At Profile, we're on a mission to help companies communicate differently. We want to help companies and leaders find their voices as well as the courage to put their heads above the parapets.
Today, too much corporate PR is dominated by bland, faceless, and ultra-safe platitudes. Not only does this lead to dull and inspiring comms, but it is also ineffective for clients.
Increasingly, traditional corporate comms does not cut through. It doesn't connect with customers. It doesn't connect with team members. And it doesn't connect with investors.
Thought leadership is a powerful alternative to traditional PR and comms.
Rather than lapsing into mere marketing, thought leadership forces companies and their leaders to showcase what really makes them different – it gives a business a distinctive identity and, indeed, face.
We want to encourage more businesses to pursue this approach to their communications.
Thought leadership activity needs to be fronted by an individual or individuals within the business.
That does this mean in practice? It means showcasing your industry insight. Calling for change across the sector. Giving your opinion on timely industry issues. Shaping regulation, policy, and the direction of the industry as a whole.
And, most importantly, this thought leadership activity needs to be fronted by an individual or individuals within the business. This might be the CEO, the wider C-Suite and management, or even other experts and figures within the company.
Why are we so focused on shifting more companies to this way of thinking? Because it delivers better results for clients.
Time and again, thought leadership delivers better results than traditional PR and marketing approaches.
On one hand, people like hearing from people. They're more likely to pay attention to a message delivered by a person rather a faceless corporate brand.
On the other hand, thought leadership content is more likely to cut-through with audiences and the media.
If crafted in the right way, a punchy thought leadership intervention is much more likely to draw the attention of an audience than product- or brand-centric announcement.
And it's not just customers either. Team members, investors, regulators, and other important stakeholders all prefer reading thought leadership content over other types of marketing and PR material.
In fact, research conducted by Profile showed that firms with visible, well-recognised leadership teams recruited better talent, raised more investors at better valuations, and grew faster.
