Thought Leadership Marketing Resource Center 

Do you work for a company or have a client that is into having thought leadership retreats at posh resorts where the attendees can ponder the future of winky dinks or what have you, using "thought leadership speak"? If this is you, then this site could serve you well. Accenture has done an incredible amount of research (which they share here) in an effort to identify the commonalities behind high performance companies. They investigated 6,000 companies, including more than 500 high performers, and they've wrapped everything up under the title of "Learning From Tigers" (as in Tiger Woods). If you want to discover what they discovered, at the site you will find a podcast series as well as hundreds of brief by insightful analysis reports by industry and by subject -- everything from how high-performance companies handle dissatisfied customers to how high-performance companies are retooling HR functions to better support the future of their businesses.

At this site you will find, first and foremost, a focus on Edelman's annual Trust Barometer, which highlights trends in consumer trust since 2001. At the time of writing, 2007 insights included the finding that consumers trusted businesses more than media and government. We also think that that "trust building" is the next big wave in marketing, so this information is well worth your time. There are many more resources available, including a 40-page corporate guide to the global blogosphere and an industry-leading blog of their own.

It's a marketer's dream to have thousands of media visitors flocking to its online press section. At the time of writing, General Motors Europe had done just that by launching a Web 2.0 media-friendly social media newsroom. What does that mean? First of all, the press section contents are represented by a keyword cloud, so the media visitor can shape the content/news releases to his or her liking. To do so, he or she simply clicks on the keyword of interest (for example, "Chevrolet", "concept cars", "environment", etc.). The media person (read "journalist") can then comment on the news releases right then and there with his or her very own thoughts, right on that page. He or she can also add a trackback link to where that release and/or an article was then posted written about next. The releases can also be saved/shared via del.icio.us, digg, etc.

There's a link to GM's online photo album, which is (of course) hosted on photo-sharing site Flickr. There's a link to GM's online video library, which is (of course) hosted on YouTube. Those photos and videos are not just the same-old corporate bilge, oh no... some of them are actually cool and compelling. And do note that because GM was one of the first to create a wild and crazy social media newsroom, at the time of writing you could barely click through the Web without stumbling over a story about it somewhere.

You might say GM Europe is really asking for it by opening themselves up to all sorts of comments in such a public forum. It's a gutsy move and it indicates their acknowledgement that the marketer does not have all of the control anymore. We give them credit for embracing the new rules. We do think they deserve kudos for stepping out and becoming a thought leadership marketing example.

When you're looking for new ideas and an overview interesting things marketers are doing to establish thought leadership, this is a good place to start. It also happens to be one of this editor's favorite blogs. It's an informative, thought-provoking hodgepodge of whatever strikes the author (a thought leader himself) as important. He covers the waterfront in terms of unique ways that companies are marketing in the world of Web 2.0, consumer-generated media, stupid ideas, great ideas, specific audiences and so on.

For example, at the time of writing a current post on "What You Can Learn From Philatelic Marketing" left this marketer with brilliant ideas to apply to her business. There was also an exploration of an AdAge article entitled "Beyond the Hype: The 10 Most Asinine Trends Online and Why You Should Ignore Them."

This editor especially loved the fact that the author offered several selections of bio length: a one liner, a 100-word or a full length version. That simple convenience is a recognition of the fact that not everyone has the time (or interest) to sort through a three-page thesis on the subject's importance. Here's the one liner to establish his bona fides: "Rohit (Bhargava) leads the interactive marketing team at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and is a recognized blog author, industry speaker, and expert on integrating social media with marketing, advertising and public relations."

You might not think of JCPenney when you go to list your top thought-leading companies. However, the mass retailer gained our respect when they created a downloadable desktop application that brings you JCPenney, live and uncensored 24/7. This includes your own personal events and reminders calendar, product "scoops" such as fashion stories and home decor tips and (of course) special JCPenney sales and promotions. We could list many companies whose creation of an application like this would be more compelling to the end user, but the point is, those companies did not do it. JCPenney did.

This Kodak "Winds of Change" commercial was originally published for Kodak employees for internal use. However, it is so funny that employees began posting it on the Web and eventually it made its way on to YouTube, where it had (at the time of writing) more than 360,000 views. We like this as an example of thought leadership for two reasons:

1. The video is actually about re-establishing Kodak as a thought leader; and
2. Because of its video format and truly funny content, it unwittingly became a viral phenomenon on its own, using the thought-leading world of Web 2.0 to do so. It's hilarious, so take a look.

MarketingApple is a blog that focuses on Apple's marketing efforts past, present and future -- the good, the bad and the brilliant. It is written by a former employee (Steve Chazin) who worked with Steve Jobs to rebuild Apple's marketing efforts in the late '90s. While the existence of this blog may be a bit misleading (no, Apple is not authoring it) Steve is a frequently quoted/consulted industry expert on Apple. Here he offers interesting points of view on the strategies the company used to arrive at marketing greatness and what the company is doing right now in terms of marketing (and why).

At the time of writing, this included a very interesting analysis of what is known as the "iPology" -- Apple's decision to drop the price of its iPhone from $600 to $400 mere weeks after early adopters were lined up around the block to purchase it. As an "iPology", Apple offered a $100 gift certificate to any customer who had purchased the phone and wanted some type of compensation. In the process the company drummed up an extraordinary amount of press coverage just about everywhere and coined a new marketing concept and term as well. Interesting stuff.

PFSK is a company that totally focuses on spotting trends in various cultures around the world. They then distill what you can imagine to be an enormous amount of information into little bites of knowledge. Their corporate clients pay big bucks for targeted strategies based upon PFSK's trend spotting expertise. However, you can also turn to their complimentary resources such as blogs and newsletters to receive a steady stream of brain-tingling trend facts.

At the time of writing, a site visit revealed some fascinating information: A review of companies that are focusing their marketing strategies on video creation, which can then be exported directly to YouTube and other video-sharing networks; the return of super bright colors and oversized fonts in consumer product logos and marketing messages; Starbucks' new table-waiting barista strategy for busy laptoppers who don't want to get up for their coffee, interviews with industry leaders of all stripes and more. Clients include Anheuser Busch (UK), BMW (Germany), Corona (Mexico), CocaCola (China), Johnson & Johnson (US), P&G /Axe (UK) and Philips Electronics (US/Netherlands).

This blog focuses on how to become a relevant thought leader and market your company using the viral world of news releases, blogs, ebooks and other forms of online media. What we took away from a reading of this blog were two things, which should be self-evident to marketers but often are not:

1. If you are going to be a thought leader in your space then you should have something interesting, relevant, challenging or thought-provoking to say; and
2. If you are going to "use" the world of bloggers and other alternative journalists to plug your business, then you need to do so in ways that are respectful and relevant to the way "alternative media" goes about its business today.

The blog is published by David Meerman Scott, who is an author and consultant.

This site is completely devoted to whitepaper writing and marketing how-to's, tips and tricks. After all, if you are offering whitepapers as a marketing or lead generation tactic, you might as well do it right. Topics include developing a strategic whitepaper marketing plan, establishing your company as a thought leader with whitepapers and how to take your whitepapers to the next level -- for example, by offering video versions. There's also a forum where you can discuss all things whitepaper with your peers. The company offers an email newsletter and sells books and classes for whitepaper marketers.