and polished content suitable for multi-channel activation. 

So what can businesses do these days to create great thought leadership in a crowded market? This is a topic we’ve been thinking about at Boldspace and we recently hosted an event with industry leaders looking at precisely this topic. Our view is that some of the keys to producing best-in-class thought leadership are: 

1. Less is more: focusing on quality over quantity 

In a world where audiences can choose from a wealth of content, their expectations are naturally high. They expect the content they are provided to be insightful and sophisticated. In this environment, it makes little sense for companies to spread themselves too thin in producing thought leadership.  

Instead, it is far better to invest the time (and budget) in creating fewer pieces of thought leadership that are really going to generate excitement and engagement from the stakeholders you want to reach.  

It’s important here to also differentiate between tactical activations and thought leadership. You can still achieve volume through creating one-off pieces of content or media stories – but that isn’t, and shouldn’t be confused with, thought leadership.  

2. Data matters: creating the insights that will cut through 

Compelling data is the foundation on which great thought leadership rests. Often it starts by, once again, looking at the challenge from the perspective of your audience. What will they really find interesting? What can we provide that frames a problem in a new way they haven’t seen before?  

There are a range of approaches you can use to data and insights. Some companies will be lucky enough to benefit from proprietary data that they are able to leverage externally, but for many it will be a case of undertaking new research and/or utilising third-party data. However the data is sourced, organisations mustn’t lost sight of what this will mean and show to their audience. 

3. Multi-channel execution: going beyond the report 

The days of thought leadership being just a report or a press release are over. Delivering best-in-class thought leadership requires content to be both multi-channel and multi-format. In a world where ROI is ever more important, the task for companies is to use their bigger and bolder thought leadership to create as many touchpoints as possible with their audience. 

Earned media may remain the tip of the spear, but even in that space the need for innovation and adapting to the shifting media landscape is key to success. And now thought leadership needs to extend across digital and in-person activations, reaching people where they are.  

4. Ideas matter: the importance of originality 

Originality is the secret sauce of great thought leadership. Businesses need to dedicate time at the start of creating thought leadership to really stress testing whether the idea is original and interesting enough to achieve their goals. In a world where every consultancy has a survey of senior business leaders, how do you stand out? 

At our recent event we talked about examples of original thought leadership and one of the panellists cited the example of Deloitte’s Cranes Survey. It measures office development, a proxy for economic vibrancy, by simply measuring the number of cranes on the skylines of cities across the world. It’s a beautifully simple idea – and pays dividends for Deloitte with huge earned media interest, significant engagement on digital channels and in-person events across the world that enjoy strong attendance.  

5. The earned media challenge: thinking like a journalist 

Understanding media as a distinct audience is an important aspect to successful thought leadership. There is always the danger of organisations falling into the ‘content marketing trap’ where the thought leadership they produce succeeds in addressing understanding but does little for awareness because it doesn’t appeal to earned media, which is undoubtedly one of the most important routes for boosting awareness through thought leadership.  

Thinking through and scrutinising whether the content you are creating is really going to be interesting to journalists and the readers they serve is essential – especially in a world where high levels of competition mean journalists are inundated with thought leadership they can cover. 

6. Demonstrating ROI: taking a nuanced approach 

There is increasing pressure from business stakeholders to show the value of thought leadership – with some firms even attaching sales targets directly to campaigns and content. Yet while there are many ways to track impact – whether it be report downloads, social engagement or more sophisticated measurement tools – there are still many metrics that have a degree of intangibility. 

There are two ways to address this. First, is getting better at measuring the data you can access. Tools like BoldLens – which integrate a range of marketing data and turn it into actionable insights – are perfect for this. Second, it’s about accepting there are areas where you have to apply common sense and more of a ‘gut feel’ approach. A piece of thought leadership may contribute to a conversation with a government stakeholder, but measuring the impact of that is challenging and ultimately you probably need to accept there is a degree of nuance in assessing ROI.  

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The remaining piece of the puzzle is having the right people to bring thought leadership to life. Strategy, data, and distribution are all essential, but without the expertise to craft compelling insights, shape a unique point of view, and execute flawlessly across channels, even the best ideas will fall flat. 

Great thought leadership doesn’t just inform – it challenges, influences, and drives action. It sparks conversations in boardrooms, media headlines, and policymaking circles. It’s a powerful tool for shaping perceptions, building credibility, and ultimately driving business outcomes. 

The companies that get it right understand that thought leadership isn’t just content – it’s a competitive advantage