Right now, there are countless organisations who are transforming their industries: whether it's commercialising new scientific breakthroughs; reinventing transport, agriculture, or construction; or launching new business models to get existing products into the hands of more people.
That's why I am an optimist. I always have been. I look back on the last 100 years and see a track-record of us overcoming progressively more difficult challenges – through new technology, science, and fresh ideas.
And, more often than not, enterprise, entrepreneurship, and corporate innovation has been at the centre of this innovation – it is one of the greatest engines of progress in history.
But one thing does worry me. The Internet has turned us all into micro-publishers, whether that's through blogs, YouTube, or TikTok.
And while this is a good thing, there is a malign flip-side: it is now much more difficult to get your voice heard. By 2025, 463 exabytes of data will be created each day globally – the equivalent of 213 million DVDs every day.
And the communications industry is at least partly responsible for this problem: plastering the web with drab, beige, vacuous corporate announcements, which usually serve the short-term financial interests of stagnant monopolies that desperately want to dampen down innovation and entrepreneurship – innovation that could challenge their legacy businesses – rather than debate new ideas.
It is now more difficult than ever to get your voice heard. How do we ensure that the next big idea breaks through into the mainstream and delivers on its potential?
This is a problem.
What if the bright new idea to reinvent manufacturing is hidden somewhere in today's mass of digital data? How do we ensure that the next big idea does not get lost? And, how do we ensure that the next big idea breaks through into the mainstream and delivers on its potential?
That's a big question. And it's the central question that Profile is founded upon.
We want to pioneer new ways to help people get their ideas into the world. We want to find new ways to help people pierce through that dense tangle of information on the web – and stand apart.
That's why we say we're in the business of creating visible leaders: people with the platform, power, and gravitas to command attention, drive the discussion, and change the very direction of their industries.
And we are constantly challenging ourselves to find new ways to help people do just that: teasing out the latest techniques, technologies, and communications channels that work best.
So far, we have identified one fundamental, important insight: new ideas need to be championed by company leaders – not companies or brands. Too often, the people heading up companies put their ideas into the voice of their business, start-up, and brand. The result is that these ideas lose their colour, vibrancy and edge, sliding into bland corporate jargon.
New ideas need to be championed by company leaders – not companies or brands.
The public wants to see company leaders with new ideas go out on a limb: put their heads above the parapet, challenge conventional wisdom in their own voices, and show that they have some skin in the game. These visible leaders will be rewarded with credibility and respect, even if the public fundamentally disagree with their ideas.
And these visible leaders' organisations benefit from this leadership too. Research commissioned by Profile to coincide with our launch showed that companies with visible leaders commanded higher levels of consumer trust, grew their bottom line quicker, and attracted better talent.
But while Profile is a new agency with a fresh and radical approach, it is built on decades of experience. It founded by the same team behind Transmission Private, the multi-award-winning communications agency that is known worldwide for advising many of the world's best-known entrepreneurs.
And we are uniquely structured into teams of subject specialists – multimedia and video production, press and media relations, social media and digital strategy, copywriting, and communications strategy – providing our team with the breathing space and dedicated focus to really understand what it takes in their unique craft to help clients get their ideas into the world.
Welcome to Profile, a thought leadership agency for modern business.